See Also: Target audience, Education/Reading/Short Attention Span
From: Dan Stiffler <calendar-girls@adelphia.net>, 04 and 05 Feb 2003
Subject: PLAYBOY: Your Father's Oldsmobile?
I disagree with the popular notion that the 18-35 demographic does not read anymore. This is flat false. Who's reading those Lord of the Rings books? Who's hanging out in the graphic novel section of the book store? Indeed, who's sipping $4 coffees at the Starbucks in the Barnes and Noble? Or sleuthing around the Strand in NYC?
Our nation is not devoid of culture and sophistication. It wasn't in the 50s and it is even less devoid today. The democratization of education is a wonderful thing.
I've said it before. I will say it again: PLAYBOY must not condescend to its audience. Enough magazines already do that. The details of sophistication change with each generation but the attitude doesn't.
From: Dan Stiffler <calendar-girls@adelphia.net>, 28 May 2003
Subject: Challenge to PLAYBOY's editors
Respect is the key. I have a problem with the current attitude that young people don't read anymore and, therefore, the magazine has to hook them into reading with sidebars and catchy graphics. I have no problem with good design, but I do have a problem designing a magazine for "non-readers." I work with young people and, believe me, there are a lot of good readers out there. In a sense, this is the old generational argument on its head. People complain about today's youth not being able to read (as they think back fondly on their own reading youth). It's poppycock and it's disrespectful. Just because it's a "different world out there" doesn't mean there are not young readers in that world. We have far more college educated readers now than we had during PLAYBOY's developmental years. Yet the PLAYBOY editors think their audience has to have its text sugarcoated.