Franktown Cafe

We got our issue of Nevada Magazine yesterday and I realized at page 32 that I had found nothing to read. I flipped through the rest and realized that with the “moving on” of Rich Moreno, the previous publisher, the magazine has changed. It has taken on the look of what I call “geospecific lifestyle” magazines. Magazines that focus on an area and are advertising driven. Now, Nevada Magazine features huge ads and the articles are merely long advertisements in the theme of airline seatback magazines, Reno Magazine, Tahoe Magazine, Carson Magazine, yada, yada, yada. Sure, the magazine is put out by the State of Nevada to promote Tourism but instead of promoting our culture, history and natural beauty and wonders, they are dispensing with all that secondary stuff and focusing on direct methods of seperating you from your money to the benefit of their advertisers.

Gone is the letters section where folks from all over the country wrote of their love of Nevada. There is an article on how to spend in Vegas, the wonders of coffee houses, the ultra hip MonBleu casino at South Shore, Vegas Ultra Lounges, something called “club wear” featuring a kid in a $326 “jeans and t-shirt” outfit, an expensive house, a luxury condo tower, etc. etc. Don’t we get enough of that stuff in Reno Mag, Carson Mag, Reno Home Mag, etc, etc?

This is their right, of course. We take pride here in Nevada in our freedom to do what we want. I am just expressing sorrow at the passing of an “old friend” and worry at the future of the new magazine and those that have charted this course. I consider myself just the demographic they should be targeting and I see no reason to read the mag anymore. Those of us that ride, hunt, atv, 4wd, rockhound, search out history, photograph and hunt for little gems of Nevada nature- we need another mag.

My future purchases of Nevada Magazine will be at the antique store.