Jon Friedman Pleads: Don’t Ignore Harper’s

Matt Haber — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 14:55:42 -0400

This week in his 48-second Media Web Minute, MarketWatch's Jon Friedman wonders why Harper's doesn't have the "buzz" of other general interest magazines like The Atlantic, The New Yorker or Vanity Fair.

"It's about time the public stood up for Harper's," Mr. Friedman declares in his accompanying column. "Even with its pedigree and its ambition, it's no sure thing that Harper's can match the successes of its rivals. It has a lot of catching up to do. Fair or not, right or wrong, nowadays in publishing the buzz counts for plenty."

Mr. Friedman is absolutely right. At the 2008 National Magazine Awards Harper's was only nominated in two categories, for essay writing and fiction. It only took home one tiny award in the latter category, beating out The New Yorker, The Paris Review, McSweeney's, and Zoetrope: All-Story.

Furthermore, the magazine has only one book out this month which The Los Angeles Times' Marc Weingarten only said "contains some brilliant work." Also, the magazine only had one measly controversial cover story last month about Kaplan Test Prep.

Seriously, when will this tragically overlooked magazine finally get noticed?

Observer » Jon Friedman Pleads: Don’t Ignore Harper’s

Jon Friedman Pleads: Don’t Ignore Harper’s