At the end of last week, Top 10 magazine issued a press release claiming to be the leader among lifestyle publications in Kyiv. Indeed, after Top 10’s main competitors -- Afisha and Time Out -- bid farewell to their readers recently, Top 10 is left standing as the only city guide in Kyiv. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite deliver.
At the end of last week, Top 10 magazine issued a press release claiming to be the leader among lifestyle publications in Kyiv. Indeed, after Top 10’s main competitors — Afisha and Time Out — bid farewell to their readers recently, Top 10 is left standing as the only city guide in Kyiv. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite deliver.
Of the two magazines that closed, I can honestly say that I miss Time Out very much, while the closing of Afisha doesn’t shock me much. Afisha is formerly a sister magazine of the Kyiv Post, when both were published under KP Media ownership. Coincidentally, Afisha is also where I began my career in entertainment journalism. I don’t want to seem ungrateful, but even then I had a feeling that I never quite fit with the magazine crowd because I just wasn’t (and still hopefully am not) conceited enough.
Still, back when I started there in 2002, the year after Afisha opened, the magazine was a worthier publication. It provided useful information about movies, plays, exhibitions, restaurants and clubs. These articles came with great visuals and strikingly original covers.
At the same time, the magazine struck the tone of a mentor – telling you what you’re supposed to know, what’s to like and hate. If, while reading an article, you came across many terms, names and facts that told you nothing – and no explanation was offered — you simply trailed behind all those cool guys. Still, plenty of readers appreciated being told what to think and to like. For them, the magazine was a city lifestyle bible. As an additional attraction, Afisha offered a discount card program that covered a vast number of establishments and services in Kyiv.
Also, a few years ago, Afisha expanded and started publishing several regional versions — in Crimea, Zaporizhya, Kharkiv, Vinnytsya and Donetsk. And, of course, there were Afisha parties that were a “must” for all the pro night clubbers.
Officially, Afisha’s closing — announced on Jan. 22 – was due to a loss in advertising. That segment worsened as the ban on advertising alcohol and tobacco in printed media took effect. While advertising problems can be easily explained, it’s harder to explain why Afisha simply got so bad long before it closed.
With its new awkward design and covers that previewed the release of the latest album of Britney Spears or the premiere of latest season of “Mad Men” TV show (I personally love it, but it’s not showing anywhere on Ukrainian TV), the magazine pretentiously started to act like Rolling Stone or a TV guide, rather than a city guide magazine. In the end, it felt like Afisha’s writers and editors were writing about their own interests, with little regard for what readers may want to see there.
I’m well aware that many loved Afisha for its kinky side, particularly for “The Naked Truth,” an advice column written by Eva Barto, who was actually a combination of different writers over the years. Eva’s role was to answer readers’ letters about sex and relationships. Since no other magazine in Kyiv publishes this type of verbal pornography, that readership is now up for grabs.
With Time Out Kyiv, it’s a completely different story. While it was a famous international brand, it was no match and no competitor for Afisha when Ukrainian Media Holding started publishing it in 2006. Yet, in a couple of years, Time Out improved and started doing a pretty good job. The personas of opinionated writers were not as dominant as in Afisha. Instead, Time Out chose more interesting stories. They covered a wide range of topics. They had nice columns and history-based pieces about Kyiv, interviews, tips and the usual sections about shopping, beauty, travel etc. The listings for movies, restaurants and clubs were extensive and well-structured, making them very easy to use. Simply put, I liked it as a reader, and was sad to see it go. The last issue of Time Out Kyiv came out on Dec. 23. Rest in peace.
This brings us to Top 10, the only city entertainment magazine we have left. And it can’t exactly fill the gap. It’s not even easy to find, even though it’s widely advertised. The magazine contains some features of the city guide, such as restaurant and film reviews, and previews of concerts and such. On the other hand, the magazine has a decidedly artsy bend. Both of its future projects are about art and Ukrainian literature. That it is all fine, but what it gives us is a pretentious glossy magazine for “intellectuals” – or at least that’s what it aspires to be. In a nation where the publishing market is still in chaos, and where the tastes of the majority of readers are not bohemian, we really need something much simpler and more user-friendly.
After all, despite the recession that “killed” Time Out and Afisha, the city culture and entertainment scene goes on living and developing. New movies come out every week, new exhibitions open and even new clubs and food joints keep popping up. So we need a publication to write about it all in a sharp catchy manner, highlighting what’s most important and giving a short mention to the rest. Smart design and fetching visuals help. And most of all we need a magazine that will help you learn new things, rather than make you feel stupid for not knowing something already.
Kyiv Post entertainment editor Alexandra Matoshko can be reached at [email protected].
