Has anyone read "exposed" or any of the other new ("city living") magazines that seem to be kicking around the city centre? They are all pretty similar in concept (interviews, bar reviews, lots of 'contemporary' photos etc.) and I was just wondering what anyone thought of them? Is there really a market for them? Do they provide anything of use? Or are they just a glorified, glossy version of the free gazette?

"City " Magazine is pants cause it's just a vehicle for advertising luxury goods and covers Leeds, Manchester & Sheffield so cannot go into any depth.

I like Exposed. Great what's on section (including my gigs) and articles about the Sheffield that I know and experience. All they need to do is to forget about having celebrities on the cover, unless they are Sheffield related and, a bit more about other local arts & activities (e.g. theatre, galleries, literature, outdoor pursuits) and it will be perfect.

Zeddy

"City" magazine makes my coffee table look pretty

Originally posted by MrHelicopter
"City" magazine makes my coffee table look pretty
Same hear!!!

"City" magazine is just an advert for the big developers of city center living apartments.

Most of those sort of mags are just a thinly veiled advertisement feature. I've worked on similar things myself. The editorial is irrelevant, it's mostly just a way of creating another few feet of advertising space.

I found 'Exposed' quite a good read, very informative and useful.

sandman is a pretty good shef based free music mag :)

I dont like City,more adverts for things i can't afford than anything else and the bits in it about sheffield aren't much good.On the other hand i think Fxposed is pretrty bad ass,seems a lot better put together and seems to be made by people who actually care about sheffield.

Originally posted by jackthedog
Most of those sort of mags are just a thinly veiled advertisement feature. I've worked on similar things myself. The editorial is irrelevant, it's mostly just a way of creating another few feet of advertising space. That's why they are FREE!!!

Originally posted by mr craig
Fxposed is pretrty bad ass,seems a lot better put together and seems to be made by people who actually care about sheffield.
Bad ass eh? :P

Interestingly enough it seems that the company behind exposed, three blind mice media ltd, originate from Berkshire? Anyone know why a company from Berkshire, who seems to have a base in Hunters Bar, is making a Sheffield only magazine?

Cause they saw the gap? Maybe someone from Sheff said "this is what the city needs" and got backing from Three Blind Mice.

I'm not sure that it's an issue is it? It feels like a Sheffield magazine so I don't really care who is behind it. City Living does NOT feel like a Sheffield magazine. Anyway, the ever-popular Metro (which I think is awful BTW) is owned by Associated Newspapers from London (who own the Daily Mail and London Evening Standard).

Even that British institution The Sun is owwned by an Australian-American!

Originally posted by Geoff
Bad ass eh? :P

Lol,i think i must be posting on to many american based forums,i'm starting to sound like them!! Plus i was kinda hungover when i wrote that,as you can tell by the spelling! i do think Exposed is a really read tho,especially seen as it doesnt cost anything.

Originally posted by E-Man Groovin
I'm not sure that it's an issue is it?
Not at all, I was just interested to know what made them choose Sheffield - I personally think it reflects positively that someone would come up here from Berkshire to produce a magazine just for Sheffield - it proves people have heard of Sheffield :P

Hi guys

I'm one of the guys behind exposed magazine and I have been reading with interest your comments. First of all, we aren't from berkshire - don't know how that rumour started. The team come from all over the country really but you are right on one thing - we chose Sheffield as there's a gap in the market for this sort of magazine. We all live here now by the way.

Having said that - we're all at a stage in our lives where we are doing all the things we're writing about - going out etc. and I think we're a lot more in touch woth our readers than most mags like ours.

We also really care about the editorial and the design - it's not just a means to make money unlike most free mags. Hopefully that comes across to the readers.

So hope you like it. We're trying hard to improve with every issue (next one is out end of Jan) and we want to know what people think - good and bad comments.

If you want them published you can email me direct at editor@exposedmagazine.co.uk or just keep chatting on here and I'll keep picking them up.

Phil

The Berkshire part came from your domain name and also wasn't three blind mice registered in Berkshire too? Not that it matters, but I just wanted to make it clear where the rumour came from.

Thanks for joining the forum :)

Is there an opportunity for anyone to write stuff for Exposed i.e. features. The student magazine at Hallam University is just dreadful, perhaps the worst of any University in the country.

Is there a SHU magazine? I've been there three years, and i didnt know there was one!!

Originally posted by qazitory
Is there a SHU magazine? I've been there three years, and i didnt know there was one!!

Not sure about SHU, but I've tried to contact the Steel Press at Sheffield Uni are they seem really badly run. They don't reply to any emails or calls (and this was me trying for a period of 3 months). They appear to live in their own little world... :(

PS. If anyone reading this knows someone at the Steel Press then ask them to email me - I got tired of trying.

The SHU magazine seems to be distributed at Collegiate Campus only. It's called S-Press and is available at http://www.hallamunion.com/news/spress/default.asp

Have you tried searching the Internet for other magazines? As my friend has had some articles published in a goth magazine, but the subject of them were pretty mainstream. Its worth a try?

we have a freelance staff who contribute regularly so if anyone's interested drop me an email at editor@exposedmagazine.co.uk with an example of your work and we'll be in touch.

Phil

nice 1 phil.......its gotta be said exposed it a far better read than city and as said above very informative. but i too would like to see local heros on the front pages ie the peeps behind the nitetime economy ie leadmill and the corp (not bloody crasher thou) and heros from sheff rather than celebrities.

also gotta be said sandman is a fantastic read and its bloody free.

here here !!!!!!!

The editor/owner guy is on Radio Sheffield (Toby Foster) right now.

I don't know City or Exposed. Can anyone advise if these magazines are expensive to advertise in and would the Classic Rock Bar look out of place in them?

We always advertise in Sandman.

Interesting you mention Sandman. The guy on the radio (from Exposed) was saying that exposed is far more mainstream than Sandman and how they are going for different markets. If you want some free advertising then check out the announcements forum ;) (you don't need a site to advertise).

Just had a thought, maybe exposed's listing pages are free, and that's probably what you meant? I was thinking you meant an advert. Hopefully phil_t will grace us with his presence after his 15 minutes of fame with Toby :)

Free advertising is always good, but if you can get a feature written about your business that's better. Also wondering about advertising costs in these mags in general.

Hi

Getting listed in the magazine is free - just email your information to: listings@exposedmagazine.co.uk. We are a monthly - so we need the information for the month ahead roughly by the middle of the month before.

If anyone is interested in advertising then feel free to call the office on 0114 266 6066.

Cheers

Phil

Sandman is the best Sheffield mag. I loves it I do.

what does everyone not agree that these magazines are the most pretentious magazines ever circulated even more than the face... and the reasons...well apart from the urban focus of city living city playing in bars and clubs which is not the only way of spending leisure time...the mags have such a pretentious attitude with a clear focus on one type of city resident that being affluent and up and coming urbanites....the magazine does not represent a fundamental equal way of looking at life, leisure and love in the city...... lets get some more wide ranging views and interests in these magazines please!! this just risks polarising the city even further by what we do with our leisure time and how cool we are!!
...the one plus is that the magazines do review leisure and nightlife in the city in an readable and manageable context. but as for advertisments for flashy furniture and lingerie every second page...please everyone in the city doesnt have these interests and views.....
.....On the other hand I quite feel the magazines like their little pretentious format and want to keep it which there is nothing wrong with, but they shouldnt ask our views on the mags when they know they are exclusive....do they give them out free on the mannor like they give them out free on west one ,, i dont think so!! xr

What's wrong with aspirational publishing?

the ppl in West One has the money to buy the flashy furniture and lingerie thou!

Check out page 7 of Exposed and page 3 of Sandman for this month.

Yours truly has a picture of herself in them!

I may not find the 'aspirational' lifestyle magazines interesting but I'll flick through them, rip out anything that's interesting and that's that.

At the same time, there are lots of other publications around that are produced by fans or community groups without the advertising revenue, and these are equally valid and again, may not suit all tastes.

If you produce a magazine that attempts to please everyone you'll fail and crash and burn. After all, you don't get a magazine called 'Ferret Breeder and Bass and Drum DJ Monthly'. The demographic would be small, to say the least.

Live and let live...and if you see a gap for a magazine or fanzine that isn't yet produced, DO IT!

Produce it as a webzine, e-mail, photocopied, short print run, CD, tape....become a media punk and publish!

Remember - JEDI!

(Just 'Effing Do It)

Joe

Originally posted by Classic Rock
Check out page 7 of Exposed and page 3 of Sandman for this month.

Yours truly has a picture of herself in them!

Nice to put a face to the name both in Sandman and at the Sheffield Live meet last night!

Joe

What do people think of it?

The best free mag in sheffield by a mile.

Loads of really good, useful localised stuff in there. Would reccomend it to any new students in the area.

Threads merged.

I stopped reading them a long long time ago. Its just 48 pages of adverts for christ sake. Who really wants that?

I agree with you mullers. I read it for the first time in a long time yesterday and I noticed that most of the features in there were from companies that had paid for full page adds.

Yeh I had a read and it really bored me, just ads everywhere. I reckon its good for new students and people new to sheffield though,

linds
x

Originally posted by carsondaly
The SHU magazine seems to be distributed at Collegiate Campus only. It's called S-Press and is available at http://www.hallamunion.com/news/spress/default.asp
It's called the SHUN (vague joke of the Sun...) and it's pants, you can find it on City Campus, at the NMb in the newspaper stand next to the cash machine near the reception... It's a load of balls, and I hate to see money wasted like that.

That goes for Active8 (Woodseats), Grapevine (South West) and Exposed (Sheffield) which are full of adverts...
It's like Metro ! A good feet wiper :gag: :gag:

The only paper that's dead cheap (15p) and is local is the totley Independant, who have no suppot, very little advertisement, and give short, concise news of what's happenning, I admit the gardening stuff is a tad boring :p But at least it's a real newspaper (now monthly) that has been existing for a hundred years (ableit not in its original form):clap: I'm sure I'll read random insults on Totley/Dore snobs after saying all that :suspect:

I first picked up a copy of exposed from the Magna centre and was amazed that so much was going on and yes there is a market for this info.

I'd pay for a monthly magazine that put all the brochures into one.
Its a bit of a nause going to all the venues like the crucible, lyceum, don valley, hallam FM arena to find out whats going off.

The only thing is I normally have to plan at least 3 weeks in advance normally to get all my family and friends together. A monthly mag is no good half way through the month.

I like exposed, its on my coffee table at home.

i get the SIXER and some free paper - load of pants and never read them - straight in blue bin

Exposed comes across like an airline magazine: you get the impression the articles are just there to keep the ads apart. It also makes a lot of assumptions about its readers ("bored of your usual pint of Stella?" erm...) which grate. I don't live in an 'urban space' drinking chi-chis from my dolce e gabbanna ipod but I still go to places advertised or featured in it. I suspect most readers are the same.
It needs to stop trying to be cool (which as any fule kno is uncool) and get focused on the task at hand - being the top listings magazine for the city.
Case in point - the real ale article this month: it has loads of guff about how it's now okay to drink real ale because it's in (phew) and Chris Evans (bit of a contradiction there) likes a pint, there are a few middle school level beer facts and then it manages to recommend just 1 pub! Odd.

This is an interesting string.

I've read a copy of Sandman I think. It's the one about local bands right? I liked it, made me laugh. If it's the one I'm thinking of there was lots of bitching and bile in the issue I read. Like a fanzine? Here's a tip for you, post these sorts of things to me at Hallam. I'm always stuck for stuff to talk about - you'll probably get a mention on the show.

That City Life thing is rubbish.

As for Exposed I think it's a bit too cool for me. I always feel uncomfortable reading that sort of thing. Like the party I was never invited to as a teenager and have come to dislike as a consequence. I read the interview with Toby. Thought they went on about Phoenix Nights too much in it and Peter Kay as a result. Everyone in South Yorkshire knows there's more too him than that.

As for the student mags I'd like to read them. I prefer the more amature stuff. It's a better read usually. Less hang-ups. If you're a student reading this and you do these mags send me them to Hallam I'd like to read 'em.

In fact someone took a call from a writer at one of the student mags who wanted to do an interview with us or something. Never followed it up but I would have done it. I don't "hate" students, they just annoy me sometimes.

;)

We've all sorts of mags, Exposed, Westside, Grapevine, Sandman etc. What do you think of them? Has anyone advertised in any of them, and if so, what were the results like?

erm i think they're okay but good be better and could be more of them. more zines with fictional beauty i say.x

Arn't most fo them only circulated in the "good" areas ?

yeah think westside is, and i've never seen grapevive so probably!

Grapevines office is down the road from me, but I've never seen the magazine.

Never heard of or seen any of them.
What are they about?

Threads merged.

We have used westside, Image, Sixer, non of them really helped us much and were quite expensive, we now use The Web Express Guide, has anyone seen or heard of thAt, it mainly goes to local businesses.
I have spoken to Exposed and they seem really nice and professional, we will be looking to use them in the future.

Isn't Sheffield now ready for a proper grown-up PAID FOR listings magazine like other large-ish cities have?

The Telegraph is the nearest to this kind of thing each week but it's limited, black and white, too bulky, and generally a bit dull. Most people only buy it for the property section. Have they thought about putting out a separate magazine instead? It covers all the regeneration of the city centre pretty well and the bands/theatre/restaurants stuff is not bad too but the format is wrong. A visitor getting off the train in the new station wouldn't buy a boring-looking hefty local paper, what they want is a colour A4 mag which tells them what they can do in our city while they're here and encourages them to return.

Sandman is a great fanzine for the local music scene but that's only part of 'what's on'. Exposed, Sixer, Westside, Grapevine and all the others are just advertising that you might look at occasionally if you were bored in a waiting room or if it comes through the door, but you wouldn't hand over £1.50 in a newsagents for them.

There's lots happening in Sheff (and its region) these days and I think we're ready for a mag that keeps tabs on it all and shows it off to visitors. Aren't we? Fortnightly would be OK to start with.

never see any one of these.obviously not interested in the traditional sheffield household.

I don't think either Exposed, Sandman, Re:play, Radio Coma or any other of the local magazines have been any good. But what do you expect from a free magazine... Still, they are a handy way of finding out what's on.

I've been thinking of putting an ad in exposed, I know 3 people who placed ads with them. 1 said it worked really well, 2 said it had absolutely no effect on sales. Their rates are pretty high, reckon it's worth going for?

I bin the ones I get (such as Westside) as soon as they come through the door.

never see any one of these.obviously not interested in the traditional sheffield household

A few of those magazines don't get delivered, you pick them up from pubs, shops ect.

Exposed magazine seems to work on a system where if you buy an ad you get a feature. I know a few people who have done this. It devalues the mag if you are selling the editorial stuff for advertising I feel.

I quite like Exposed. (especially the random, illustrated tales about bus journeys at the back of the mag!) Its does a reasonably good job of keeping people up to date with whats going on in sheff and some of the articles are interesting.

I actually enjoy some of Active8 too - the bits where people write in about what Meersbrook was like 80 years ago... very interesting... the rest of the mag is dodgy advertising but its worth flicking thru.

Where do you pick exposed up from?

I like Sandman. It's a good mag.

NM

Originally posted by Nicholarse
I like Sandman. It's a good mag.

NM

Just finished Nick?

(Here's a start on a Isreal btw http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/middle_east/2001/israel_and_the_palestinians/default.stm)

As for Sandman, they distributed it around the Uni last year, and it was always an interesting read, far better than Steel Press, which is sensationalist at best..

EXPOSED strokes the egos of those who advertise in it.

Originally posted by Hook
Where do you pick exposed up from?

I normally get mine just outside Fopp on Division St

It's summat for nowt - don't knock it.

I usually discover a new place to visit and like the 'What's on' part. And the Roberto article the in one of the past issues was good.

Originally posted by Tony
What's wrong with aspirational publishing?

But you live in Sheffield so shouldn't have aspirations.

To other poster, we have advertised in Westside which was a dead loss for us and also a biggie in Grapevine when we opened which was very successful. I think Active8 which has similar circulation to Grapevine might be worth a punt.

Anyone heard of/get Profile, they tried to sell us space in that but have hardly ever seen one and don't know anyone who receives it, even friends in chi chi S17.

I love "Exposed" mag, its a good quality glossy for free! with reccomendations for shops, hairdressers, bars and clubs, just need some Sheffield gossip then it would be perfect. I pick mine up at Threshers or the pharmacy in Ranmoor and look forward to every new issue.

Originally posted by pete_jim
Anyone heard of/get Profile, they tried to sell us space in that but have hardly ever seen one and don't know anyone who receives it, even friends in chi chi S17.

It's published by the Star/Telegraph, and I think you have to pay for it. The only time I've seen a copy was when they were giving it away free with the Star as a promotion.

A while back I asked whether Sheffield has its own listings magazine.I was told that there was one called 'Exposed'. I have since seen several issues of this , and I am simply amazed at its quality. What an utter waste of resources-is this the best anyone can do?

There is also Sandman and Sheffield Telegraph depending what you want listings of..

Not sure what your problem is ...I think it's a great magazine

As a famous American tennis player once said, 'You cannot be serious!'

Yes, Exposed is rubbish. We've had this topic before. So is Grapevine, Sixer, Westside and all the other freebies that are just adverts and puff. Sandman and some of the other local music mags/fanzines are good but not the same thing as a general glossy listings mag promoting the city that is widely available.

Maybe the market isn't there any more though? What with the internet - especially SF of course. Manchester Evening News used to run their City Life listings mag and it was pretty good for many years, then went crap and closed altogether. The Leeds ones I've seen aren't much cop. London used to have City Limits as well as Time Out.

The Telegraph/Star could do a proper listings mag if it wanted to. The content in their what's on sections is quite good and they've got the journos, distribution etc. Throw in a few glossy colour photos and fuller details of films etc and it could succeed. The local papers backing it would help.

dont even think of putting a ad in it....very poor...utter waste of time

The second issue of Clunge should be out soon: http://www.clunge.co.uk/ and http://www.myspace.com/clunge_magazine. That I believe has been set up very much as a rival to Exposed.

The first one was a bit like Exposed but looked much better (glossy and funky designing), had a lot more content and a far smaller ratio of adverts.

There's also Go Sheffo as well of course although that is more of a fanzine than an arts and culture mag but is great(http://www.dontgo.co.uk/fanzine.php).

Posts merged.

Exposed is nothing more than a glossy lad mag written by Nathan Barley types, obsessed with trendy lifestyle ephemera and filled with adverts for rubbish that no-one needs.

The second issue of Clunge should be out soon: http://www.clunge.co.uk/ and http://www.myspace.com/clunge_magazine. That I believe has been set up very much as a rival to Exposed.

The first one was a bit like Exposed but looked much better (glossy and funky designing), had a lot more content and a far smaller ratio of adverts.

There's also Go Sheffo as well of course although that is more of a fanzine than an arts and culture mag but is great(http://www.dontgo.co.uk/fanzine.php).



Clunge.......er..........erm.

This may be a Birmingham thing, but I always thought Clunge was a slang term for female genitalia ? It certainly is in Birmingham.:hihi::hihi:

No idea I'm afraid. Agent Gypo from here is involved with it so he will have to answer that for you if he's around.

No idea I'm afraid. Agent Gypo from here is involved with it so he will have to answer that for you if he's around.

I run Clunge with a friend. Thank you for your positive comments on the magazine! The next issue is not far away. There are a number of reasons why it has been delayed that I wont go into here.

With the exception of the fantastic Go! and Sandman, the free press in Sheffield is generally poor.

I don't like magazines full of adverts (something we avoid), and I loathe patronising 'advertorial', which one local magazine in particular is rife with. While a free magazine needs to dedicate space to advertising, I believe that good, solid content should be the driving force behind a mag, not the advertising.

Nathan Barley types?

Ouch.

Nathan Barley types?

Ouch.

I've had that one thrown at me before too...!

It's a pretty lazy thing to say really.

It's like saying everyone who works in an office is a Gareth Keenan type.

Working at exposed is more like the film 'all the president's men', I find...

Nathan Barley is a self-facilitating media node. That's a good thing isn't it?

Ugh. Not really.

Although, I quite like Jonatton Yeah?

he's hilarious and co.

The SHU magazine seems to be distributed at Collegiate Campus only. It's called S-Press and is available at http://www.hallamunion.com/news/spress/default.asp

Link doesn't work :(

I've met so many creatives who would fit right into an episode of Nathan Barley....

Link doesn't work :(Perhaps because that post is 3 1/2 years old?

I think the current SHU student paper is called "SHU Print".

Perhaps because that post is 3 1/2 years old?

I think the current SHU student paper is called "SHU Print".

SHU Print is still going.

Link doesn't work :(

The last archived edition (6/3/2005) is at http://web.archive.org/web/20050306042853/www.hallamunion.com/news/shuprint/default.asp

I'm surprised there aren't more magazines around. I realise the internet is an easier and cheaper method of producing a fanzine but I still prefer to read something I can hold in my hands.

Which reminds me, I need to get hold of the Go Sheffo peeps so I can get a subscription now I'm out of Sheffield!

That was an invite for someone to post me a link.... I can't seem to find anything sadly...

That was an invite for someone to post me a link.... I can't seem to find anything sadly...

http://www.dontgo.co.uk/ <-this?

It's a pretty lazy thing to say really.

It's like saying everyone who works in an office is a Gareth Keenan type.

Working at exposed is more like the film 'all the president's men', I find...
Exposed used to be much better when it had that oddball cult film column by that dude with the long greasy hair. ;)

http://www.dontgo.co.uk/ <-this?

Thank you sir!

I don't like magazines full of adverts (something we avoid)


Clunge magazine is looking for a passionate, driven sales team to secure advertising every 3 months


Haha.

Just kidding, mate. But you can see the attraction in having a few ads kicking about the place now, yeah?

Agent Gypo - is clunge issue 2 on its way?