Lost Features Dept.

Here's a piece that I put together for the PopCult print edition prototype (Spring 2000). I thought it'd make for an interesting regular column on the website—until I realized how much grunt work it would take to examine a few hundred magazines every month, searching for thematic bullshit. Nevertheless, I like the idea of exposing how we all knowingly accept pure fabrication from magazines whose editors are all knowingly lying. I'm sure none of the coverline writers actually believe what they print, and neither do consumers believe what they read. But everybody seems to enjoy this pathetic circle of hype: Celebrities are lavished with praise for accomplishments they never really make, publishers sell lots of magazines, and readers continue to live in a dream world of all-conquering fame. Sigh. If anyone would like to take on this grim duty of tracking editorial exaggeration, drop me a line.

—C.T.

Every month, the magazine editors of our great nation bestow upon us their wisdom via eye-catching coverlines. As a single trip to the local newsstand will quickly reveal, every ill can be cured, every fear calmed, and every celebrity made to seem important. Sometimes, though, we must confess to a certain skepticism about the things we learn from these fearless editors. That's why we've assigned a crack team of PopCult researchers to scan the magazine racks each month to test the veracity of the claims they find there. The disturbing results often shake our trust in the media establishment.

This Month's Lie: Second-tier, would-be starlets are making it really big!