This may come as a surprise on an online blog, but I am a huge print journalism fan. With a good old fashioned journalism degree in hand and a sizable collection of magazines in my home, the Print! Tearing It Up exhibition in London, summer 2018, was something of a must see for me.
The Layout of the Day
The exhibit had been described as a look at how independent British magazines have changed the world. Covering many of the issues of the day, such as diversity and media manipulation, the exhibition flies in the face of the believe that print media is a dying art.
Located in the Terrace Rooms of the premises formerly used to host London Fashion Week events, the exhibit was self contained in two rooms. A third room housed a ‘newsstand’ and some magazines to thumb in minimalist surroundings.
A quaint gift shop gives the opportunity to purchase some back issues of magazines in the exhibit including Burnt Roti. The editor in chief of which has an interesting podcast available to listen on the exhibit website, along with several others, including Tony Elliott, the founder and owner of the Time Out Group.
The Exhibition
The last time I was inside Somerset House was for London Fashion Week back in September 2013, during my first week at university. Coming from a journalism degree, it was a frequently discussed matter throughout my course; what is the future of print journalism and how is digital going to impact how we consume our media?
Obviously more and more publications are becoming highly digitized, but personally I think there will always be an audience for the humble print magazine. I liken this to how there is still a large audience for hard copy, printed books regardless of the popularity of the Kindle and digital reading devices. There is just something you get from turning pages and holding a physical object, that you don’t get from scrolling and swiping.
The exhibit looks at the detailed history and impact of independent magazines. Featured in the exhibit included, Britain’s oldest, weekly, women’s magazine, founded in 1885, The Lady, popular 1980s cult phenoms The Face, and Blitz and even fashion and style magazines of today such as ‘i-D’, Dazed and Confused and Wonderland.
Tearing It Up was definitely a great exhibition if you have a general interest in print based media, the evolution of magazine publishing or magazines as a platform to discuss cultural and social issues of the time.
I’d definitely recommend checking out Tearing it Up if you are interested in general print media, the evolution of magazine publishing or magazines being used as a platform to discuss cultural and social issues over the years.
Print! Tearing it Up opened at Somerset House on the 8th June 2018 and ran until 22nd August 2018.
Ellies London 
So right – there’s nothing like a good book in your hand in a comfy chair and immerse yourself….time flashes by….the world and all else vanishes as you turn the pages.
Everyone should have a library card.
Go and READ🦉🦉🦉
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YES!!! Reading is so important. I never did get a Kindle but I know they can be handy. I was speaking earlier to someone and we agreed, nothing compares to the SMELL of books!
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This post makes me wanna go to the exhibition even though I’m not interested in general print media. Love your writing, keep it up 👍🏼👍🏼
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Haha thank you ♥ It is really interesting and free, which is an awesome thing about London; you can learn so much and diversify yourself at no cost! x
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This sounds like a brilliant exhibition to go to 🙂 Thank you for sharing!
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♥ It really was – i love things like this. Thank you for reading x
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Give me a paper based media any day!
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Me too! I still love a printed magazine!
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This exhibit sounds so good, I need to go to it!
Beth x | https://bethrebecca.com/
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I’d definitely recommend 🙂 it takes next yo no time to go around compared to the huge museums and it’s really interesting x
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I would love to have seen this, my visit was too early! Thank you for sharing this with us. I am old fashion, while I love my computer there is nothing that compares to setting down with a real book or magazine and reading it. Glad you were able to attend and share!
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Oh no! That’s such a shame! You are so right; turning the pages just doesn’t compare with swiping. And don’t even get my started on the smell of old books! 😍 Nobody would ever sniff a Kindle! Lol x
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Hi Ellie, this is an area of history I thoroughly enjoy. I studied media comm at uni and found how the evolution of advertising and communicating to the masses has changed significantly over our time on planet earth. Today, I believe we live in an incredible period because, look, we’re enjoying one another’s daily adventures through blogging for crying out loud! That’s pretty rad. I attended a similar newspaper exhibit in NYC back in 2014 – it was about propaganda during war periods (which is kind of cliche but super important because it educates people to identify what propaganda looks like and turn on their critical thinking hats.) The exhibit made a great impression on me and the curators did a wonderful job of keeping flow and interest at its peak. Will stop by for more on your page. Until then 🤘! Best, Jess || https://www.learningfromstrangers.com
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It has changed so much hasn’t it? The exhibit in New York sounds super interesting ♥ I love going to things like that. We can learn a lot about where we are today by looking at how people did things and the ideas they had in the past. Thank you for the support and I look forward to speaking with you soon ♥ x
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