13 September, 2008

JO Magazine turns 5!

5 years of variety and dynamism
5 years of professional journalism
5 years of all kinds of topics, ranging from the Amman bombings to Drugs, from Night life and Night clubs in Amman to Honor crimes, from The Alternative Music movement in Jordan to Porn Cinemas in downtown Amman ... all covered in JO.
5 years of english-written magazines in Jordan (since JO was the 1st!)
5 years of the most serious magazine in Jordan, yet the most hyper dynamic.
5 years of the jordanian magazine that just makes you proud as a jordanian!

Yes, JO Magazine, turning 5 with their 61st issue this month, is a magazine that I'd like to follow up each and every month. And despite the fact that i sometimes (rarely) might not buy it, but like to follow it up. Simply because its a realistic magazine, and its probably the only English written magazine in Jordan that is not oriented towards the elite rich people in Jordan, and rather tackles all sorts of topics from the dynamic Jordanian society, with its goods and bads, and is just an overall looking window of journalism towards all sorts of political, social, economical, cultural, and even taboo issues in jordan. With an alternative professional vision, and many times different than what some people would imagine.

JO is also a good tool for representing Jordan! For example, in a technological conference i participated in here in jordan, I had the chance to meet a peer from the Czech republic, whom i gave JO Magazine. Later that year when i was at the Czech republic, and when discussing several issues about jordan with him, some information i was telling him were replied by him: “I know, I read it in the magazine you gave me, JO Magazine :)”. its realistic, its not telling the people reading it that we are Living Very Well, nor that we are enjoying Luxury in the Jordan Business, but it indeed shows the realistic view of jordan, and all sort of Jordanians more than a venture pulp in a nox :)

and maybe thats why Jordanian bloggers have always discussed about JO Magazine in their posts, and thus later came, as a logical result in JO's journalistic policy, their care in the Jordanian blogosphere in several features as well as their “Super Highway” monthly section.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Don't you find it odd that many of the English-speaking Jordanian magazines are managed by Americans or British chief editors. I agree with an earlier post that most Jordanian English-speaking magazines are line items on the US state department budget. Just like the defunct Al Hurra satellite and Sawa radio and ATV.

Hareega said...

Samar, not every media instrument ran by American or British workers is something planned for by the US.

JO magazine is a great magazine, a lot of its reports are really well-written. The real disaster is that they don't have a website and do not reach Arabs living in the US who could be really good customers.

kinzi said...

Samar, I think Nick Seeley at JO would laugh to hear that one!! He may be American, but towing State Dept. lines is just not who he is.

Nasim, what post was that?

Most of what I've submitted to JO as a free-lancer is rejected because I am TOO main-line America.

(Thanks for linking, Nasim!)

nasimjo said...

Samar! i dunno how much english-jordanian magazines are budget-ed by the US when they criticize US policy, and are ran by well known jordanian business men!!
and what got ATV into this!!!

Hareega, agree with the website thingy, the problem is , that for the past 5 years they have www.jo.jo on their cover, and there never ever have been a website! (another proof its a jordanian magazine :D)

Kinzi: what post was what!

Nas said...

More power to JO!

(p.s. i dont understand why i was linked to this post unless the whole jordan business reference was a knock at me personally. i hope not, because otherwise i would consider that a low blow and a testament to the fact that anyone who thinks that this is the message delivered by JB has obviously not been reading this past year and a half)

nasimjo said...

didnt understand anything but well :D
i have linked you up on a post you wrote in 2005
http://www.black-iris.com/2005/08/11/jordan-planet-in-jo-magazine/