National Geographic Magazines

My relationship with NatGeo is a little kinda ironic. On the rare occasion when there was a great deal on their subscription I took the plunge and subscribed to it for 2 years, and didn't read a single copy of the magazines.  But when I stopped and would get my hands on any issue of the magazine, it would be unputdownable, usually in flights, and I could read it cover to cover.

And that was the irony.

Now as a kid and a college student I had access to NatGeo, but would find it a bit hard to read, sometimes either too academic or too niche subjects being discussed. Even the images didn't hold much attention.   

A funny detail about this and Discovery was the fact that there was a very high overclaim on the readership as well as the viewership when the TV channels were launched.  So when market research surveys were being carried out and the survey interviewer (usually female) would ask respondents what TV channels they saw, some folks would try and impress the interviewer by claiming to watch these channels - also to sound intelligent.

Not so with the magazines.  The magazines have changed nowadays and a lot lot better presented.  They have been witnessed and invested in scientific study for over two centuries and their records and experience come of great use in chronicling changes in our ecosystem and human endeavors, and lifestyles.  

I was never into animal and ecological subjects and they had little charm or interest to me (especially since all the films I saw as a kid always showed animals killing being hunted or feasting on their prey), but NatGeo helped overcome this barrier. One of the best facts about their reporting was that they used the most advanced technology in capturing animals in their natural habitats. This involved the smallest cameras, underwater cameras, the highest resolution - and photos produced in such fabulous colours, they were entrancing and captivating.  Possibly the best thing about the magazine were also the fabulous photographer talents they commissioned as well as those who wrote such compelling stories (especially translating scientific breakthroughs in a digestible easy-to-understand manner)

And of course the reporting has improved greatly on scientific advances.  (For one about advances in understanding babies and human learning better, they had distinct covers using various babies photographs).  The best scientific advances and breakthroughs would be presented in the most lucid, easy to understand manner with great graphics to explain them.

However, what I found most engaging were their human interest stories.  There was a series of mapping random pin codes in the US - which would have some fabulous photographs of social life in that town/ neighborhood captured through some lucid moments, unforgettable and capturing a moment in time for posterities sake. I found it fascinating for e.g. that nude photographs were never censored or blurred out. On the rare occasion it would help lead to more stories (like Bridges of Madison County for e.g.).  Those photos never shied from depicting life as realistically as possible. 

And that was what made Nat Geo that much special for me. It not only contributed in its way of chronicling advances and learnings in science, in preservation of nature/ ecosystem but also in capturing snapshots of our lives and celebrating them in their own unique way.