Mishpacha vs. Family First

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  • #614281
    popquiz
    Member

    Which is more popular and what is the target audience for: 1) the main Mishpacha magazine and 2) Family First?

    #1043701
    Letakein Girl
    Participant

    I love em both. 🙂

    #1043702
    Joseph
    Participant

    Mishpacha’s target audience is the religious left-of-center.

    #1043703
    bp yidd
    Participant

    Family first is specifically for women while mishpacha is for everyone

    #1043704
    👑RebYidd23
    Participant

    And then there are huge arguments over what teens should read.

    #1043705
    bp yidd
    Participant

    Maybe they shouldn’t read

    #1043706
    Letakein Girl
    Participant

    Well I’m a teen, and I read every part of every jewish magazine. Besides for several boring articles, of course. I find that teen magazines are hopelessly childish, and are meant for ten year olds more than fifteen year olds.

    Unless I’m unusually mature?

    #1043707
    bp yidd
    Participant

    &lg you are in a good way

    #1043708
    showjoe
    Participant

    im a teen, and i read “grown up” (for lack of a better word) magazines and books, and i enjoy them more than YA books and magazines (though all jewish teen magazines are for girls, and i am a boy, so i dont really read teen magazines)

    #1043709
    👑RebYidd23
    Participant

    There are few teen magazines. The few that exist are somewhat childish and are only for girls.

    #1043710
    Randomex
    Member

    It’s hard to say which is more popular

    when you can’t buy one without the other.

    Lior was talking nonsense, but BP Yidd answered the

    question accurately as far as his answer went.

    Hashkafa-wise, I don’t know if “centrists” would

    feel entirely comfortable with Mishpacha/FF, but anyone more

    to the right certainly would (unless they were some kind of extremist).

    #1043711
    Randomex
    Member

    I suspect that the reason there are no magazines specifically for teen boys, or even simply for teens in general, is the idea that to have a magazine with a target audience that openly includes teenage boys is to sanction bittul Torah – it’s not okay for teenage boys to read your magazine instead of learning, but if you market to them, you’re essentially saying that it is!

    (Of course, I doubt anyone actually thinks teenage boys don’t read anything but seforim, but still, you can’t make something specifically for them.)

    Does anyone think this theory is off the wall?

    #1043712
    writersoul
    Participant

    Lior: ?!?!?!?!?!?

    Letakein Girl: Teen magazines are ridiculous- worse even than the kids’ ones (because at least the kids’ ones don’t make any pretenses at being targeted at a certain age). I started getting Mishpacha in 2005- so I was nine- and I read it cover to cover. When they started with Family First, I read that too.

    Now I sometimes feel like I’ve grown out of it…

    Anyway, in general, Mishpacha is for the whole family and Family First is meant for women. My dad actually thinks that half the time the really interesting articles are in Family First, but for what it’s worth, that’s what the publishers have in mind.

    #1043713
    Joseph
    Participant

    Randomex/writersoul: From a Chareidi perspective both Mishpacha and even moreso Ami are on the left of center regarding religious issues. From an MO perspective they’d be somewhat more on the right.

    #1043714
    littleeema
    Participant

    This is deteriorating into a discussion of the hashkafas of various magazines (why am I not surprised). I think the OP is asking which has a wider readership and who that readership (demographics) is

    #1043715
    Joseph
    Participant

    Why do you call that deteriorating? While it may be OT (par for the course in the cr), discussing what a magazine’s hashkafa is or isn’t is a reasonable discussion imo.

    #1043716
    ivory
    Member

    I don’t think mishpacha is left of center on religious issues . On which issue are they left of center? I think they’re right and I’m very orthodox… If there’s such a concept

    #1043717
    Shopping613 🌠
    Participant

    The teen pages are pretty good, besides the serial of course.

    Binah has a pretty awesome teen magazine twice a year, but besides that you just have to read the women’s magazines

    #1043718
    bp yidd
    Participant

    I read der yidd usually

    #1043719
    Patur Aval Assur
    Participant

    Lior:

    I usually just read the editorials, but Ami seems far more right than Mishpacha.

    #1043720
    👑RebYidd23
    Participant

    I don’t think it’s any worse for teenage boys to read magazines than it is for adult men.

    #1043721
    ari-free
    Participant

    So Mishpacha isn’t ramaz/YCT kind of left-of-center but more like “I’m frum but with it and get a job, guys” left-of-center?

    #1043722
    ivory
    Member

    I don’t think that seriously frum people who have a job are left of center at all

    #1043723
    bp yidd
    Participant

    Everyone in kiryas yoel works so there all left of center?

    #1043724
    ivory
    Member

    All the people in the kiryas Yoel kollel don’t live there?

    #1043725
    Letakein Girl
    Participant

    lol

    #1043726
    Joseph
    Participant

    PAA: I haven’t noticed a significant differentiation in the ideological leanings of the editorials versus the articles (or “news”) in each magazine but comparing the overall, though generally (but not always) very subtly expressed, weltanschauung of each of the periodicals I’ve found a noticeably greater left-leaning outlook in Ami than in Mishpacha. And without doubt these prejudices are visible on the editorials as well as the feature articles and news coverage present, respectfully, in each publication. But both journals are to the left of the moderate yeshiva world. (Defining moderate as being the worldview of, say, Rav Shteinman, Rav Chaim and the Novominsker versus the more right-wing worldview of, say, Brisk, Rav Auerbach and Rav Shternbuch.)

    #1043727
    bp yidd
    Participant

    @ivory I was actually agreeing with you and the satmar minhag is not to go to kollel for

    More then a couple of years

    #1043728
    Sam Klein
    Participant

    its more popular to get married & Have a MISHPACHA (family) and then if you work on the proper Bitachon & emuna (faith & trust) in Hashem, then you will not need any FAMILY FIRST assistance. for one that depends on Hashem (& not others rather rebbes or programs etc…) lacks nothing (Tehillim 34)

    #1043729
    Aaron Tzvi
    Participant

    To Lior,

    I’m not sure if you ever read Ami magazine at all, however i can assure you that if you did, you will discover they are anything but left of anything. You mention “right” as meaning Brisk. Are you aware that Rav Dovid Soloveitchik asked Ami’s head personally to convey his views through their magazine. They are the only Jewish magazine that truly will not bend over backwards for agendas, and they properly define the “right” way of a Torah living Jew.

    #1043730
    Joseph
    Participant

    A Rov asking someone for a favor or to send a message in no way constitutes an endorsement. Rav Dovid doesn’t read Ami, doesn’t know its contents and certainly does not endorse it as you implied. And it clearly has an ideology as I mentioned. And most certainly no one should be using Ami as their guide on the right way of living a Torah life. There are far far better, and greater, sources for that purpose than ANY weekly magazine. Ami is a for-profit enterprise in the business of selling magazines. And controversy sells and they supply plenty of it.

    #1043731
    Aaron Tzvi
    Participant

    Lior,

    Rav Dovid would not ask to be featured in a magazine unless he held of it, period. Assuming, anything less is a slight to an adam gadol. Ami is a great excellent read, better than anything currently available. Enjoy and have a great day

    #1043732
    showjoe
    Participant

    “And controversy sells and they supply plenty of it.”

    agreed, i feel that ami goes for the more controversial approach to any issue than the mispacha.

    #1043733
    HaLeiVi
    Participant

    BP Yidd, do you watch Natrona?

    #1043735
    writersoul
    Participant

    Also, Aaron Tzvi, this feels a bit like a contradiction:

    “Are you aware that Rav Dovid Soloveitchik asked Ami’s head personally to convey his views through their magazine. They are the only Jewish magazine that truly will not bend over backwards for agendas”

    I am not defining R Dovid Soloveitchik’s view as an agenda- I am defining an agenda as a preexisting template or mindset on the part of those producing the magazine.

    And on this rare occasion I agree with Lior- do NOT base your life off of the hadracha of a $3.99 (or however much) magazine.

    And, with any magazine, the number of people at any given period (even in the same ISSUE) who could be featured and diametrically oppose/disagree with each other is very very large.

    #1043736
    ivory
    Member

    I don’t think that Reb Dovid ever read ami magazine and gave his hechsher on it. He asked the editor/owner as a talmid who has a means of conveying his message on ONE particular issue .

    #1043737
    gavra_at_work
    Participant

    (Defining moderate as being the worldview of, say, Rav Shteinman, Rav Chaim and the Novominsker versus the more right-wing worldview of, say, Brisk, Rav Auerbach and Rav Shternbuch.)

    Since there is such a tremendously wide gap between Rav Shteinman and the Novominsker, your definition is meaningless.

    Would you care to define your version of “moderate” is actual Halacha/Hashkafic terms instead of referencing multiple people who disagree with each other?

    #1043738
    yytz
    Participant

    It seems that Mishpacha is basically Yeshivish, while Ami tries to appeal to all the Orthodox (though Modern Orthodox isn’t represented a huge amount).

    Some of the Ami editorials may seem very right-wing but I think overall there’s a variety of material and viewpoints.

    #1043739
    ari-free
    Participant

    There’s a big difference between “It’s OK to work instead of kollel” versus “why aren’t those kollel guys working?”

    #1043740
    Joseph
    Participant

    gaw: There is certainly no “tremendously wide gap between Rav Shteinman and the Novominsker”. One being a litvak and one a chosid is not a tremendous difference in terms of core Torah hashkafa. Of course between any two rabbonim you’ll find differences and some disagreements. (Remember what Ed Koch said?) What differences between them are you referring to?

    #1043741
    Joseph
    Participant

    gaw: Another example would be (and I think this is what you’re alluding to) is that overall the Chareidi rabbonim in Eretz Yisroel are somewhat more right-wing while their American Chareidi colleagues are more moderate. A highlight being in EY they encourage longer term learning for a larger part of the oilem whereas in America it isn’t pushed as strongly. But the two magazines under discussion here are to the left of even the American Chareidi rabbinic world. That was my essential point. But make no mistake about it, the American Chareidi rabbonim are far closer in hashkafa to the Eretz Yisroel Chareidi rabbonim than they are to the non-Chareidi American community.

    #1043742
    ivory
    Member

    How are they to the left of chareidi American Jews? I think they as just as right and center as general chareidi public

    #1043743

    My family sampled all the magazines, but we love the Ami best.

    #1043744
    Joseph
    Participant

    They’re to the left of the general American yeshiva oilem. They might be more in sync with the more so-called “modern chareidi” man-in-the-street type of working gruffs.

    #1043748
    ubiquitin
    Participant

    Lior can you give an example that makes you view Ami as left of center?

    You either have a funny center or you have right and left backwards

    I can think of plenty of right wing stories for example defending/prmototing the very Right wing lev tahor cult (granted they probably did it to create controversy and sell magazines, nonethless they couldve done the same by defending say, Avi Weiss)

    Can you povided any counter example?

    #1043749
    gavra_at_work
    Participant

    What differences between them are you referring to?

    The biggest difference (as you pointed out) is support for working. The Novominsker supports Touro in America, while Rav Shteinman would never do the same in EY.

    But if you are only discussing “Core Torah Hashkafa”, there isn’t much difference between the Novominsker and Rabbi Hershel Shechter. :0

    As a point of comparison, where would you put Pinny Lipshitz and the American Yated?

    #1043750
    Joseph
    Participant

    ubiq: Ami in no way whatsoever promoted Lev Tahor. They simply defended them against a blood libel of the openly anti-Semitic Quebeqis false charges. If de Blasio was falsely charged with assault, your defending him doesn’t mean you’re supporting leftist causes.

    gaw: I would characterize Yated as being on the right. BTW, YU interprets Torah with a modern lens trying to fit it into contemporary society, so you can’t compare them to the Novominsker.

    #1043751
    ubiquitin
    Participant

    Lior, we can discuss that separately, as they did in fact promote the cult but this is waaay off topic. Regardless though you havent answered my question:

    “can you give an example that makes you view Ami as left of center?”

    #1043753

    i read every article especially since their all about shidduchim or seminary and i have nothing else better to do but read about that or talk about it

    #1043754
    joeym
    Member

    if you look in the hamodia r. dovid also asked r. freund to speak about it. but ami takes him asking people to speak about the draft, as if its his particular mission from r. dovid. and as if that is an endorsement of him.

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