Time out forever

It is unlikely that the disappearance of thin brochures Time Out , a free supplement to Moscow restaurants, will be mourned by anyone outside the media community. The tenth anniversary of Time Out in Russia, which should have been celebrated a month earlier, no one noticed. Most likely, dry obituaries will appear in the specialized press, where it will be said that its forefather, Time Out London , will soon turn half a century old, it is one of the symbols of London and one of the most famous British media brands, and in Russia magazines are an unprofitable asset , the reduction of which will allow the owners to focus on the development of the Timeout.ru website . In short, Maxim died - it’s easier for the mare.

I worked at Time Out Moscow as an editor during the years of its launch and formation - from 2004 to 2007. Looking through old issues of a magazine you were involved with is like looking at old photographs: not always a pleasant experience. The past is now remembered with mixed feelings of nostalgic warmth and embarrassment for one’s own mistakes and delusions, the main one of which, it seems to me now, was the naive belief that the printed word has special power, that magazines themselves can form a certain reality, dictate the agenda and etc. In reality - and this is perfectly shown by the story of Time Out in Russia - life is tougher: it bends under itself imperceptibly and deforms beyond recognition.

In Russia in 2014, such a magazine would hardly have received a certificate of registration as a media outlet.

Time Out Moscow began as a replica of the London original, founded by Tony Elliott in 1968. In the first issues of the weekly magazine, launched in a record couple of months, even the rubric was in English - there, among the indispensable Art , Film , Music , broken down into Pop , Rock&Jazz and Classical&Opera , Theater with a separate Ballet&Dance , there was a column, unexpected for Moscow at that time, Gay&Lesbian , in which there was not only a thematic schedule, but also weekly articles that tried to analyze the cultural events taking place in this niche. Taking into account the fact that the Moscow Time Out was then published under the motto “The Diary of a Free Man,” we can make the first observation about how media can shape reality: in Russia in 2014, such a magazine would hardly have received a certificate of registration as a media outlet (if someone even had the determination to launch it).

The largest and most important part of the magazine was devoted to a guide to the cultural life of the capital - as practice has shown, it was overly detailed. At first, Time Out Moscow tried to take a broad view - not to impose “the main thing,” “important” and “best,” but, for example, to diligently comment, in at least two sentences, on every more or less interesting concert on the schedule of Moscow clubs. This was an excessive load in the weekly assembly line - and, apparently, no one needed. Over time, listings and texts became shorter, pictures became larger, and presentation became more lapidary. Subsequently, the “cultural life of Moscow” itself quietly faded into the background, becoming a side dish to the second part of the magazine, which in the British original was called Consume and described the sphere of consumption of goods and services - restaurants, clothing stores, beauty salons, fitness centers, etc. .

Among themselves, the editorial staff referred to the sections as “oven” and “ovenless.”

Ten years ago, in 2004, problems arose with an adequate translation of Consume into Russian - Moscow had just begun to “dress better”, and dozens of restaurants were not opening every day. At first, this part of the magazine was called “Quality” with the explanatory slogan “The habit of spending & the culture of consuming.” Then, at the insistence of the publishers, it was renamed into a more understandable and inviting “Spend”. Among themselves, the editorial staff referred to the sections as “oven” and “ovenless.” During the decade of oil gluttony, Muscovites were accustomed to spending voraciously, and the “culture of consumption” gradually replaced culture No. 1 - the “oven”, for the sake of navigating the currents of which the magazine was once created. The Russian publishers of Time Out never published the book “1000 films that will change your life” (perhaps, unlike the London ones, they never intended to), but they gave the name to a bar in a Stalinist high-rise building and launched a restaurant award “Menu & Bill” - and they will survive magazines. Now it seems no coincidence that the first hundred issues of the Moscow Time Out went to press amid the sounds of the construction of the gigantic Auchan supermarket, as much a symbol of today's Moscow as the Bolshoi Theatre. Moscow office The Time Out moved out long ago, the magazine died, but Auchan remained.

The spiritless one won. “The Diary of a Free Man” at the end of his life turned into the publisher’s ideal - an advertising booklet with tiny interspersed announcements. This victory was largely due to the merits of the journalists - employees of the Moscow and St. Petersburg editorial offices of Time Out - and it was not their fault. Who is to blame for the fact that the magazine with the cover “Where to drink?” or “20 best restaurants with verandas” was bought by readers and advertisers more willingly than with a portrait of any actor (if it is not Johnny Depp), musician or, especially, writer? Time . Out Moscow honestly reflected its bourgeois times Rest in peace, child of an era that is convulsing in queues at M-Video stores, and hurry up to call your parent to you.