12 Times Town & Country Sounded Like BuzzFeed
From “14 Things Rich People Say,’’ to “8 Reasons You Should Fly Private.’’
When asked to describe BuzzFeed, most people generally reply with a snappy list headline, like “21 Reasons Puppies Are Basically Furry Drunk People,’’ or “15 Things Kim Kardashian’s New Bleach Blonde Hair Looks Like.’’
A few media nerds will say “a very important news organization,’’ but for the most part, we’re dealing with a website famous for pictures of cats in birthday hats and quizzes that determine what kind of dad you’ll be.
BuzzFeed isn’t going for a highbrow image with these headlines. While the organization does break serious news along with its sillier lists, both types of articles aim to grab readers and make the website’s content as sharable as possible.
When it comes to readership, BuzzFeed isn’t cultivating exclusivity; rather, the company is of the more-is-more mentality. It works well for the site: BuzzFeed reported reaching over 130 million unique visitors in December of 2013.
Many publications use lists as headlines. Jonah Peretti, who founded BuzzFeed in 2006, didn’t reinvent the wheel, but he has managed to make more money off of it than anyone else.
Now it appears that Town & Country’s website—the digital arm of a magazine that’s historically been one of the highest of highbrow publications—wants to rake in the clicks, too.
Founded in 1846, T&C—as the in-the-know call it—is the oldest continuously printed monthly in America. For decades, families with last names like Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, and Whitney had their marriages, divorces, and rehabilitations chronicled within its glossy pages.
But these days, the magazine’s digital headlines have started slumming it with the BuzzFeeds of the world.
Recent articles on Town & Country’s website include “14 Things Rich People Say,’’ “8 Reasons You Should Fly Private,’’“The 6 Different Types of Guys You’ll Date in Your 20s: Preppy Edition,’’ and “24 Of The Best Songs About Money (And Being Rich!).’’
Not to mention “It’s Who You Know: 15 Legacy Interns,’’ and “12 of The Most Important Moments in the History of Pearls.’’
Lots of websites emulate BuzzFeed headlines. Elle Decor, a magazine aiming to reach a similar demographic as Town & Country,recently ran an article called “8 Paint Colors That Will Make You Rethink White.’’
But the subject matter of other publications doesn’t lead to the same amount of cognitive dissonance that Town & Country‘s does. Their headlines are the Internet equivalent of Tenley Parrish dating Ryan Dunne in the movie Summer Catch; a rich girl crossing the proverbial tracks to date the guy who mows the lawn.
Line one of the Town & Country headlines up with any other random list from the Internet, and you’d soon be singing the Sesame Street song that goes, “one of these things is not like the other.’’
“You only have someone’s attention span for so long,’’ said Micaela English, senior web editor at Town & Country, of her decision to post more lists. “Snackable, digestible content like lists perform well.’’ English said she writes the posts, adds what she called the “T&C spin,’’ and sends them off into cyberspace.
When asked what exactly the T&C spin is, English replied, “It’s a lot of fun pieces, like vintage New England photos and articles about preppy culture.’’
If the articles are any indication, “preppy’’ is code for “very, very rich.’’ And the first rule about being rich used to be that you didn’t talk about being rich.
“It’s perfectly appropriate—indeed, wise—to explain to a child that conversations about family wealth are family matters, and that we talk about family matters only with family,’’ writes Glenn Kurlander in a piece on Morgan Stanley’s website called “Opening Pandora’s Box: 10 Rules for Talking to Kids About Money.’’
Town & Country seems to be throwing that school of thought out the window.
Last week, the Town & Country article “ 27 Ways You Know You’re From Connecticut’’ went viral. It included list items that blatantly referenced wealth, such as “When you’re home and go consignment shopping, you stumble across the most amazing vintage Chanel and Hermès pieces,’’ and “Your public school education rivaled a private one.’’
Commenters on the piece were divided. Some responded positively, saying how strongly they identified with the criteria. Kevin Raymond wrote, “Pretty spot on… Also they should have added that most guys owned a Boston Whaler before they owned a car (usually a BMW or SnAAB [sic]).’’
Others, however, thought it was tone-deaf and out of touch: “This list alone reinforces peoples [sic] misconceptions about 95 percent of the state,’’ wrote reader Brian Adams.
Many people from the less affluent areas of the state don’t fit any of the criteria put forth by the authors, according to English and contributor Elizabeth Bechtold.
“But that’s the fun of it,’’ English said of the negative comments in a phone interview. “You put your work out there, and you have to learn to have tough skin. There’s always going to be people who have a thing about certain things.’’
And maybe talking about wealth is no longer so taboo.
“Those old rules, they can’t apply anymore,’’ said Paul Sullivan, The New York Times wealth columnist and author of The Thin Green Line: Money Secrets of the Super Wealthy. “Say I live in Beacon Hill and want to visit my buddy in Wellesley; I type in the address, and Zillow comes up and his house is worth $3 million.
“If I’m getting that even when I type in directions to somebody’s house,’’ he continued, “We’re kidding ourselves if we think that a person’s children aren’t doing the same thing.’’
Town & Country appears to be on to something. The article about Connecticut “outperformed my wildest dreams,’’ English said of its 10,900 shares.
“That’s a section of our audience that we’ve tapped into, and we’re giving them what they want at the end of the day,’’ she continued.
It turns out that even those T&G readers who rinse their hair with champagne want their news in list form. In this case, however, the headlines are more along the lines of “9 Secluded Private Islands Perfect For Your Next Vacation’’ rather than “17 Ways Your Cat Says I Love You.’’
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