One thing that travelers often comment on when they return from other countries is that the magazines they are used to reading at home are different elsewhere. For example, the same issue of Time, Newsweek, or People that is read in New York will not only have a different language in Mexico City, it may also have very different content, but still have the same basic cover. What publications often do is create a basic issue for their core readers and then modify that concept to sell it with more local content in other regions. People magazine, for example, might have the same basic layout in two different countries, but the TV-related articles in Mexico will be about Mexican soap opera stars, while the New York edition will be about people who act in daytime dramas. that are better known in Mexico. USA
Similarly, sports magazines in the southern hemisphere may have a higher concentration of articles on soccer, while those in the US may emphasize football or hockey. And the same goes for other subjects like politics and business. Open a news magazine in Europe and you’ll find less news about the US, even if the magazine is based and printed in the US.
Another difference is of course the language itself. Many magazines will publish a bilingual edition of a magazine, with one language on the right side of the page and another language on the left side of the magazine. Or they will print editions in different languages, instead of bilingual editions, for different markets. They may do a US edition in English, but then have the same content translated into multiple other languages for sale in other parts of the world.
For an inexpensive yet interesting travel souvenir, try picking up rare and rare copies of magazines that are special foreign versions of the ones you and your friends read at home. Maybe you can find a National Geographic in Dutch, an Esquire or GQ in French, or your favorite children’s magazines in Spanish. Not only are they fun to show people, but they can make your language studies even more fun as you try to translate your magazines accurately. They’re easy to pack in your luggage, don’t cost much, and are a simple item that you can even pick up at the airport at the last minute.
