Farewell teen magazine queens

From staff and wire reports

They were our roadmaps, our guides to life, holding the answers to our most pressing concerns: How do I know if so-and-so likes me? How can I make this pimple go away?

But one by one, the all-knowing teen magazine is disappearing.

Time Inc. announced last month it would stop publishing Teen People, moving everything to the magazine's Web site. Elle Girl made a similar announcement earlier this year, saying it was going digital because that's where the teens are. Other cultural bibles -- Sassy, Teen Screen, Teen Beat -- have died entirely, artifacts of teen angst past.

"These magazines were unable to adapt to the changes in society and the needs of the teenagers," says Samir "Mr. Magazine" Husni, chairman of the journalism department at University of Mississippi. "They were still talking to teenagers as though there was no Internet, no 24-7 television, no MTV in place, and they were still trying to give them pinup pictures, talk down to them and tell them how to behave on their dates. Those are things teenagers can get from a gazillion other places."

It's not that teens are only reading online, says Husni. He points out that teens read celeb weeklies, such as Us and In Touch. Why read a teen magazine for gossip on Britney when she is in the "grown-up" magazines?

Cosmo Girl and Teen Vogue are successful, he says, because their focus is on service -- not celebrities: "How do I wear footless tights?" and "What to wear on the first day of school."

Locally, some teenagers say they combine magazines, newspapers and the Internet to keep up to speed on top issues.

"I read Seventeen Magazine to keep up with the latest celebrity gossip. I usually read the paper if I want to catch up on the news, but if MSN Today pops up and there is an interesting topic, I might click on it to read more," says Allie Wolz, a freshman at Central High School.

Other teens say the Internet is the only way to go.

"If something happens I want to know about, I look it up online," says Ariel Kitchen, a senior at Central High School. "It's quicker and it's cheaper. You don't have to take the time to go get it."

Southeast Missourian freelancer Emily Hendricks and asap reporter Megan Scott contributed to this report.