Yesterday I arrived at Philadelphia International Airport, for my flight home, looking for something to read. I went into a small bookstore, checked the magazines in an all-purpose store, and browsed the magazines at a kiosk in the concourse. Each carried the same two “serious” magazines: The New Yorker (which I subscribe to) and The Economist (which I bought). There was no Atlantic, no Harper’s, no New Republic. Though People and The Oprah Magazine were prominent in all locations.
Philadelphia is a major city with excellent colleges and universities in its vicinity: Bryn Mawr, Haverford, Swarthmore, Penn. Students at these institutions are probably too busy with course work to read periodicals, but presumably a number of graduates still live in the area. Wouldn’t they appreciate more stimulating reading? Or is it assumed that, when traveling, everyone’s IQ drops a few notches?
