Drum Cover Leaves A Lot To Be Desired

The gorgeous Miss Nonhle Thema covers the current issue of Drum. Why? because she apparently needs a man. Wait, nobody told me that Drum offers dating services to stars. 

To be fair I did not buy the issue so maybe there is some other information in the article worth reading beside this title on the main page. Looking at the cover you will see another title; BONGI DUBE -  Lucky Dube's Legacy.

Now please bear with me here if I'm going on a tangent but I would think the Bongi story sounds more interesting than Nonhle wanting a man. Logic then tells me that I would make Bongi the main cover feature on this issue. 

Then again Drum maybe banking on Nonhle's notoriety to sell the issue but I somehow doubt that, fan or foe, you would buy a magazine just to read about Nonhle wanting a man especially when that information is not privileged since she shares everything on Twitter at any given moment anyway.

I don't know, perhaps I am asking or expecting too much ... nah hell no, someone has got to say it. This is silly. 

Don't you miss those good old days when Drum used to feature new talents on their covers? It used to be that when someone comes into the industry and is touted to be the next big star you would get their story on Drum. 

I remember when Thobi Mkhwanazi joined Backstage, Drum had a beautiful and insightful article about her that was accompanied by a cover. Whatever happened to such?

I know covers are supposed to sell Magazines. I am very much cognisant of the fact that sometimes I just buy a magazine because of the cover person BUT I will admit that the story has to be interesting too. As much as I love Bonang or the Masina twins I will not just buy a magazine because they are on the cover. 

There always has to be something new that a celebrity is doing for me to want to read about. I pretty much know everything that Bonang is doing because it has already been covered by other publications, including Drum. The same goes for Nonhle so why would I just buy the magazine because "Bonang Just Bought A New Bag". That's silly. 

If Drum wants to sell units then there are innovative ways of doing it. If you take one of the actors from Zone 14 and put on the cover then accompany that with "Nonhle Wants A Man" that would make the issue more interesting. 

Firstly the issue will be offering me something fresh with this new star making her debut on the cover and I still get the redundant stuff like Nonhle wanting a man. 

If I am standing on that counter trying to make a decision whether I want to spend my R13 on this magazine or not, that would be the deciding factor. 

Not only would such approach boost sales in terms of attracting new buyers and appeasing the regular ones, it would also restore the magazine's legacy being an aspirational platform for stars and fans of the industry.

A show like Zone 14 is watched by over 5 million people every week. In essence those kids are more famous than someone on any other show and all soapies with the exception of Generations.

Intersexions was a mega hit show. Why not have someone from that show whom the public does not know much about? That show launched Sdumo Mtshali as a bonafide star after winning Class Act. I would find it more interesting to have had him on the cover telling his story than Uyanda Mbuli's Christmas shopping.

Take Nokuthula Ledwaba who plays Tshidi on Rhythm City. Not only is the girl on a popular soapie, she has a beautiful story of being a relatively unknown girl who got her first break on the show and is now a big star. 

Equally interesting is Nokuthula's co-star, Tebogo Khalo who plays Puleng. This is a young actress who also came out of nowhere and is now a Safta winning actress. She probably has an amazing story to share about her rise to stardom.

The two have been on Drum before with Kelebogile Mabotja. I bought the issue and was so disappointed that the focus on the article was about frivolous stuff like their dynamics on the set. The article was littered with quotes like; 

"They like nothing better than fooling around with the other cast members, sneaking into their rooms and swapping their wardrobes around between scenes."

And;

The girls are so close they’re practically like sisters, having sleepovers at each other’s houses and going out partying together. After work each day Relebogile (or Lebo) and Nokuthula (or Noks, as she likes to be known) kidnap Tebogo and head off to do something together – which usually means a delicious home-cooked meal at Lebo’s place.

Nothing wrong with sharing such information about the girls, it makes them human and relate-able to their fans. However to have just that as the main focus of an exclusive feature is not enough.

Late last year Soul magazine had Dineo Ranaka on its cover. Of course Dineo has been around for quiet some time so I was a bit apprehensive about buying the copy and reading the same old stuff about. I was so wrong.

The article was insightful. It brought forth a side of Dineo that the public did not know. Whilst reading the article you got sense of who she is out side of the public persona. She revealed her philosophies in life and her stance on a lot of issues. Now that's what makes cover story material for me.

I will admit again that I did not buy the Drum issue with Nonhle in a cover so might be wrong. Perhaps there is more to the article than just the fact that she needs a man. If that is the case then someone needs to work on putting headlines together for Drum because this one was just silly.