Zing Tsjeng, editor, Broadly
This morning with browsing through the magazine shelves of Zing Tsjeng, the UK online editor of Broadly and former editor of Dazed Digital. We asked Zing to select three issues for us, a new issue, an old issue, and a detail that she thinks is great. Here’s what she picked from her mag-stack:
A new issue: Odd One Out, Volume Two
I grew up in Singapore, with lots of family dotted around Southeast Asia. I first heard of Malaysian publication Odd One Out online, but figured I would have to go back to Singapore to buy a copy – I was really pleased to get my hands on a few issues when they came to the DIY Cultures fair in London! It’s a beautifully designed print product that features personal essays about identity, photo essays, interviews with local creatives, and poetry.
Even though they’re neighbours, Singapore and Malaysia are pretty different – but everything about this issue (the photos of old tiled railway stations, references to Maggi noodles) makes me think of home.
An old issue: Time, Vol. 172, No. 20, 2008
This is a very dogeared copy of the Time issue produced to commemorate Obama’s inauguration. I remember staying up all night at university to watch the election results and then buying it later that week. It’s crazy to think that this came out eight years ago (front page strapline: “Change has come to America”) and to look at where we are now in political history with Trump, Brexit and the rise of right-wing nationalism across Europe.
A lot of people would look at this issue right now and be fucking depressed, if I’m honest! I like to think it just shows that hope can triumph again, and how appealing that message of change of positivity can be. No matter what you think of Obama’s record in office, it’s still a powerful cover and it symbolises a lot more about America than just Obama himself.
And another thing: Dazed & Confused, Vol 111/30, February 2014
This was one of the first issues of Dazed that I worked on, back when it was still called Dazed & Confused. I’d written one of my first big print features for the magazine, about the rise of online feminism, and I was so nervous about it!
Two years on, a lot of the women I spoke to in it are still around – I work at Broadly with Gabby Bess, who founded Illuminati Girl Gang, and I’ve commissioned Reni Eddo-Lodge to write for me. The Lupita Nyong'o cover is probably my favourite Dazed cover ever. It felt like it had just come at the right time, when the conversation around Hollywood diversity was really propelled into the spotlight with 12 Years a Slave.