ABSTRACT
In 2003 the German publisher Gruner and Jahr launched a general interest magazine for young adults ‘who want to retain the light-heartedness and idealism of youth but who also recognise the necessity of taking control of their lives’.1 With this neoliberal approach to fun-infused self-responsibility and aesthetically pleasing layouts, NEON attracted quickly the attention of Germany’s middle-class 20-35 year olds. These highly educated, young, urban readers turned NEON into a successful title that sells by now around 254.000 print copies per month. The publisher describes its product as a magazine that
offers emotional topicality and a broad variety of content including high-level reports on social and political topics, fashion trends, relationships, career, travel and pop culture while managing to be entertaining as well as informative. NEON stands for lifestyle attitude journalism.2
