Seeing vs. Looking – A Subtle Yet Important Difference

Ask a former photographer turned editor-in-chief and philanthropic entrepreneur about the importance of printed publications and the answer is swift and clear.

“I think it’s still the romance of it; the romance of holding something,” explains JEZ magazine’s EIC Ezequiel De La Rosa. “And seeing it, as opposed to just looking at your computer.

“I work at the computer 24/7 when I’m not shooting, things like that, and I don’t want to sit down and look at a magazine on the computer,” EZ, as he’s known, says in his interview with Samir “Mr. Magazine” Husni.

EZ told Husni that he’s always been passionate about the world of print magazines, and how he’s pouring that passion into a magazine that will “do things,” as he says.

Part of that “thing” is to bring back the idea of the true supermodel, not the Instagram-famous celebs but those rarified beauties that understand the art of modeling. Like Carol Alt, for instance, who graces one of the twin covers of their first issue.

It goes way beyond supermodels, according to their website, which says the magazine “stands for what’s new and best in fashion, beauty, culture and entertainment; With a special focus on philanthropy.”

“It’s always going to be devoted to good people, because I believe in philanthropy,” EZ says. As part of their launch, they are raising funds and awareness for Together1heart and their fight against female trafficking.

While he’s certainly not in it for the money, he does realize his good works need a solid financial base. And apparently the advertisers that are in the first issue agree with his mission – and they see the power of print to sell the product, especially when paired with someone like Carol Alt.

“I am happy that in my first edition that I was able to cover everything through ads,” he tells Husni. “I think that itself is an achievement.”

As for launching a print magazine, and how important print is to brands, he brings up a subtle but critical difference between digital and print – the idea of seeing, rather than looking. He believes this becomes more important the more time we spend working and viewing on screens.

“[Print’s] nice to have. Does everybody feel that way? No,” he asserts. “Now listen, am I going to be printing hundreds of thousands of copies of the magazine? I don’t think so. I think I’ll get it to a certain number and then the rest will be online, because I know the power that the online has. But there’s a romance about having a printed issue.”

Romance indeed; judging from what we see of the first issue, there’s a lot to love about JEZ. We wish EZ and his team the best of luck.