Re: Covergate
I’m not trying to throw fuel on the overwrought debate over whether or not the Weekly hesitated about putting minorities on the cover because of a belief that it depresses circulation, but I feel compelled to respond to allegations that I was lying about meetings I attended at which Weekly editors debated that very issue. One specific discussion concerned this cover, for a feature about black residents leaving the Central District. I’m not “lying about” the discussions or “making shit up”; in fact, such debates are actually very common.
From a New York Times story (November 18, 2002), headlined “On Covers of Many Magazines, A Full Racial Palette Is Still Rare”:
There are signs that the freeze-out may beginning to thaw, as the continuing explosion of hip-hop has pushed many black artists into prominence, and as teenagers’ magazines that are less anxious about race are bringing more diversity. But in many broad-circulation magazines, the unspoken but routinely observed practice of not using nonwhite cover subjects — for fear they will depress newsstand sales — remains largely in effect.A survey of 471 covers from 31 magazines published in 2002 — an array of men’s and women’s magazines, entertainment publications and teenagers’ magazines — conducted two weeks ago by The New York Times found that about one in five depicted minority members.
Publishing is a conservative industry, one that has been known to define risk as using a cover model with dark hair instead of blond.Daniel Peres, editor of Details, a men’s magazine owned by Fairchild Publications, said there was pressure to stick with outdated conventions because newsstands now display so many more titles competing for the consumer’s attention.
“Everyone is terrified of a misstep,” he said. “While most people in the business would prefer it go unspoken because they are horrified at being perceived as racist, it is a well-known legend that blacks, especially black males, do not help generate newsstand sales.”
Christina Kelly, now editor in chief of YM, a teenagers’ magazine owned by Gruner & Jahr USA, recalls a struggle with the circulation people when she worked as an editor in 1993 at the now-closed Sassy magazine.“We wanted to put Mecca from the band Digable Planets on the cover because she was huge at the time and gorgeous,” she recalled. “The circulation guys hated the idea, but we just went ahead and did it. The magazine was bagged with a separate beauty booklet, which was usually placed in the back, but this time, it was bagged in front. It just happened to have a picture of a blond, blue-eyed woman on it.”
For the record, Erica, I believe you. We don't agree on many things, but I'm certain you're honest in speaking your mind.