Irate Readers Dump US Weekly Over Palin Cover

In the wake of today's cover in US Weekly about Republican Vice Presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, there are reports of a rising backlash against the celebrity weekly magazine and that thousands of readers are canceling their subscription.

US Weekly is a magazine that usually covers the latest news and scoops about the hottest celebrities, who they are dating and what they are wearing. In one of it's promo pieces, it describes itself as “an amusing guilty pleasure”. In 1999, when Wenner Media took US magazine from a monthly to a weekly basis, publishing magnate Jann Wenner was quoted in the New York Times as saying:

...we will be nice to celebrities. A lot of my friends are in the entertainment business, and People has a terrible relationship with those people. Famous people hate being in People.

Sounds like a fair and balanced way to report, don't you think? Well, today's issue of the magazine really suggests that an addendum should have been added to Mr. Wenner's statement that said they will be nice to "Democratic" celebrities. While US Weekly's headlines usually shout out things like “Justin's Revenge Romance” or “Jen & John Suddenly In Love”, this week, Mr. Wenner's political affiliation and how his magazine covers the Democrats versus the Republicans was front and center with it's cover story and so-called hit-piece on Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin entitled "Babies, Lies and Scandal". As reported by Johnnie Simpson in a Digital Journal post entitled FOX's Megyn Kelly Grills Us Weekly's Bradley Jacobs Over Palin Hit Piece, US Weekly is publishing a story under a cover line that portrays Ms. Palin and members of her family in a very negative light. It would appear, however that a bit of blowback has started to percolate. It is being reported that thousands of US Weekly readers are cancelling their subscriptions because of the “rather caustic cover line” gracing the magazine and the reportedly negative story about Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin. “Babies, Lies and Scandal” does not appear to be going over very well. What would make this all the more intriguing, if it proves to be correct, is that the cancellations come before the magazine has actually reached those who are supposed to get it ever Friday in the mail. Msn.com's Scoop webpage is saying that in the first 24 hours after the magazine was printed, when reports began filtering out about the cover storyline and the tone of the article, that US lost “thousands of subscribers”. Scoop says that one “well-placed source in the industry” estimated the number to be 5,000 or more, while another source claimed that as many as 10,000 US Weekly readers have already cancelled. A Wenner Media spokesperson is denying both rumors. One magazine editor is quoted as saying:

When Us went to print Monday night, it looked like the ticket was falling apart. They went to print thinking Palin was dead in the water, and their mistake was thinking everyone who reads Us is a Democrat, when they’re not. Readers are loyal, but the base of a political party is more loyal. They don’t need to read the magazine when there’s so much press around it to know to be upset.

As the article says, “upset” may just be the understatement of the week. It is also being reported that an advertiser in US Weekly has received calls from irate former subscribers who are threatening to boycott their products if they continue to advertise in the magazine. An interesting twist to this story is that one of US Weekly's competitor's, OK! Magazine, is letting their reader's decide between Blue and Red by publishing their first ever issue that has a double-cover. Here is how they describe their current issue:

On one cover is an exclusive look into the everyday family life of Democratic Party nominee, Senator Barack Obama, his wife Michelle Obama and their two adorable daughters, Malia and Sasha.

OK!'s other cover this week is dedicated to Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, the 44-year-old Alaskan governer who first surprised the world when she was announced as Senator John McCain's running mate for the November election, only to shock everyone again days later when she announced the pregnancy and impending marriage of her 17-year-old daughter Bristol.

OK, admittedly the Obama story is on the front and the cover line for his article is “Life With My Girls” and the Palin story is on the back and the cover line for that one is “A Mother's Painful Choice”. And, while the Obama story is all about what their favorite books are, what they watch on TV, just when it is that they tuck those adorable little kids into bed each night, and basically is a googly eyed love-in where they actually say that the Obama's “are such an All-American family that they make the Brady Bunch almost look dysfunctional”, you do get the opportunity to contrast this shining beacon of light with the Palin story that basically repeats all the vile rumors about her son really being her grandson and details her teenaged daughter's pregnancy scandal and how it will negatively affect Ms. Palin. I'll let you decide how fair and balanced the coverage of these two family's really is.