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June 10, 2003 What’s up with that ? I just turned on my TV this evening to sit back and relax after a nice dinner to see what this evening’s shows would talk about. As I flip through the channels I stop and wonder, hmm lets see what “Inside Edition” has to talk about today. Low and behold today’s topic was about “ Racy Magazine Covers blacked out at the Check out stand at Wal-Mart! Now what do you automatically think of when you think of Magazine covers being blacked out ? My first thought was “Pornographic Magazines” being blacked out behind a plastic screen like they do at certain places like Barnes and Noble Bookstores or perhaps at the Magazine section at your local Frys Electronics, but that wasn’t really it. It’s almost like it but not really the same thing. The discussion today on Inside Edition was about certain Magazines at Wal-Mart’s check out counter, being too Racy and too disturbing as well as their Headlines being too offensive to many of the people standing in the check out lines catching a small glimpse of the Magazine contents. It was said that people were complaining and offended about the covers of magazines such as “Glamour”, “Cosmopolitan”, “FHM” and several other magazines that they asked to have them banned. But instead of having these magazines completely banned from their stores Wal-Mart decided to have these Magazines still on display, but with a glitch. These Magazines still get to be on display at the check out stand, but they are blacked out on the sides of their Cover, blacking out the Magazine contents and have them be sold with the regular normal cover still inside the store, but at a different location instead of at the check out stands in the front of the store. My opinion as a magazine reader is this…. I think that that this situation is stupid, because I love reading magazines or even if I just catching a small glimpse of a headline here and there while I am standing at the dreaded long check out lines at my local Supermarket or at a place like Wal-Mart to entertain myself by skimming through a Magazine quickly or just looking to see what this next week contains. I don’t want to have to go to the Magazine section of the store entirely just to see who’s going to be on the cover of next weeks Magazines when I can see that at the Check out stand and see what the topics of the following week are. It’s not bad, it just happens to be how most magazines get bought and how magazines are sold. If the headlines and topics look exciting and intriguing enough, they’re sold and bought within a matter of minutes. It just happens that quickly. I also think that blacking out Magazine Contents is going to lessen the Majority of readers these magazines have won in the past. Most people buy Magazines by reading the cover contents first. It’s like a key to open a locked door. Like if the cover looks interesting enough and appealing enough, not just by seeing what celebrity is featured on a certain weeks Magazine, but also by what topics are displayed, then more people will buy most likely pick up that magazine, read it and buy these magazines. It’s all about advertising and sales and what can be done to sell these magazines. Fact is, these days, Sex sells! Hands down no questions about it! That’s just how it is these days in this time and age. The Magazines most important value is money and the circulation of them, but the more Magazines that are out there get blacked out, the faster their Magazine value will sink. Most people will tell you, they would still like to see these magazines be part of the check out stand as they have been in the past, instead of seeing them blacked out in the front of the stores and having to make an extra trip to the magazine section of the store just to read up on a celebrity. Magazines should just stay the way they are and Wal-Mart is just dumb and wants to make a big fuss over nothing. ------------ About the author: Kimberly Nguyen is a full time college student / Journalism Major. She has 3 Years of Print Journalism experience, having worked as a Staff Writer, covering all aspects of a Student Newspaper, as well as having been Sports Editor twice on her College Newspaper. Email Kimberly Nguyen: kimmyluvscoffee@yahoo.com Comment on this column in the forum. ------------ |
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