Green Death
BACK ISSUE**
This award-winning cover — which broke the “green is death on the newsstand” rule — was the subject of a fascinating Slate article, “It Ain’t Easy Being Green,” by Julia Turner.
It’s no secret to those of us in circulation that the covers that win design awards hardly ever win the most buyers at newsstands. Which raises a couple of questions. What works on newsstands? And who should create and control the covers — editors or circulation directors?
The answers vary by degree and by publisher. And you can be sure the people at Rodale have a very different view than the people at Condé Nast
Several years ago, Folio: asked for my views about these questions for “The 3-Second Seduction” — a cover story on covers. Turned out my take was even more controversial than Harper’s Bazaar’s now legendary green cover.
See what you think. You may never look at a newsstand the same way again.
**What’s a “back issue?” Ideas and opinions I had before I had a blog.
