Anecdotal Evidence

How much trouble is the magazine business in, anyway?

I’d gotten so frustrated with Newsweek’s practices and editorial slant (tiny Kuwait was “worth saving” in 1991; Iraq wasn’t deemed worthy in 2003) that I let my subscription slide. Notice after notice arrived in the mail, each one promising me a cheaper re-up price. Each one ended up in the garbage. My subscription ended two or three weeks ago, but the magazines keep coming every Tuesday.

Last year I got a postcard from Playboy, promising me a year-long “professional courtesy” subscription. All I had to do for a free year of Playboy was to not mail the card back to them with the “no” sticker attached. I missed the Party Jokes, so why not?

A few months later, Stuff magazine started arriving each month