Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Collector's Item

Magazines require a gestation period to allow for printing and distribution, but there is danger in that what appeared to be an innocuous cover photo and article in November may be wildly inappropriate and even darkly comic come December.

The cover on the current issue of Golf Digest shows President Obama lining up a putt with Tiger Woods standing behind him as his "caddy". The headline reads, "10 Tips Obama Can Take From Tiger". Even better, the lead article includes a question from a reader that asks Tiger, "How is life on the road now that you have a family?"

There are three possible results for this gaffe:

1. The Golf Digest editor who failed to "stop the presses" on this one is currently unemployed and sleeping under a cardboard box over a sidewalk grate next to the credentials-checker who allowed those gate-crashers into the White House State Dinner a couple of weeks ago

2. Golf Digest intentionally lets it run and experiences its highest newsstand sales ever.

3. Golf Digest prints only a few copies of this issue and it becomes an extremely valuable collector's item like that stamp with the airplane flying upside down or the penny with a beardless Lincoln.

In the same spirit, other magazines might consider these headlines and through the magic of Photo Shopping might come up with a cover photo:

1. South Carolina Government News - "Hiking the Appalachian Trail with Governor Sanford (Why Are all the Signs in Spanish?)"

2. DC Airport Weekly - "Senator Larry Craig Reveals the Best Rest Rooms at Reagan National"

3. White House Intern Quarterly - "How to Get Face Time with President Clinton by Monica Lewinsky"

Limit the press run and these magazine covers will surely be more valuable than a Mickey Mantle rookie baseball card!

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