Over: Recycling The Same Celebrities on Magazine Covers
Almost as soon as we posted Essence magazine‘s October 2012 cover featuring Jill Scott’s TWA, readers began lamenting the cover choice. It’s not that Jill wasn’t a beautiful subject, it’s that they’d seen her on the cover too many times before.
It’s a critique that I’ve been hearing for quite some time and though it’s not specific to magazines targeting people of color, some of our own books are the biggest offenders. These publications only seem to rotate about nine celebrities on their covers each month. How many times have you seen covers featuring Gabrielle Union, Nia Long, Jill Scott, Mary J. Blige, Jada Pinkett Smith, Kerry Washington, Queen Latifah, Sanaa Lathan and Beyoncé? Exactly.
And the perplexing part is that the celebrities rarely have anything new to say and sometimes, they don’t even a new project to promote. They’re merely featured, it seems, because they can sell covers on the newsstands. As print publishing experiences a decline alongside a spike in digital media, publications are less willing to take risks by featuring new faces on their covers.
Glamour editor Cindi Lieve said: “I think what you’re seeing in the magazine world is a certain amount of fatigue with the same old, same old faces. One reason we had a nice sale with Taylor Swift was that you hadn’t seen her on a million magazine covers before and there was actually the hope that Oh my God! I might actually learn something new. I think taking risks is serving people well right now.”
Though Lieve suggested risk-taking in May of 2010, the advice would still bode well today. There are fresh faces like Janelle Monae, Elle Varner and Tika Sumpter, for example, who are enjoying successful careers and are on the brink of even bigger stardom. Why not take a chance and feature them?
There’s also the option of putting models on the cover. Jones Magazine often features models on its covers and W Magazine recently made a splash by shooting the #1 model in the world, Joan Smalls, for their July 2012 issue.
In “Same Month, Different Celebrity: The Problem with Magazine Covers,” writer Janelle Anderson writes: “The problem is the magazine-buying public is so accustomed to buying an issue because of their favorite celeb that some wonder: will they be inclined to pick up a book with a relatively unknown, yet beautiful, model’s face on the cover?”
Most publications aren’t willing to risk money on the newsstand to find out. The result is a handful of celebrities that take turns gracing magazine covers each month, whether readers like it or not.
I’ve been saying this forever! It seems to happen with black and white publications and being an aspiring journalist and consumer of magazines myself, it gets redundant. I want variety! I want to see someone new and fresh on a cover. Give the veterans a rest for Pete’s sake!
I am on Essence’s feedback line when it comes to reader’s opinions. I don’t know how many times I’ve let them know this same thing! We are asked opinions on covers and women we would like to see on them. I was so happy to see sistas I suggested like Viola Davis, Regina King, etc. last year. Believe me, I let them know I’d had enough of Nia, Kerry, Jada, & Beyonce. They’ve even overused Michelle & Barack Obama! What I want to know is … what happened to plain ole models?
Weave on, weave off… At first glance I thought she was Chrisette Michele!
Essence does not care about what it’s readers REALLY want, they just want to keep their contract with Time, and that is the sadness right there. If you really look at the content in the magazine, next to the content before Time came in you see a vast difference. Unless they are actually trying to kill their own livestock they should really LISTEN and start to make CHANGES.
Hail yes, I’m tired of seeing the same 15 celebs on all Black magazines. It’s time to go back to models covering mags.
it’s only because these are the same 15 black actors/actresses that we see in movies. it’s like there is a limit or something. only 15 of the same black actors are allowed to be in movies for 20 years.
they don’t ever want to take a chance on new actors because they think that if it’s not a recognizable black face then people won’t watch the movie… yet there is a brand new never acted before white actor/actress who gets to be the LEAD in a movie and they blow up and get all these opportunities.. meanwhile viola davis is JUST NOW getting her shine when shes been acting for over 20 years,same with morgan freeman.
it’s very sad and very unfair! especially since there are so many talented black actors and actresses but they get completely ignored!
@ Val…I think someone was inspired by you …wink
:-)
Check out our old article on the topic :) http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2009/12/the-recyclable-covers/
@ Clutch…you got me, lol…I stand corrected ;)
I’ve been thinking this for some time now about Essence. The covers in the 90′s were always intriguing I can remember Sam Jackson and his wife LaTonya had a beautiful cover.. Truth be told even though I have a subscription and as much as I love the Essence franchise I rarely read the mag anymore I just look at their website.
I was thinking the same thing! I can remember eagerly waiting for my mother’s monthly subscription to come in the mail so that I could see the cover art that would feature the latest visionary, politician, model, or entertainer. I vividly remember seeing Joy Bryant, Attallah Shabazz, Roshumba, B. Smith, Jackie Joyner Kersee, and Jackee grace the cover.
Magazines like Essence are targeting towards a slightly older crowd of women. You know, women with jobs who can and will actually buy these magazines. It is really a gamble with artists like Janelle Monae. I am willing to bet that even if they took these suggestions they would not sell.
Huh?
They may want to change whom they are targeting because it is not working for them. There are plenty of young black women with jobs and money to buy magazines.