Revamping of Mother Jones: Is It Moving Yup?
Mother Jones, the sturdy, dependably leftist San Francisco-based muckraking magazine, is going Hollywood.
Late next month the 10-times-a-year magazine will issue its first revamped issue, featuring actress Susan Sarandon on the cover, a fresh layout and expanded editorial content. Signaling this “first major retooling” will be a new cover slogan: “People, Politics and Other Passions,” a credo that seems to indicate the magazine’s new willingness to mix commercialism with its idealism.
The changes are designed to bring the magazine into something approximating the present, said publisher Don Hazen, noting that Mother Jones, founded in the 1970s, nonetheless has possessed an aura of 1960s activism and attitudes. The updates should be more in keeping with the interests of an issues-oriented readership that is getting older--average age 39--and more affluent--average income, $47,000, Hazen explained, adding that 90% contribute money to a cause.
Hazen is adamant that Mother Jones readers cannot be called “aging yuppies” as a trade magazine did last month. Its readers are “social conscience consumers” who are “the opposite of yuppies” because their interests include such matters as “socially responsible investing,” he said.
Among other things, covers will feature “people you might recognize” and be bolder to better compete on newsstands, he said.
A look at back issues of the magazine--perhaps best known for its late ‘70s expose of the Ford Pinto--reveals a hodgepodge of cover subjects and styles ranging from general illustrations, to well-known faces, to the totally anonymous.
With two recent issues, for instance, the magazine seemed determined not to be noticed. On the current issue is a photo of Chilean novelist Isabel Allende with half her face covered. In October, a blurry cover drawing of President-elect George Bush behind a pair of curtains did little to call attention to a special investigative report on his role as CIA director.
In contrast, the revamp will feature Sarandon “looking like she has some ideas of her own,” according to editor Douglas Foster. The cover headline also will reinforce that notion: “Susan Sarandon Above the Neck.”
Publisher Hazen also emphasized that Sarandon does not signal a slavish devotion to mere celebrity. “At the moment she’s hot but she also has something to say,” he said.
The actress was picked, Hazen explained, because of her involvement with a group that works with families and children in Nicaragua and because she is an example of “how public figures can most sensibly use their soap box for good causes.”
Content changes will include departments on new ideas, “travel for the non-ugly American,” and Out Front, a “look at individuals who are producing change, good, bad and strange,” Hazen said. The magazine also will contain more consistent coverage of films and books, he added.
Some evidence of the magazine’s new flavor already are apparent, with columns on music and coverage of the arts reflecting editor Foster’s view that political ideas are often more vibrant and meaningful in those areas than in more traditional vehicles such as the Republican and Democratic parties. Readers can expect expanded emphasis on the media and popular culture, he said.
The changes in appearance and content are coming at a time of “relative strength” for the nonprofit, muckraking magazine, Hazen said. Circulation is approaching 205,000, up from a low of 160,000 four years ago, he said.
To stay afloat in 1984 and 1985, Mother Jones appealed to readers for $350,000, mainly to meet rising mailing costs. Both Hazen and Foster readily agree that the magazine is always in a precarious financial state but seem unfazed by the fact.
Perhaps unintentionally, a column by contributing editor Barbara Ehrenreich in the current issue reflects the magazine’s new slant. Headlined “Star Dreck,” the column is a tongue-in-cheek look at celebrity magazines.
”. . . there are dozens of publications, such as People and Us, which make fast-breaking discoveries accessible even to the person of limited educational attainment. For the intellectual elite, we have such challenging sources as Vanity Fair and Interview, which provide the depth of analysis that is still sadly lacking on Entertainment Tonight.”
Ehrenreich also describes the life cycle of today’s celebs--”birth, abuse, the struggle against substances at Betty Ford (the Palm Springs alcohol and drug treatment clinic)--followed by redemption and inspiring appearances in ‘Just Say No’ ads.”
Robin Returns
Speaking of celebrities, this week’s People seems to be an attempt to breathe new life into what appeared to be a receding scandal. Actress Robin Givens, estranged wife of heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, is portrayed on the cover dressed in a shoulder-revealing dress and looking sad. The cover headline asks, “Why Does Everyone Hate Me?” followed in smaller type by “I’m one of the nicest people I know.”
In the accompanying article, billed as an exclusive interview, Givens claims that her $125-million libel suit against Tyson was an act of self-defense. “I have no interest in money. None. It will all go to charity,” she is quoted as saying. People also reports that her plans for the holidays are up in the air. “I don’t know where we’ll spend Christmas. Or how,” Givens told the magazine.
Law Goes Public
Legal matters of another sort have come to the nation’s newsstands this month with the debut of Everyday Law in 1,500 locations. Launched in May, the magazine was previously available only by subscription. The 64-page magazine is published by the Assn. of Trial Lawyers of America and was conceived as a general interest publication on commonplace legal matters. For example, the current issue is keyed to the season with an article warning that “more categories of people can now be held responsible for encouraging drivers who drink beyond their capacity” than ever before. The story notes that 21 states hold social hosts responsible for guests who drink too much.
Newsstand copies are $3.