AARP could learn

Although I believe AARP Magazine editor Steve Slon has done a great job of revamping the magazine to make it more interesting, I also noticed his comment that he distrusts “boomer experts.” This suggests to me a form of elitism: that AARP and its staff already are the experts, no advice required. There are many issues on the horizon that deserve critical debate and a forum where the less pleasant issues of boomer aging can be delineated. As “boomer expert” and bestselling author Ken Dychtwald told me in a recent telephone conversation, some entitlements for boomers are surely disappearing and the generation will be “less nourished” than their parents’ generation has been because of the overwhelming size of the boomer generation.

Brent Green

Denver

Brent Green is the author of “Marketing to Leading-Edge Baby Boomers”

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Bob BAKER’S article did a great job describing the editorial dilemmas facing AARP’s magazine (“AARP’s Revamped Magazine Attempts Hip Without the Replacement,” April 4). But it neglected to talk about a problem the magazine has that is just as important -- the ads.

I just turned 50, so when I saw a copy of the magazine I picked it up. I liked the articles, but the advertisements were something else. They made me feel very old. Lots of stuff for broken-down bodies and aging minds.

AARP may be able to change the editorial look of the magazine, but they have not been able to attract advertisers that reflect that psychographic. Until they do, I won’t subscribe.

Eric Nee

Palo Alto