min Exclusive--2007's Best- and Worst-Selling Covers (Weeklies/Biweeklies): Americans Are Rx-Ed "Brain"-Iacs; Brits And Canadians Are Bush-"Whackers."
Monday, March 10, 2008

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To paraphrase Frank Sinatra, 2007 was not a very good year with the ongoing war in Iraq (even if the "Surge" was producing better results and fewer casualties), the Virginia Tech massacre (see page 7), the weakening dollar/economy, high gasoline prices...and an antipathy toward the White House and Congress. Although Campaign 2008 has generated much interest this winter, and the president-elect may very well be the newsweeklies' best-sellers in November, politics was a 2007 turnoff. No Hillary or Barack on the charts after their being Newsweek's/Time's 2006 faves (min, March 12, 2007). Rather, their newsstand buyers looked inward, with Time's most popular being July 19's How We Get Addicted, and Newsweek's March 26 Exercise and the Brain reflecting our need to be mentally and physically fit.

Go beyond our borders and President Bush drew attention. Not positive, because his attempt to bring peace to the Middle East produced a sarcastic Mr. Palestine on the British-exported The Economist (November 24). To be fair, The Economist could have used the same cover line for any president since Harry Truman, because the challenge since Israel's May 1948 founding is ongoing. No surprise that the cover was The Economist's worst-selling last year.

But comparatively, The Economist was "kinder and gentler" next to Canada's Maclean's, where on October 1 the editors lumped the President with...Saddam Hussein. Dirty pool to many Americans, but it resonated in Canada to the degree that it was Maclean's best-seller. No hard feelings by Bush, who presently is pumping the value of Canadian and Mexican trade to our economy in the midst of the NAFTA controversy.

It should come as no surprise that People's best "spontaneous" seller last year (excluding such perennials as Sexiest Man Alive and Best-/Worst- Dressed) was the apparent suicide attempt of actor Owen Wilson (September 10), because, as we pointed out, the hype (and "checkbook journalism") over birth pales in reader response next to the tragedy of an unexpected death. Princess Diana (September 15/22, 1997) will forever be a People legend, the magazine's coverage of the September 11, 2001, attacks (September 24, 2001) may forever be People's best-seller, and the newsstand reaction to Wilson follows that of 2006 People best-seller Steve Irwin (September 18, 2006). As of now, People's February 4, 2008, cover of the late Heath Ledger is a best-selling favorite for this year.

But when InTouch abandoned its Angelina/Brad/Katie/Tom/Britney/Lindsay/Paris fun-and- games for the Virginia Tech mass murder (April 30), it flopped. Its readers went intra-Bauer Publications, as they turned to Life & Style Weekly for Brad's Talking Split! solace. OK!'s New Year's Eve revelation of Jamie Lynn Spears' pregnancy proved to be a best-selling "resolution," but one aspect of big-sister Britney's troubled 2007--her relationship with Isaac Cohen--proved worst for OK! and Us Weekly (both January 29), Brett Favre's retirement proved SI Sportsman of the Year prescient. Rolling Stone readers loved 1967's Summer of Love, but Newsweek's shunned 1968. Rudy Giuliani and Paula Abdul flopped for New York magazine/TV Guide, but "Dr. Phil" had the right Quick & Simple "Rx."

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