Making fun of magazine covers is like netting fish in a barrel, but that doesn’t mean it’s not funny. In a stunt aimed at catering specifically to its core readership of cranky libertarians–who still inexplicably doubt the existence of climate change and, if they didn’t like pot so much and God so little, would look a lot like, well…conservatives–Reason magazine went through a stack of Time magazines to showcase the Top 10 Most Absurd Covers of the Past 40 Years.
Highlights include a black-and-red line drawing of Satan (“The Occult Revival: Satan Returns”), a little boy sporting a crocodile tear (“Crack Kids: Their Mothers used drugs, and now it’s the children who suffer”), and a ghostly, wide-eyed little boy who, sitting in front of a keyboard, seems to be possessed by demons (“Cyberporn: Can we protect our kids–and free speech?”).
The write-ups following each cover image, packed with data and designed to take the air out of Time’s perpetually hyperbolic balloon, are quick-witted and, not suprisingly I suppose, well-Reason-ed. That said, one can’t help but notice that the same critics who are up-in-arms over this fear-mongering and tabloid imagery are the same people who champion wild west capitalism. And the strategies Time uses to sell these covers are not only timeless and textbook, they’re proven to win. So, the item leaves me wondering what’s more important: Responsible headlines and reasoned journalism or big sales.
