romantico and other DU'ers, sounds like we got 'Borders' stores attention

[Cannikin]

romantico started this thread yesterday:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=788621

I took the liberty of copying the original post and sending it to every single email address I could find for the Advocate magazine.

Looks like it got one of the managing editors attention. Now they are asking me where this is occuring. I got the name of the city from the original post also, so I'll be sending to them.

Here is the email I recieved:

Hello,

This is against Borders policy, so if you would respond and let me know the store where this occurred, I will forward your email to the Borders buyer at headquarters.

Thank you

-----Original Message-----
From: John Jameson
Sent: Monday, February 23, 2004 12:55 PM
To: Dan Cullinane
Cc: Bruce Steele
Subject: FW: Are you aware of the 'Borders' stores censoring Advocate?

Simply forwarding this on...

John Jameson
Managing Editor
The Advocate, Advocate.com

----------
From:
Sent: Sunday, February 22, 2004 6:57 AM
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Are you aware of the 'Borders' stores censoring Advocate?
"Overheard a guy ask for the new Advocate & the clerk said all gay magazines are now sold behind the counter along w/Playboy,Bizarre,etc.The guy said it wasn't porn & the clerk told him there were too many angry customers who were offended & they have a lot of kids in there who saw the gay magazines.

Now, this isn't gay porn this is The Advocate,Out,Genre,Instinct,& XY.I would also like to mention the following magazines appear in clear view.

1.) Maxim
2.) Stuff
3.) Sport illustrated swimsuit edition
4.) Gear magazine
5.) Brittish GQ

& a few others with very heteroe friendly/sexy covers.As a heterosexual I am pretty pissed off over this!"

[Cannikin]

1. kick

[MountainLaurel]

2. Another kick

Congrats Cannikin, on apparently making a difference; hope the manager at that store gets reamed and/or fired.

:yourock:

[Cannikin]

3. I've recieved more mail from the Advocate and the Borders rep....

Here they are:

Dear Cannikin,
Thank you for contacting us. Your comment was helpful and has been passed along to our newsstand director. If we can be of further assistance, please let us know.


Sincerely,
Stephen Powell
The Advocate
Customer Service



Then shortly after, I recieved this one....

Hello Again,

Below is the response to your inquiry from Greg Carriveau, the magazine buyer for Borders Group. I hope this helps resolve the issue for the person who registered this complaint.

Thank you.

Dan



FROM GREG CARRIVEAU
Dan,

As you suspected, we have no policy regarding censorship. In fact, Borders prides itself on having an eclectic selection to cater to its varied customer base. That's one of the primary reasons we carry the Advocate in all of our Borders stores, even in the more remote areas where Gay/Lesbian titles are more likely not to sell.

Since this is kind of 3rd-party heresy, I'm going to assume that parts of this "conversation" is true. It is true we have the stores place titles behind their cashwrap but that is only for titles where the content is mostly nudity and the intention is to entertain. This would include titles such as Playboy, Penthouse, Playgirl, Men, etc... (Perhaps the clerk thought the customer was looking for Men...???) Clearly, the Advocate would not fall into this category.

The only reason I could see the store putting this behind their cashwrap is if there were customer issues with the Advocate directly, or the other general Gay/Lesbian titles directly. The clerk mentioning the angry customers could be the trigger for this. However, it's hard to know if this is actually true or not. We will follow-up with the store directly to clear this situation up.

We have one store in Simsbury and they sell Advocate pretty consistently (2 to 3, to 5 copies an issue). Looking at the sales I would assume the copies are on the Newsstand, but that could've just recently changed.

Hope this helps. If not, let me know! Thanks!

Greg Carriveau
BGI Newsstand & Comics Buyer
---------------------------------------------------------------

So thats the official word....I have yet to hear from 'romantico' who started the original thread, to see if he disputed any of this.

[Cannikin]

4. kick...

[romantico]

5. THIS IS AWSOME!

I was just at this Borders an hour ago & they still have them behind the counter! Thanks for pushing this.I overheard an employee tell someone they are now behind the counters & was pissed,but it wasn't any of my business so I didn't speak up.I am now sorry I didn't.I drive by there almost everyday to go home,so I will stop by tomorrow & ask for one of the magazines & see what they say.Thanks again!This is AWSOME news!!!