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April 01, 2005
It's Official: I Care, Outside Doesn't
The problem with any sort of moral campaign (see original post here) is that the other party needs to care. Though Outside magazine claims to be "dedicated to covering the people, activities, gear, literature, art, and politics of the world outside," my conversations with the communications director suggest they fancy gloss and glitter more than the actual communities featured. "Have you heard of [cover photographer] James White?" she asked me. "He's really famous, has worked with Vogue, Vanity Fair!" As the Curmudgeon pointed out, they could have saved a lot of money by hiring Dean instead. Guess all the corporate ad spots leave them with cash to burn.
After doing her best to answer my questions, it was clear to both of us that she hadn't been able to get me the story I was after. "Don't tell him I said so, but you should just call the photo director." Of course, I already had; we've been playing phone tag for the last few days. Can't wait to hear what he has to say.
Meanwhile, there's some degree satisfaction for me in this thread on SuperTopo, where several of the regulars are in my camp on this whole issue...
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1:25pm update:
The story has a really boring ending, no surprises there. Outside's photo director was annoyed because he had hired an expensive stylist who still wanted a credit listed, even though the gal's not wearing anything.
He said, "We're a general interest magazine with 2.5 million readers; we're not about the core community. We were trying to shoot a commercial cover. I don't hire climbing photographers for any cover shots, and I never will. I mean come on- people get upset about the things we do all the time." Guess it's just my turn to stew. Next...
Posted by Elizabeth at April 1, 2005 09:16 AM