Appraently this is where the whole "banning the magazine" hype came from!

<< November 7, 1997 New
York Daily News


Redbook Cover May Be X-Rated

Redbook magazine is not usually stocked next to Playboy and Penthouse in
stores.

But with a bold new cover featuring a candid shot of a woman
breast-feeding,
at least one big store chain says that's where it may end up.

The December cover of the women's title features an elegant shot of the
latest James Bond, actor Pierce Brosnan, posed with actress Keely Shaye
Smith and their son, Dylan Thomas.

Smith is shown breastfeeding Dylan.

While the feature story inside is about Brosnan and his quest to find
love
after the death of first wife Cassandra Harris, the Southland Corp. -
which
runs hundreds of 7-Eleven stores - says it's going to take a second,
hard
look at the cover when the magazine is delivered.

And a spokeswoman said the chain reserves the right to put Redbook under
the
counter - where it keeps Playboy and Penthouse.

"We don't want to be in a position of censoring anything," Southland
spokeswoman Margaret Chabris said, "but if a store operator finds [a
customer] objects, he or she can put it behind the counter."

Down south, the Winn Dixie supermarket chain also is nervously awaiting
the
shipment of Redbook to its 1,185 stores nationwide.

"We'll look at it," said Winn Dixie vice president Mickey Clerc. "We
don't
always know what type
of things our customers will react to. Some things are blatant. I don't
know
about this one."

Redbook editor Kate White anticipated a reaction to the shot by printing
a
second cover of Brosnan, Smith and Dylan without the breast-feeding.

That version went to the magazine's home subscribers - but not big store
chains - and it's the
first time the title has used a so-called split cover.

"I didn't want to force it on people who might be uncomfortable with
it,"
White said, adding that the average age of Redbook subscribers is late
30s
to early 40s while the average newsstand reader tends to be younger - in
their 20s or 30s.

As for the stores, she said: "I'd be surprised if there is any flak.
It's
much tamer than most Cosmopolitan covers."

In fact, she added, some subscribers have called to complain   that
they're
not getting the first cover.

Meanwhile, La Leche League, a nonprofit group that encourages women to
breast-feed, blasted
Southland's stance.

"Why should [Redbook] be in that category?" asked spokeswoman Mary
Lofton.
"Nurturing a baby is totally unrelated to what Playboy and Penthouse are
marketing. Breast-feeding is a mother giving food to their infants.">>

Well, that's the scoop. Seems like neither store has activtly banned the
magazine to behind the counter. It was a choice the made after either
seeing the cover finally or the publication of this article and others
like it.

Nicki Clark