I hate my donation...

[Winston]

-> Magazine Forum

..to National Geographic Society and the magazine, as it's becoming increasingly clear that the editors apply a poorly concealed, raving liberal slant to nearly all of their articles, be they of an environmental, geopolitical, applied scientific, philosophical or cultural nature.

But I also like the magazine for its variety of content, its stories from around the globe, interesting maps and pictures of bare-breasted African ladies. I've subscribed for 4½ years and I'm now faced with the decision of whether to renew my membership for another year or two. The price is still very favourable, it's ~$60 for one year, ~$110 for two years.

So, who else subscribes or otherwise reads National Geographic, what do you think of their coverage - and can I really consider myself a self-respecting cultural conservative while still having it delivered to my door for another couple of years?

[Addled Platypus]

good thing penthouse artlcles are not slanted

[dannubis]

Me, good and no

[b etor]

i have national geographic magazines from the 80s. my chemistry teacher was cleaning and was going to throw them out! cool pictures.
i read NG at the doctor's office.

sure you can!

[Lorizael]

Is it a requirement for you that your National Geographic magazine come with a cover?

[Winston]

You mean like plainly wrapped? He-he. It's starting to feel that way lately. I find myself cursing out loud a bit sometimes at their editorial line and choice of phrasing on certain topics. I'm not the only one either; their letters to the editor reflect other readers' frustration as well.

But hey, this thread and my mild disagreement is to be taken lightly. I still value and enjoy the magazine.

[LordShiva]

It's good to be exposed to arguments and ways of thinking that you don't agree with.

[Lorizael]

Originally posted by Winston
You mean like plainly wrapped? He-he. It's starting to feel that way lately. I find myself cursing out loud a bit sometimes at their editorial line and choice of phrasing on certain topics. I'm not the only one either; their letters to the editor reflect other readers' frustration as well.

But hey, this thread and my mild disagreement is to be taken lightly. I still value and enjoy the magazine.

You totally missed my point, but I have no idea what you're talking about, so it's okay.

LS: Yes, so you can laugh at them.

[Winston]

Spell out your point for me then, Lorizael. I've read your post ten times and it still escapes me, if it wasn't meant the way I replied to it. (That I'm starting to feel embarrassed having such a downright activist publication brought to my doorstep.)

[Lorizael]

Oh! That makes a lot of sense. My useless point was that you can get the magazine without having to pay National Geographic any money if you don't mind getting it a month late and without a cover.

Bookstores have a habit of throwing out (or giving away, if you ask nicely) all the expired copies of an issue once the new issue comes out. The covers, however, they keep for their own nefarious purposes.

[Winston]

Really? That's definitely not the way they do it here. Aside from the fact that the English edition does not appear in any but a few select bookstands (and at a much higher price than the subscription rate), I have the impression that unsold newspapers and magazines (at least domestic ones) are simply returned to the publisher and their value then credited to the vendor's account. They only pay for the copies they actually manage to sell.

So, a cultural misunderstanding, eh? Now I must renew, in the hope that NG will do a feature sometime on this peculiar and foreign phenomenon.

Maybe what you describe is due to the bookstands needing to return just the covers to get re-imbursed?

[Lorizael]

Originally posted by Winston
Maybe what you describe is due to the bookstands needing to return just the covers to get re-imbursed?

Yes, in bookstores here we decide that it's too costly to ship the whole magazine back so we just send the cover as proof that it hasn't been sold. The excess magazines then get tossed in the dump. It's a great use of paper.

[Winston]

Interesting. One would hope they have an adequate staff of cover-girls to keep track of the returned expired copies.

[Koyaanisqatsi]

Re: I hate my donation...

Originally posted by Winston
..to National Geographic Society and the magazine, as it's becoming increasingly clear that the editors apply a poorly concealed, raving liberal slant to nearly all of their articles, be they of an environmental, geopolitical, applied scientific, philosophical or cultural nature.

Reality, I'm told, has a liberal bias. The magazine is just doing its job.

[DanS]

Originally posted by Lorizael
Bookstores have a habit of throwing out (or giving away, if you ask nicely) all the expired copies of an issue once the new issue comes out. The covers, however, they keep for their own nefarious purposes.

That's essentially stealing from National Geographic. The cover is torn off to signify that the magazine has been destroyed. The bookstore certifies that the magazine has been destroyed. Obviously, if you are obtaining the magazine without a cover, the bookstore is lying to National Geographic.