I'm as outraged as anyone about Borders bookstores' spineless decision not to stock the current issue of Free Inquiry, because it includes the controversial Danish cartoons. But I also spent long enough as the editor of a magazine with pitifully small newsstand sales to a) be impressed with FI's publicity stunt and b) figure that Borders is doing Free Inquiry a favor any month it stocks the dinky title. Tiny magazines aren't exactly a profit center. (I'm skeptical of FI's claim to sell 7,000 issues on the newsstand, especially if Borders only stocks 1,000.)
So the test case I'd like to see is this: What would Borders do if Vanity Fair, or some equally big title, published the cartoons? Christopher Hitchens, call your editor. |
