From Publishers Weekly
Editor Wallis calls this anthology "a kind of literary orphanage... that rescues remarkable stories that editors commissioned, then abandoned." Magazines drop articles for various reasons, but these selections were killed either because they might have attracted expensive lawsuits, or they offended a magazine's advertisers or editors. Since revealing such censorship is this collection's goal, a brief history and cause of death precedes each article. The collection begins with a 1942 book review by George Orwell (killed by the
Observer), an early feminist piece (1958) by Betty Friedan killed by
McCall's and a 1963 discourse by Terry Southern (killed by
Esquire) on
Doctor Strangelove. Then, the compilation moves forward into the past two decades. There are articles about health problems from smoking, bias in the coverage of Palestinian struggles and violations of child labor law—all reminders of the many articles on these subjects that haven't seen print. Most memorable, however, are the in-depth exposés, like Ann Louise Bardach's piece on Reverend Moon or Jon Entine's on Anita Roddick and the Body Shop. These articles not only provide solid, usable research on their subjects, but stand as models of investigative journalism. The volume as a whole reminds readers that even apparently "nonpolitical" magazines like
GQ and
Vanity Fair often censor writers to protect their bottom line. This is a provocative compilation for journalism students and fun reading for leftist intellectuals.
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Product Description
KILLED resurrects remarkable articles that publications like Harper's, Vanity Fair and The New Yorker assigned to renowned writers, then discarded--not for reasons of quality but because of their potential for unwanted controversy. Skittish editors feared that publishing these provocative pieces about politics, sex, corruption and culture might upset their pals, enrage readers or offend advertisers.
This ground-breaking book pries open the inner-sanctum of the editors office to give readers a rare glimpse at the sometimes sordid business that goes on within. Here, for the first time, you can read Betty Friedans powerful essay imploring young women to take college seriously; in 1958 this article so unnerved the man who ran McCalls that he refused to run the revolutionary work, inspiring Friedan to later write The Feminine Mystique. Among the other important stories finally brought to light in these pages: Larry Doyles scathing satire of control-freak Hollywood publicists that struck too close to home for editors at US; Mike Sagers gripping account of life in a squalid Palestinian refugee camp that the Washington Post Magazine inexplicably spiked; Jon Entines devastating investigation of the Body Shops deceptive marketing practices that Vanity Fair kept you from readinguntil now.
Killed uncovers evidence of pandemic self-censorship in the magazine and newspaper industries at a time when the breakneck pace of media consolidation has gobbled up countless independent publishers, raising the stakes for contrarian writers and independent-minded readers alike.