Ms. Magazine and Israel

Whatever your opinion of Israel, there's no question that it's the best place in the Middle East for women.  This isn't even debatable.  In an effort to bolster the image of Israel, the American Jewish Congress sought to run this ad in Ms. magazine:

Ms. magazine refused to run the ad. 

Because of Ms.'s refusal to run the ad, the AJC concluded that, "Ms. has the right to turn down our ad. But in exercising that right, it has spoken loudly about itself and its readership, and their lingering hostility to Israel."  Eugene Volokh agrees.

To me, that statement is an obvious non-sequitor.  Ms. may indeed support Israel.  But the job of Ms. editors is to sell magazines and not turn off subscribers. 

This is why writers hate editors.  Writers want to tell the truth - at least as they see it.  Editors need to sell magazines, ads, and maintain readership.  Often, truth and salesmanship are at odds.  That editors often shade the truth to please advertisers and readers isn't controversial. 

But even is Ms. editors do not hate Israel, what of their readership?  The AJC's conclusion is weak on this point, too.

Let's say the anti-Israel readership is very small.  Let's also assume that it's a loud and emotional group.

What magazine do you folks know that wouldn't feel a hit by losing 1% of subscribers?  Seriously, go talk to some editors.  I know a few, and they live in sheer terror of losing readership.  Even with my humble blog, I often refused to post things for fear of offending readers.

Now let's say the anti-Israel readership 10% of all subscribers. That's a tiny minority. But, again, are there any business people here who wouldn't mind losing 10% of revenue?

Every day editors make decisions they might personally disagree with in an effort to maintain readership levels.  So Ms.'s refusal to run that ad says nothing about Ms.'s hostility towards Israel. It's refusal likely says something about some segment of its readership. But, really, we can't know how large that segment is.

Thus, the AJC's conclusions most certainly do not follow from the available evidence.

Comments

[Paul]

And what of their Jewish readership? Surprising that this wouldn't comprise of 1% at least, since you want to minimize the number of anti-Israel subscribers. Have they not turned off their Jewish subscribers by refusing an ad and giving a bogus excuse for doing so?

Come to think of it, perhaps if they find that a majority of their subscribers are outright antisemites they can go a step further and have an ad on Mein Kampf. This might be great for readership. Imagine if just 1% of potential subscribers like Hitler's scholarship? They can tap into a whole new market. Great excuse making. The magazine should be lauding women's empowerment, not just for gentile women in a pathetic attempt to pander to antisemites.