Advocate To Be Mailed Uncovered

The Advocate, the national gay magazine, is kicking off the covers. That is, the magazine is starting to do away with the extra cover that is placed on the magazine before it is sealed in a plastic wrapper, concealing its identity during shipment.
Its July 3 issue, which features on its cover a gay Marine who is a war veteran, was mailed to most subscribers with a standard address label in the lower left-hand corner, looking like any other magazine delivered by the Postal Service.
Michael Phelps, the publisher of The Advocate, said the new policy of openness came about after the magazine polled its readers in April, asking them if they wanted to continue to receive the magazine in the wrapper or not.
“The majority no longer wanted the covering,” said Mr. Phelps, who was promoted to publisher of the magazine just a few weeks ago. “For some, they said they were environmentally conscious and wanted to cut down on waste. For others, it was more of an out-and-proud issue.”
And what about those who do not like the idea of the mail carrier knowing their business? “Those readers will still have the option to continue to get the magazine in the bag,” Mr. Phelps said.
Keith Boykin, a frequent commentator on CNN who is openly gay, said he was not surprised about the new policy. “People who subscribe to The Advocate tend to be more politically conscious,” he said, “and as society moves forward, more and more gay people want to be visible.”
The Advocate is owned by PlanetOut, and the company is planning to change the way it mails out other magazines it publishes, too, including Out magazine.
Bob Witeck, the chief executive of Witeck-Combs Communications, a market research firm with a focus on the gay market, said the development gives publishers a chance to gauge their market. “I’m very excited about this because, pardon the cliché, The Advocate is coming out of the closet,” he said. “It’s a test of whether its readership has matured and can embrace the magazine in public.”
He also wondered whether other publishers would follow suit.
Raymonde C. Green, the editor in chief of Uneq, a magazine primarily for the urban gay market that is nearly a year old and is mailed to subscribers in a wrapper, said, “We are a fairly new magazine, so we are still trying to gain the trust of our readers.”
from The New York Times