I’m a subscriber to The Atlantic as well as an avid reader of its blogs.  But today, it managed to make me want to retch.  Repeatedly.

An offensive story?  Nope.

A ridiculous blog post?  Uh-uh.

A marketing survey.

Earlier today, I got an email from “The Atlantic Exchange” asking me to take a brief survey online.  Okay, I thought — only a few minutes, no problem.  They probably want to ask about whether I’d buy stuff advertised in their magazine.  I can live with that.  I don’t really care, but I like the magazine.  And if it is a waste of my time, I’ll stop doing the survey.

But nope, that’s not it.  They want my “advice” about what I think they should put on their cover.  And what titles they should give their stories.

Here’s a screenshot just to give you an idea of what I’m talking about:

Here’s another screen shot:

Okay, here’s the thing.  I have bought magazines based on the cover — everyone has.  But once I buy the magazine, I choose to read stories according to whether the topic is interesting or the author is someone whose previous work I’ve enjoyed — but not because of a catchy headline.  Maybe that’s not the case for most people — but something tells me that it is true of the typical Atlantic reader.

I know that times are hard, and that dead-tree publishers can’t afford not to market themselves.  I’m sure that the Atlantic is not the only magazine to do these kinds of surveys.  But this one struck me as utterly craven market-driven bullshit.  The Atlantic shouldn’t be spending its time or money on determining a best cover; it should be doing everything they can to improve the quality of their journalism — which, quite frankly, has slipped over the past year or so (not coincidentally, about the time they redesigned the magazine).

I will continue to read The Atlantic, and to follow its bloggers (particularly Fallows and Coates).  But if you want me to continue to regard you as the one of the best magazines out there — and one of the few I subscribe to — please please please don’t waste my time asking me what pretty picture I think you should put on your cover.  If I wanted that kind of nonsense, I’d go read about Brad Pitt saving New Orleans in National Review People.

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