By Rusty Pugh and Jody Brown
June 6, 2003
(AgapePress) - The nation's largest retailer has made a major decision involving what many consider to be "racy" magazines.
This week, Wal-Mart begins using special covers for four magazines: Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Redbook, and Marie Claire. The decision comes one month after Wal-Mart announced it would discontinue selling three sexually charged men's magazines. [See Earlier Article]
The new covers will prevent children from being able to see both the left and right sides of the magazine covers, where "questionable" wording and headlines are usually located. A company spokesman says the hope is that the planned approach will strike a "reasonable balance" between customers who purchase those magazines and those who are "not comfortable with seeing these covers at the checkout lanes."
Dr. Don Wildmon, founder and chairman of the American Family Association, says his pro-family organization has been communicating on this issue with Wal-Mart for more than two years. Wildmon says he is hopeful major supermarket chains will follow Wal-Mart's lead in doing what he calls "the right thing."
 Randy Sharp |
"Wal-Mart is becoming a trendsetter in taking this nation back to family-friendly policies within the marketplace," Sharp says. "They recognize the concerns of parents, and they're putting principle before profit."
The pro-family activist believes that, in the long run, that will help Wal-Mart. He says it will "energize" the company's customer base, who will now be able take their family shopping at a place where they will not be offended like they might be in other stores.
Wal-Mart says it may take several weeks for all magazines to be covered in stores nationwide.
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