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| On Canceling the Atlantic |
| 2008-10-02 |
| by Steve White I did something today I didn't think I would ever do. I cancelled my subscription to The Atlantic. I started reading The Atlantic many, many years ago. Back before the internet and the web, you actually had to buy a magazine to read it. Crazy idea, I know, but as a young doctor, I was looking for a higher end magazine I could read when moonlighting. The Atlantic seemed to be just the ticket -- it was smart and engaging, it had a stable of superb writers, and it presented ideas that seemed to matter. I was hooked, and I kept reading through the years. I was about as loyal a subscriber as a magazine could ask. I didn't object too much to their 2004 and 2006 election coverage. Everyone has an opinion, and it's good to be challenged by the opinions of others. And they kept covering other issues that I enjoyed reading about. They added bloggers like Megan McArdle and Marc Ambinder, and while I didn't always agree with them, they made me think. Then came 2008, and The Atlantic morphed into a magazine that I no longer recognize. But the straws that broke the camel's back -- my back -- was the most recent issue featuring John McCain and the title, 'Why War is His Answer'. Nevermind that John McCain, as a veteran and former POW, has stated emphatically how much he hates war, having seen it up front, the writer of this piece knew better. Oh well, just another article I don't like. And then I looked again at the cover photo by the nasty Jill Greenberg, the 'celebrity' photographer famous for making babies cry for the sake of her politics, and read her comments about how she deliberately tried to trick McCain and his people. I waited for a response from The Atlantic and their editors, and what I read in response was the usual mealy-mouthed, non-apology 'apology' that people make when they want to placate the rubes. That was the first straw. The second was the insufferable Andrew Sullivan and his scurrilous accusations that somehow, Governor Sarah Palin didn't birth her youngest child. Mr. Sullivan keeps demanding 'medical records' for something that seems pretty obvious to the average person. I was hoping that at some point the editors at The Atlantic would tell Mr. Sullivan to shut up and move on, but so far they haven't. A test for Mr. Sullivan: walk down the street and interview the first one hundred mothers you see with small children. Suggest to them that they didn't really birth their children, and demand to see medical records. See what happens to you. I don't know much about Governor Palin, but so far she's demonstrated that she's far more forgiving than most people would be. That's a testament to her true character. Let me repeat: Mr. Sullivan's accusations are scurrilous and contemptible. He is pushing a nasty and unfounded accusation first raised by the infamous 'ArcXIX' on the Daily Kos. ArcXIX is brave enough in his convictions to remain completely anonymous, and Markos Moulitsas is brave enough to have deleted those posts without acknowledgement or apology. That's a demonstration of their true character. In a decent society Mr. Sullivan would have been dismissed from his position as a Senior Editor, and that The Atlantic hasn't dismissed him is a demonstration of their character as well. So I called the subscription office at The Atlantic this morning and cancelled. The woman on the phone was pleasant though it was clear she'd been hearing from plenty of other subscribers. When we were finished with the mechanics of canceling, I asked her what the odds were that my comments would actually make it up the managerial chain at the magazine. She informed me that the editorial office does hear the reasons why subscribers cancel and offered to have a member of the editorial board call me. I gave her my cell phone number, and I'll wait patiently. But I'll no longer read The Atlantic. It's a shame. I really liked that magazine. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #12 Spot on! |
| Posted by: Abu do you love 2008-10-02 22:38 |
| #11 If you used swear words when cancelling, they don't call back. I know from experience. |
| Posted by: Mike N. 2008-10-02 21:10 |
| #10 in the tank since Mike Kelly died |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-10-02 21:04 |
| #9 No call as of 1945 CDT. She wouldn't have led me on, would she? |
| Posted by: Steve White 2008-10-02 20:49 |
| #8 Don't hold your breath waiting for them to call, Dr. Steve. You won't look good in that shade of deep blue. |
| Posted by: Jolutch Mussolini7800 2008-10-02 19:24 |
| #7 A good rant, Dr. Steve. I wonder how many writers in the Atlantic stable will soon have to find another way to earn a living. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-10-02 19:04 |
| #6 No call as of 16:30 CDT. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2008-10-02 17:26 |
| #5 "So what's the line as to Fixed that for ya', Ret. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2008-10-02 15:21 |
| #4 I used to read The Atlantic cover to cover but let my subscription expire a couple years ago when the amount of leftist hooey and propaganda began to overwhelm the thought-provoking content. I still flip through it in the local library looking for the occasional tidbit - an excerpt from Mark Bowden's "Guests of the Ayatollah comes to mind. It would be almost worth it to subscribe again so I could cancel over that scurrilous McCain issue and the editor's lame-ass response. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2008-10-02 14:43 |
| #3 So what's the line as to when the good Dr. Steve actually hears back from the Atlantic? |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2008-10-02 14:23 |
| #2 Steve, bravo. Sullivan is a shameless and irrelevant personality. I would not go so far as to call him an intellectual since he is really just a charlatan. Whatever his education and background I find him just a cry baby with a wet finger constantly prowling the wind of outrageous rumor and slander. He has to write his tripe here since if he went back to the UK and did the same has here he would bankrupt his publisher do to the libel laws. As a Catholic, he makes me puke - but then Mugabe is a Catholic also. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2008-10-02 13:31 |
| #1 So did I, when it still had integrity. |
| Posted by: lotp 2008-10-02 12:14 |