Score another one for Eric Braeden’s publicist.
(After ten covers, I think you get a SOD pin, T-shirt, coffee mug and a key to the executive loo.)
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Score another one for Eric Braeden’s publicist.
(After ten covers, I think you get a SOD pin, T-shirt, coffee mug and a key to the executive loo.)
A | THOUSAND | OTHER | WORLDS 
Hey, this is my schtick! LOL
Despite my disdain for the covers, I do keep all my SODs and always have, so I try to keep them in good shape. But today when I was walking back from the mailbox, my SOD slipped out of my hand and Braeden went face first into a puddle.
The headline is not bad, but why not an actual picture of Adam or both Adams since that has been such a HUGE controversy.
Notice that Mr. Braeden’s name appears on the cover (along with Eileen this time). You don’t see that for any other actor.
And even when the home subscriber cover is the same, it’s always at least a tiny bit different because the mailing label covers up more of the bottom left. In this week’s case, the difference is the Otalia line is missing and the blue headline is shifted to the right a bit.
I could tolerate these same people on the cover MAYBE if there were some new pictures or something artistic or original about it.
Jon & Kate were on the cover of Us Weekly for the 7th straight week this week so they have Braeden and Morrow beat.
Roger, I know this is your crusade! I actually wanted to add a line about you forming a support group for other frustrated SOD readers (LOL) but WordPress wasn’t cooperating.
I love it – even your MAILBOX is over it!
And I agree – Eric has always been posed on the right, with Eileen, Melody or Raya Meddine in almost the same pose.
I have nothing charitable to say about Jon and Kate so I’ll bite my tongue!
I’ve loved following Roger Newcomb’s play-by-play of the SOD conspiracy theory – it’s a riot…and so damned true! I love me some Y&R, but COME ON. There *other* shows…and other Y&R characters whose surname isn’t “Newman.”
Hey, they’re trying to SELL A MAGAZINE, not drum up endless goodwill among the (dying) soap community. Y&R is #1. It stands to reason that MORE people might buy a magazine whose covers feature a soap that MORE people watch.
It’s not like LOVING was ever raking in the SOD covers…
Hey, Ant – I’ve posted about this before, and I agree with what you’re saying. It’s a business, and of course they’re going to put their top guns on a cover.
But there are other hot shows, and other hot stories. Eric Braeden has been on WAY more covers than his story would suggest. (And this isn’t anything against Braeden.) But he, Joshua Morrow and Sharon Case have been on a disproportionate number of covers in the last year. I would think Jill/Kay merited a cover somewhere in there. Showcasing the fabulous Billy Miller (Billy) and Elizabeth Hendrickson (Chloe) would also be appropriate.
My educated guess is that Braeden isn’t on SOD covers because he sells like hotcakes. I think Braeden is on the cover because his agent tells SOD that he will happy to be interviewed and to talk about story ONLY IF he is on the cover.
I agree that the lower rated shows don’t merit as many covers (at least the newsstand ones) but ATWT’s Luke and Noah, or Luke by himself, should have had a cover. Same with Otalia. Every week? Maybe not, but a single cover in a year’s time? Yeah, I think so.
I have seen this confirmed in print (but I don’t remember when/where). Yes, Charles Sherman (publicist) and Eric Braeden will only do a soap mag with a cover photo and name credit. Eric also required his name appear in the Y&R opening credits (which is why Y&R now does it for many actors).
So, if you want an EB story, you run an EB cover. Period.
But I doubt Joshua Morrow/Sharon Case have the same stipulation.
Moroever, it would be just as easy to forego a Braeden story if you don’t want a cover.
SOD is only doing this, I’m sure, because Braeden weeks outsell the others. For example, last week was about Sami’s baby dying on DOOL. I assume that that must not have sold as much??
SOD wouldn’t do this unless, for some reason, they have economic reason to believe that Braeden moves more issues.
I think we’re missing part of the equation, Mark. Some performers ask for payment to be interviewed, profiled, featured etc. I’m guessing Braeden is a crossroads of someone who is a leading performer, willing to talk and unconcered about the money, as long as he gets the cover.
If nothing else, I’d be inclined to believe the magazines are just as reluctant to try new things as the shows are. Which is why we’ve seen Eric in nearly the exact same pose every time he’s on the cover.
Some of us who pick up the mags at the newsstand pay close attention to the date, content, etc. but to be quite honest, for every one of us that buys it direct, there are four or five (if not nine or ten) people buying it direct who are just, “Oooh, that’s my story” and tossing it into their shopping carts. So familiarity breeds that reaction. That STILL doesn’t explain his appearance every week, because there are other Y&R performers who are that recognizable.