Soap Opera Digest Covers - Time To Change Things Up

When is Soap Opera Digest going to start spreading the wealth with their cover stories? Here's a look at the SOD covers for the past 15 weeks starting with the latest issue date: Click to enlarge 1 I have no problem with Eric Braeden (the main cover story in 5 of the last 15 issues) or Maurice Benard and have read a number of interesting stories about their lives, but there are other actors on daytime, many of whom have never been on the SOD cover or even gotten close. 1 Breakdown of the last 15 Digest covers by number of actor appearances (for two with two or more cover shots): 5 Y&R's Eric Braeden 4 GH's Maurice Benard (includes one subscriber only appearance) 3 DAYS'/AMC's Tamara Braun 3 GH's Jason Thompson 3 Y&R's Raya Meddine 3 OLTL's Trevor St. John 2 DAYS' Deidre Hall 2 GH's Megan Ward 2 Y&R's Peter Bergman 2 AMC's Alicia Minshew If you go back even further you will notice the same trend with Y&R and GH dominating the covers with some DAYS thrown in while the other shows rarely are featured unless you are a subscriber. And pretty much the same actors as well. Does this mean subscribers enjoy ATWT, GL and B&B so they get custom covers but Digest believes fans will not buy magazines featuring those shows from newsstands? Not even Susan Lucci has made the cover recently despite her DANCING WITH THE STARS crossover. It's time to update your business model, Soap Opera Digest. All you have to do is look at your "Poll Call" page to see which actors and couples your readers are enjoying the most. This week alone, Van Hansis was voted as favorite ATWT actor for the 52nd straight week (one full year), and not even an inset cover pic in all that time despite being in one of the most talked about soap storylines of the past decade. How about a cover story on the impact of gay characters on daytime television? Or the lack of African American covers both on the daytime soaps and your cover? I honestly believe a little more diversity and the taking of a few journalistic chances would pay off for your magazine. Just because the writing for the soaps you cover is inconsistent at best does not mean you have to produce an inferior magazine about the genre. With over 150 contract actors on the daytime soaps alone, and a number of interesting behind the scenes stories of various executives and crew members, stop limiting yourself to what seems like a few favorites from the Digest staff. If your marketing research tells you that you are on the right path, it is wrong.