Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Magazines scramble to get Jackson on cover

Time, Newsweek, Rolling Stone and others plan commemorative issues

Image: Time magazine cover of Michael Jackson
AP
Time's special commemorative edition dedicated to the late Michael Jackson hit newsstands Monday morning.

NEW YORK - After Michael Jackson's death last week, editors scrambled to turn the king of pop into the king of magazine covers.

From Newsweek's shot of a young reflective Jackson to Herb Ritts' sexy T-shirt photo used for Time's special commemorative edition, the Gloved One was already on newsstands Monday morning. And more print celebrations were on the way from, among others, In Touch Weekly, Entertainment Weekly, Ebony, Billboard, Rolling Stone and OK!

Said Richard Stengel, Time's managing editor: "The decision to do the special edition was made at 11 p.m. Thursday," hours after the pop superstar's death. "Friday was always scheduled to be a regular work day, so the whole staff was working. It really was all-hands-on-deck.