National Geographic

Posted by parhad on July 26, 2001 at 10:21:02:

I was at the foundry yesterday and struck up a conversation with a fellow whose father was responsible for photography at the Geographic for 30 years. I asked

how one went about getting their attention...said I was thrilled enough to read about Phillipine Tree Frogs once a year, but wouldn't mind seeing a story or two on the

fascinating people of Iraq. Where else in the world do the most beautiful red haired, and WHAT red hair, green and blue eyed, white freckled skin people in the

world live? The ones in Ireland and Scotland pale in comparison. I'd written their magazine about doing just such a story and never heard back.

Turns out that there had been a major shake-up at the magazine between the son of Grovsenor and the man his father placed in charge...there had been a coup of

sorts and people had been fired, this man's father was re-assigned till his retirement two years after...all over the son's perception that the magazine had become "too

political". Seems whenever you want to paint Life in all its colors, not just pastels..you are "too political".

I told the man we'd cancelled our subscription to the Geographic at apparently about the same time all this happened. said I liked the pictures well enough, but was

getting bored with the level of writing...that it was too fluffly and one-dimensional...besides you could get pictures lots of places. If you read the geographic long

enough the same stories come back at you. That would be okay if there was nothing else in the world to write about. How ABOUT Iraq?