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“Rolling Stone” Reverses, Will Accept Bible Ad by Cathy Lynn Grossman (USA Today)
Posted by Ed and Lois
The bible of rock ‘n’ roll, Rolling Stone magazine, will run an ad for the Holy Bible next month — the same ad it rejected two weeks ago for its “spiritual message.”
“We have addressed the internal miscommunications that led to the previous misstatement of company policy and apologize for any confusion it may have caused,” Lisa Dallos, spokeswoman for Wenner Media, Rolling Stone’s parent company, said Monday. She declined to elaborate.
The nation’s largest Bible publisher, Zondervan, had inquired about rates for the ad in March and booked the space in July for the ad to run in February.
The ad, which will run unchanged in mid-February, doesn’t mention God. But it describes the Bible as “real truth” and carries the new translation’s slogan: “Timeless truth: Today’s language.”
We’re frankly thrilled that Rolling Stone has decided to accept our ad,” said Paul Caminiti, Zondervan’s president of Bible publishing.
“We believe that the Bible is relevant for Rolling Stone readers,” Caminiti said. “We’ve always believed they were a cornerstone in our campaign to squarely market to spiritually intrigued 18- to 34-year-old young people, many of whom live outside the embrace of the church.”
The trouble with Rolling Stone came when the magazine’s executives saw the actual advertisement two weeks ago.
It was ruled unacceptable because of a “spiritual message in the text,” said Kent Brownridge, general manager for Wenner Media. He told USA TODAY that the magazine “was not in the business of advertising for religious messages.”
Zondervan officials were shocked. They said offers to change the advertisement were rebuffed. Christian and conservative media commentators savaged the magazine, which once carried classified advertising for mail-order divinity degrees.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2005-01-24-rolling-stone-bible_x.htm