Marlo Thomas
The Huffington Post
June 13, 2012
You can’t judge a book by its cover. But you can absolutely judge a magazine that way — because the cover is a good indication of what the magazine cares about. And that is precisely, why 40 years ago, women everywhere began grabbing up Ms. magazine with both hands. From the start — and continuing today — those covers have instantly told you that Ms. cared about what women cared about. With an editorial team staffed with revolutionaries, Ms. not only had the wisdom to imagine the perfect combination of image and cover line to capture the concept of an important issue; it also had chops to bang out the story.
Today, as Ms. is being honored by the City of New York (its birthplace) on the occasion of its 40th anniversary, I remember how thrilled I was to see the spring preview, and then that first monthly issue on newsstands. It was 1972 and the cover exploded with the bold-faced headline, “Wonder Woman For President” — and just below it, the colorful, iconic picture of that powerful superhero. It was an image that never would have appeared on any other women’s publication. And it said loud and clear: this is definitely not your mother’s magazine.
From its birth Ms. was a conversation among women about changing our lives and the world in which we found ourselves. .. Read More
*Also by Marlo Thomas, “Gloria Steinem: The Original Ms.” an interview with the co-founder of Ms., writer and activist Gloria Steinem is also on Huffington Post. The article includes two slideshows- Ms. covers and photos. Read here.
Marlo Thomas is an award-winning actress, author and activist whose body of work continues to have an impact on American entertainment and culture. She has been honored with four Emmy Awards, the Peabody, a Golden Globe, a Grammy and has been inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
In 1973, Marlo Thomas was a founder – with Pat Carbine, Gloria Steinem and Letty Cottin Pogrebin – of The Ms. Foundation for Women Inc., the creator of “Free To Be…You and Me,” and a founder of the Free To Be Foundation.
In 2010, she released her sixth book — and only memoir — Growing Up Laughing: My Story and the Story of Funny, and launched her own web site, MarloThomas.com.