'New York' Bending the Rules with Cover Wrap?

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In the eyes of his peers, New York magazine editor Adam Moss can do no wrong. But this week's issue might change that.

That's because 10,000 copies of the issue feature a four-page cover wrap advertising the New Museum. The special copies were mailed to a select list comprising the city's "culturati," acording to Andrew Essex, CEO of Droga5, the ad agency behind the promotion. "So if you don't get a copy, you're not somebody," he adds.

Essex, a former magazine editor himself, calls the ad a "cover hijack" and acknowledges it's likely to spark some controversy within the relatively small world of people who care about the ethics of magazine journalism. "The cover has always been sacred, and this is the first time it's really been fucked with," he says.

One reason for that is the American Society of Magazine Editors, which specifically warns magazines against letting their covers or logos be pressed into advertisers' service. (The New Museum ad features part of the New York logo.)

Two years ago, ASME revised its guidelines to clarify where the line should be drawn between advertising and editorial. That revision came not long after The New Yorker attracted unaccustomed criticism with a single-sponsor issue underwritten by Target that seemed to break some guidelines.

Like The New Yorker, New York is a perennial cleanup hitter at the annual National Magazine Awards, and Moss is currently ASME's secretary -- a position that would seem to bring with it a special obligation to comply with the group's rules in both letter and spirit.

But a New York spokeswoman insists the limited distribution of the wrap puts Moss in the clear. "Because these magazines are promotional copies mailed only to non-subscribers, we're comfortable that they're within ASME guidelines, which we take very seriously," she says.

Essex, meanwhile, notes that the New Museum is a local non-profit and not a marketing behemoth like Target. Still, he says, "it's a gray area."

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