Update: 'Esquire' Cover Ad on the Menu at Lunch

Last week I mentioned that quite a few magazine editors were scratching their heads over the current issue of Esquire, which features an advertisement tucked under a flap on the front cover -- possibly in contravention of guidelines put forth by the American Society of Magazine Editors.

Now the issue has bubbled up to the point where ASME has invited Esquire editor in chief David Granger to justify himself before his peers. Yesterday, ASME sent out invitations to a Feb. 24 member's lunch. The topic: "Is the cover window on the Obama issue of Esquire an exciting print innovation -- or a threat to editorial integrity?"

"[S]everal editors, as you know, have expressed interest regarding the implications for the editorial-publishing
relations posed by the Esquire cover," explained ASME CEO Sid Holt when I asked him about the event. "At the same time, David Granger has interesting things to say about the role of the editor in driving the magazine enterprise. And -- ancient editor that I am -- I saw a good story and ran with it."