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April 14, 2008

Magazines only want photogenic real life case studies

By Rachael

Magazines discriminate against possible case studies for real life stories, wanting only attractive photogenic participants, according to Media Guardian.

One magazine journalist revealed: “It is made absolutely explicit that looks are a major criterion. When I was much less experienced and had just started in a new job on a monthly title I put together a case-study line-up. What these women looked like bore absolutely no relevance to the story, but even so I knew they had to be ‘photogenic’. I thought I had done well, until I was told that I really shouldn’t have included a size 14 in the group. Size 10 was the maximum.”

In October last year Press Gazette reported how women’s weekly Love It! airbrushed out the tattoos of a cancer sufferer who allowed her wedding photos to be used in the magazine.

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