Magazine covers that sell, part 1

The first thing you see is the cover. Think of the cover as an ad that sells the magazine. How should you choose which photo to use? According to Richard Stolley, who launched People magazine in March 1974, this is the formula to use when choosing a photo:

"Young is better than old.
Pretty is better than ugly.
Rich is better than poor.
Movies are better than music.
Music is better than television.
Television is better than sports
. . . and anything is better than politics."

Following the death of John Lennon in 1980 he changed the last line to "And nothing is better than the celebrity dead"

Sources:
http://www.magforum.com/cover_secrets2.htm 
http://nypost.com/2014/12/24/time-inc-cuts-loose-founding-editor-of-people/