#MediaWeLike: Newsweek’s Malala Yousafzai Cover

by Imran Siddiquee

Recently, Newsweek announced that it would be shutting down production on its weekly print publication at the end of the year, opting to instead focus on its digital platforms. After a series of increasingly desperate covers, including a few particularly sexist ones, it doesn’t come as a big surprise to hear that the once mighty magazine has been struggling to make print sales for some time now.

With that being said, and in light of the fact that we’ve spent time calling them out in the past, I thought it was only fair to point out the quality of their latest cover, featuring 15 year old Malala Yousafzai, the young woman who was shot by Al-Qaeda for heroically advocating girls’ education in Pakistan. The cover image is as inspiring as the headline, “Malala: The Bravest Girl in the World.”

In a global media climate where women and girls are the subject of only 24% of news stories, a cover like this – which is about a woman’s achievements without reference to her appearance – is hugely significant. In addition to its 1.2 million subscribers, this issue of Newsweek will sit prominently at newsstands, bookstores and grocery stores across the country (and world) for at least a week. Which means the story of Malala, and her picture, will reach the eyes of millions of people – including many young girls.

If Newsweek had put more stories and images like this on its cover, instead of images like this, I know that – personally – I would have started subscribing a while ago.

Let @Newsweek know that this is the kind of #MediaWeLike:


Written by Imran Siddiquee at MissRepresentation.org. Follow him on Twitter @imransiddiquee