NAPO's Response to Rolling Stone Cover

August 15, 2013

As noted in last week’s Washington Report, NAPO has contacted all of the companies that included advertisements in the August 2013 issue of Rolling Stone magazine to inform them of NAPO’s strong opposition to the magazine’s portrayal of the surviving terrorist responsible for the Boston bombing.  We have called for the companies to stop placing advertisements in the magazine until Rolling Stone’s editor publically recants the decision to glorify a terrorist. 

This week, NAPO’s President, Mr. Tom Nee, received the following response from Walmart’s Chief Marketing Officer, Mr. Stephen Quinn:

Dear Mr. Nee,

Thank you for copying me on your letter regarding the Rolling Stone magazine cover.  I agree with the point of your letter.  When I first read it I thought it was a mistake and that we hadn’t advertised in the issue.  But sure enough there were two ads that featured Walmart.  The ads were placed by our vendors but that’s not an excuse because we have guidelines that, if they had been followed, would have pulled us out of this publication. So they weren’t followed.

We are tightening our processes and I thank you for the feedback. 

All the best,

Signed, Stephen Quinn, Chief Marketing Officer, Walmart

NAPO is most grateful for Walmart’s support.  We will continue to keep our members updated as we receive definitive responses from other Rolling Stone advertisers.  (Attached please find Mr. Quinn’s handwritten letter to President Nee, which will be posted to NAPO’s website, along with any other responses we receive).

If you have any questions about NAPO’s response to Rolling Stone’s editor, please contact Melissa Nee at:  mnee@napo.org.