Wal*Mart and the Laddie Mags.

I have mixed feelings about Wal*Mart in many ways. But as a social conservative I am glad that they tossed Maxim, FHM, et. al. even though I have been known to read Maxim now and then.

Competition encourages entertainment companies to "push the envelope". HBO puts on Oz and The Sopranos and draws a vocal group of fans. Other networks think they have to follow suit and so violence and sexual content increases even on broadcast networks in the "family hour."

The envelope pushing and taboo breaking takes place within a coastal worldview. TV execs in Manhattan aren't offended by the shows and take pride in tweaking the "puritan" sensibilities in the hinterlands. (Their own sensibilities and those of their friends are rarely tweaked by the scripts they approve.)

Wal*Mart now appears as a counter-veiling force, admittedly for commercial reasons, but a positive force nonetheless. Magazine editors who have never talked with two social conservatives at one meal have to give some thought to red-state sensibilities.