Controversial magazine missing from mailboxes

David MacAnally/Eyewitness News

Bloomington - Some local homeowners are wondering why some of their mail is missing.

Magazines are not showing up in many mailboxes in Monroe County. The Bloomington Herald Times took complaints from its readers about a rash of undelivered periodicals. Most were weekly news magazines, but at the top of the list was a now infamous edition - the most recent New Yorker Magazine.

"Yeah, the one with Obama, that one," said one Bloomington postal worker about the magazine's July 21 issue.

Not only is the issue - which portrayed Senator Barack Obama in Islamic dress and his wife, Michelle, as a militant as they exchanged a fist bump - a lightning rod for discussion, it's also a collectors item.

Tuesday night, 66 people were auctioning the controversial cover on eBay. In a few minutes, the number jumped to 149. Prices ranged from about eight dollars a copy to a set of four for $99 and $199 for a half-dozen.

No one is saying they were pilfered from mailboxes in Bloomington or any other location. The postal service says it will investigate any complaint, but says it has not received any from customers. Only through the newspaper.

At places like Northside News on North College in Indianapolis, the issue sold out instantly. Many reserved their copies. The owner says, "Liberals wanted them, conservatives wanted them, too."

But back in Bloomington, what happened to those missing mags?

"I don't think people would be malicious. It's probably more like an accident," said one IU student.

Postal Service spokeswoman Kim Yates said Tuesday it would be unusual to see missing magazine deliveries. She says postal business is slow and magazines are getting first class treatment.

If you have a delivery problem, you're asked to contact the post office.

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