More than 1,000 wrote in about our Sexiest Man Alive issue and this year's choice, Harrison Ford [Nov. 16]. "Finally!!!" raved one fan. A total of 324 readers praised our Oct. 26 cover story on breast cancer survivors, many offering their own tales of coping with the disease. And after our Jan. 19 cover tribute, some 229 shared their grief over the death of Sonny Bono. Wrote one: "I felt like an old friend from my childhood had passed away." Several readers even proved how observant they can be by demanding to know why model-turned-TV-personality Rebecca Romijn-Stamos seemed to have six toes on her left foot [TV's 40 Most Fascinating Stars, Oct. 5]. "Excess foot fat," she subsequently wrote to explain.
But it was the story about the murder of Matthew Shepard [Nov. 2] that spurred this year's biggest letter pile. The death of the gay Wyoming college student shocked and angered readers, and a few were also shaken by our photograph of an anti-gay protester at Shepard's funeral [see Mail, page 1]. "Too bad PEOPLE showed such poor judgment in printing her picture; it is exactly what she wanted," complained one reader. Another said the image told her "what the face of true evil looks like."
Such passionate responses are typical. "I think our readers appreciate that we don't print this vanilla column," says letters and syndication department director Maureen Fulton, a 20-year veteran of the mail page. "Our readers aren't shy about expressing their opinions, and we're not shy about printing them."
Actually, fewer than 1,000 letters made it into our Mailbag column this year, despite our having expanded the section. But all receive a reply. To make sure, we have four staff members tracking comments, compliments, requests and complaints. "Our readers are so surprised to get a letter in return, they'll call or write again just to say thanks," says letters coordinator Kimberly Beder. While readers correspondent Kathleen O'Connell tallies all the letters that come in, assistant Mary Reilly mans the phones and tries to fill requests (for example, the 289 presumably auburn-tressed readers who wanted to buy Just for Redheads cosmetics after our July 27 story on its founder).
"Our readers connect to what we write," observes Fulton, "and then they let us know. The fact that they feel so connected with us makes me really proud to be working here." In that, she speaks for us all.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
