Black people on the front cover of RW

can anyone tell me if RW has ever featured a black model/runner on it's front cover?i honestly can't remember.
It's well known in the fashion industry that white models sell more mags eg vogue than black.this has resulted in a racist agenda in that industry.when naomi campbell protested about this she was passed over as a moaner.
why doesn't RW feature black runners for example when most of the best runners are kenyan,ethiopean?i've seen paula, and so we should,but adere,gebre,mutola even mixed race kelly holmes has never been on the cover.
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Comments

  • Becasue its a British Mag and most british Runners are white?

    Im not saying they shouldn't have black runners on the cover but I dont like this sudo-anti-racist number averaging stuff. In most cases Mag editors are not racist in my opinion.

    Positive discrimination in my view is on an equal par with racist - both should be banished to the pits of hell.





  • Well at least we could tell the difference between one month's issue and the last.

    Which is probably why there'll never be one, Itfar.

  • For the same reason that most of the cover models are women even though (I suspect) proportionately more of the runners in the UK (and world) are men.

    It's what sells the mag. Not what is fair!
  • The cover models are always lush in an air-brushed kind of way, unlike runners who are mainly mingers.

    Except me of course

    :-)
  • Not being funny, but I don't think many black people are into running, not in this country anyway.

    I can't remember seeing more than three or four over the last two years and I've entered some big events.

    Who cares who's on the bleeding cover?

    It's a running magazine aiming for its target readership, get over it.
  • Quite a lot of people care who's on the cover, judging by the amount of threads dedicated to the topic on the RW's own forum!
  • There was one on the front cover a few months ago.
  • They'd put me on the front, but I'm just too goddam horny!

    They wouldn't be able to satisfy the demand from sex-crazed Cosmo readers who mistakenly think that they've picked up another saucy "For Women" mag, only to find out that overpronation has nothing to do with wearing out your lady-gadget.

    It's true!
  • When was the last time an elite runner of any colour, sex or nationality was featured on the cover of RW? (apart from Paula). I don't think there is a race issue, I would just like to see some 'real' runners on the cover - though as we all know that is highly unlikely to happen.

    It migh tbe interesting, however, for RW to write a feature about the low level of non-white runners in this country.
  • Cover her in custard and then at least she'd be yellow...

    mmmm Custard

  • Tis a pity you had to mention Naomi Campbell because she's far too full of her own self importance. That Kate Moss ain't much better either ! Models who keep photographers waiting for days on end want a good kick up the arse ! When I go professional I'll use unknown models who won't be a hassle and easier to work with.

    I'd like to see coloured runners on the cover of RW. Why not a good pic of Mr Singh that 92 year old bloke resplendant in his turban. Would make a great cover pic.
    We are a multi racial society and we should try and be all inclusive. If RW's policy is to promote running and by that it has to have a good looking healthy runner on it's cover it might not do them any harm to have a coloured runner on it's cover once in a while. The cover has to stand out from the hundreds there already are on the shelves. To do this takes imagination and sometimes a little courage. Magazines which win awards are usually ones which do something new and push back the boundaries of normality.
  • Find it wierd that no one seems to think it matters about who is on the cover. Those against positive discrimination often argue that they think everything should be equal, but it's not is it? If we all started off on the same footing, maybe we wouldn't need to counter-act this with positive discrimination. But the point is that if we never attempt to do anything to balance inequality out then we'll remain as racist/sexist etc. a society as we ever were.
    Why not have a black runner on the front of RW?
  • bryan,
    "not being funny but not many black people are into running"???? where do you live? iceland?
    and what exactly do you want me to "get over?"you obviously think i have a problem with being non white.sorry to disappoint you mate.
  • I certainly would not have a problem with a black person on the cover of RW. The problem RW has, as all publications have, is balancing the degree to which they reflect the hopes and aspirations of their readership with the degree to which they should influence them. Only 8% of the population of Great Britain is non-white and I would guess the percentage of runners who are non-white is under 1%. Therefore, having a black person on the cover is unlikely to attract people to buy the magazine - but perhaps it might promote running among the black community?
  • I live in England. I wouldn't mind the sarcasm but it wasn't even humourous.

    What's the big deal about what is on the cover of the magazine?
  • Who said it was a big deal?

    Itfar was simply asking a question.
  • OK, put it this way, I don't think it's noteworthy.

    He compared RW with fashion magazines and teh analogy seemed to suggest that RW was being racist.

    Maybe I misunderstood in which case I apologise.
  • I like a good argument even if the subject is contovercial (and I know my spellings poor). In the same way Sir Paul Condon said 'most muggers are black' its true that most runners are white. I cant say I was looking specifically but at last weeks Watford Half Marathon I only recall seeing 3 or 4 non white runners (if you dont beleive me browse the runner photo's on the website). Of those 3 or 4 only 1 was black the others were Asian origin.

    While we try and hide/deny the truth, or make racism a taboo subject or postitely descriminate (arguably racism against whites) we will never solve the problem.

    I know all on this forum have the best intentions as do I, as far as I am concerned the colour of the person on the cover is a non issue unless we make it one, call me nieve but thats the way I feel.

    What about a dog on the cover? they run too...
  • Quite possibly "the colour of the person on the cover is a non issue" is so because you are white. Same way as most of the liveliest and from-the-heart posts on "why are all the models on the front of RW women?" (etc) threads - are women! Issues matter more to you if they affect you personally on a day to day basis.
  • Come and run with me sometimes. Plenty of black runners in my end of Brum. South Asians seem to be under-represented out on the roads compared to the size of the community, but they're not completely absent. I did a chunk of GNR alongside a young woman of Bangladeshi parentage last year.

    However, in small local races non-white runners are a rarity, even here, and the same seems to be true of the running clubs apart from Birchfield Harriers. I wonder whether this means that many runners from other ethnic groups see the recreational running "establishment" as not being for them.

  • Just beat me to it, Dr Nic!

    I think that most white people (who don't hold any strongly racist views) would say that race isn't an issue to them. That's because it isn't. It doesn't mean it isn't an issue to others though. As a non-white person, you're a lot more likely to notice the absence of black runners on the cover than a white person would.

    Personally I don't care what colour/age/gender the cover model is - I'm all for 90-year old Mr Singh on there.

    I don't think that a black cover model would necessarily encourage more black runners though, given that most people who buy or even notice the magazine are existing runners.
  • So does RW having mainly caucasian runners on the front cover make black people feel oppressed?

    I don't know, someone tell me! Maybe I've missed something.

    I'd have thought that equality in representation on the front of RW was a long way down the list of priorities after things such as workplace equality etc.

    How about disabled runners? They might not run but they take place in road races.

    Why not?

    And I genuinely haven't seen that many Afro-Caribbean runners. There was 1 out of a field of 1000 at Morpeth, 1 out of 750 at Thanet, I can't remember a single one at Nottingham last year for RHM ...
  • Bryan, you're coming across as little facetious methinks. Of course having a white person on RW doesn't "make black people feel oppressed". But I daresay it makes some of them, from time to time, think "oh look, there's yet another small example of a much wider issue." Of course the cover of frigging RW isn't as important as workplace equality "etc". But it is all small parts of a much bigger whole and, for that reason, I really don't think your comments about "get over it" and it being a "non-issue" are valid. That's all!

  • Dr Nic, SVT, Veloceraptor.

    Yes I take your points and agree it is a matter of perspective.

    The reason I posted is that I guess I dont like seeing the race card pulled for the sake of it (as seems to happen so many times). i.e. every time a black person is assulted by whites its always presented by the media as racism, where I used to live the opposite used to happen and you never even heard of it. There seems to always be a fear of white people saying anything negative about blacks as there are groups that will immediatly jump and call them racist which is not the case.

  • Apologies Bryan, t'was Carl who said the "non-issue" thing. I think you said "not noteworthy"..?
  • I have been playing Devil's Advocate to an extent.

    It just struck me as a PC-rant. If I've offended anyone then I apologise profusely.

    I'd better not say anymore in case it gets taken the wrong way. I will say however that if there was more representation of black runners on the cover it wouldn't bother me at all.
  • I think to have a coloured runner on the front of RW can only be a good thing. If it promotes running to non whites or merely reflects the fact that we are a multi racial society then fine.

    I don't think it's a deliberate policy of RW ( at least I hope not ). It's just that someone has not said " hey lets have a picture of a non white runner this month on the cover " when they have been searching through the archives of suitable photos.

    At the end of the day the cover pic is all about getting it standing out from the shelf and into someones shopping bag. Frankly the covers these days are a little boring and need an injection of creativity and something a litte different. A black and white cover for instance might make it stand out from the mass of colour. A pic of a coloured runner would probably do the same and quite possibly appeal to non whites who just might like to take up running and follow in the footsteps of some of our most distinguished athletes who happen to be black.
    It really needs a picture editor to be a little daring.
  • bryan,
    i never implied that RW is racist or has a racist agenda.i just(naively)felt that RW might be different and aslo might take a different stance once in a while.OK so it does cater for the vast majority of its readership who happen to be white.so is this sensible marketing?are we also saying that just because we don't see many black runners in races that RW is only there for serious runners who race? what about the recreational runners, as VRAP pointed out?in many larger cities there are thousands of black/asian runners.just because we don't see them competing doesn't mean they aren't there.
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