The Case of the mad MAD Editors, OR… They call me “Fredo” now
Wow. Call me naive. Call me stupid. But I actually thought — when I started this site barely a week ago - that I could blog about MAD and still remain in the MAD family, sort of. Looks like I was wrong. Apparently the MAD editors have a problem with me blogging about the magazine on my own — judging by the complete silent treatment I’ve gotten since it debuted. If I’m not being “frozen out,” it’s feeling pretty chilly.
I think it’s safe to say I grossly overestimated the thickness of their skin.
Actually, this is less of a big deal than it seems: truth is, I was already 90% “out the door” at MAD (for various reasons; some, of my own making) and if they’re actually shutting that door the remaining 10% of the way over this blog…so be it. There’s nothing left for me at MAD but: enduring their glacial response-times to submitted material, and the extreme frustration of writing up a draft (or 2 or 3) on green-lighted premises, then having them change their mind after a year (or 2 or 3), or simply never hearing final word about a script. (Luckily, I haven’t had to rely on income from MAD the past few years.)
But, hey, all good things must come to an end.
Anyway, here is probably a good place to tell everyone, including the editors, that - notwithstanding the above (I’m really not as bitter as that makes it seem; just a realist) — this isn’t going to be a “Bash MAD”-website (in fact, it won’t even really be a “MAD site,” since I plan on devoting the majority of space here to other topics). My thoughts about the magazine are mostly positive — I’ve spent over half of my life so far writing for MAD; I consider it a Great American Institution that I’m proud to have been a small part of for 3 decades. But I’m not going to shy away from controversy here, even negative stuff.
And if they do have a problem with that…it’s their problem, not mine.