Controversial covers help drive newsstand sales of magazines as well.
Time magazine’s May 21, 2012, cover featuring a woman breast-feeding her 3-year-old son was one of the year’s most controversial. It was for a story about attachment parenting with the headline “Are You Mom Enough?” It also generated a lot of parody covers. 
Newsweek’s Aug. 27, 2012, issue featured a take-down of President Barack Obama with the cover headline “Hit the Road, Barack. Why We Need a New President.” The attack story was criticized for its tone and accuracy. (It generated coverage by The Week, New York Magazine, Business Insider and Entertainment Weekly.)
The issue was a big hit with readers though, with newsstand sales double the magazine’s average, Ad Age reported.
Just a few months later, Newsweek published its last print issue. That Dec. 31, 2012, issue was praised for its understated cover.
Rival Time magazine was applauded for its May 7, 2012, cover and story titled “The Last Days of Osama bin Laden.”
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