Maxim magazine has declared Philly the Greatest City on Earth. well, philly, new york, boston, and a few others. This month's maxim will feature regionally specific magazines, naming the local market the "greatest city on earth" for each of 12 cities. pretty funny, right?

not everyone thinks so. the philadelphia daily news is pissed! don russell calls it "a desperate scheme to boost circulation" and his article outlines the outrage he thinks has unearthed. don, did you read the fucking article? better yet...have you been to philly, or any of those other cities? did you honestly *believe* that philadelphia won the title of "greatest city on earth?" gimme a break!

well the story broke big this morning. every morning program had call-in shows with angry callers ready to start letter-writing campaigns. god-dammit people are stupid! would anyone have even blinked if philadelphia had SERIOUSLY been declared the greatest city on earth? because THAT is what i would have been worried about, for christ's sake.

so philadelphians - get a grip. philly is a nice place and all, but it is absolutely, positively not the greatest city in the world. sorry. if you thought for one second it might have been, please go get into your car and proceed directly to I-95, because you haven't been getting out enough.

it's been a while since i have been irritated enough to write a letter to anyone at a newspaper. but being stupid *and* insulting maxim magazine was enough to push me over the edge.

Dear Mr. Russell:

When I read your column in the Daily News yesterday, at first I thought it
was a joke, just as the article in the April issue of Maxim *clearly* is.
Surely you and Meryl Levitz aren't delusional enough to believe that
Philadelphia had really been selected as the "Greatest City on Earth?" I
mean, come on. Philly is a great place, but the greatest city in the world?

Did you read the descriptions of the other 12 cities in the Maxim article?
It was stunningly obvious that they were pulling readers' legs. If you go to
the maximonline.com website it makes numerous references to "our city of the
year" and says it is better than "your city," conspicuously leaving out any
mention of actual city names. The article was also placed at the center of
the print magazine, where it could be easily swapped out by region. You work
at a newspaper, I can't believe these things would not have occurred to you.

As far as Maxim hatching some "desperate scheme to boost circulation," they
already have stellar readership, so I would not call any action on their
part "desperate". For a magazine that has only been around since 1997, they
have been quite successful. It's because they have a biting sense of humor
that is not as bland or limp as the other magazines on American newsracks. I
can assure you that the men - and women - who like it *are* reading the
articles.

You might be interested in this timeline:
http://www.maximonline.com/press_room/20010302_timeline.html
Or this more recent article:
http://www.maximonline.com/press_room/20020117_best_circulation_performer.html

Sincerely,
AF