• Ad Age, Monday, June 19, 2006 12:45 PM

As more retailers yank Shock as a result of the dispute over a cover photo, Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. is defending the title in a letter to retailers, Ad Age reports. The fuss is the latest to erupt after Shock hit the stores in May with a photo of an American soldier cradling an Iraqi girl--an image captured by blogger and former Green Beret Michael Yon, who claims he has not authorized its use. Hachette says it bought the pic in good faith from an agency--and that Yon backed out of an agreed settlement. Tower Records was the latest chain to pull the issue, following Brooks Eckerd and Rite Aid. "We had many, many complaints from our customers over the photo on the front," says Helene Bisson, a spokeswoman for Brooks Eckerd parent company Jean Coutu. Counters Hachette CEO Jack Kliger: "There's no question that their efforts to convince retailers that it is consumers who are upset at the issue have succeeded in some cases....The fact is, these are not complaints being made by Shock readers--these are complaints being made by Michael Yon's followers. There's a big difference."

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