MsMagazine.com Asks: Is Martha Stewart Victim of Bitch Hunt? Issue Now on Newsstands Discusses First Ladies, Is Ashcroft Nuts?, Shock Porn.

Business Editors

WASHINGTON & LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 17, 2004

MsMagazine Online (www.MsMagazine.com) launched a spirited defense of Martha Stewart as the victim of a "Bitch Hunt," along with an interactive poll for readers.

Written by Ms. Magazine Editor-in-Chief, Elaine Lafferty, the "Open Letter from Ms." makes the case that Martha Stewart was singled out for federal prosecution while Ken Lay, Dick Cheney and Terry McAuliffe have so far been given a free pass for similar and worse crimes.

The letter reads, in part, "The fact is that there is a reserve of cultural hostility toward powerful women--particularly if their personalities border on arrogance, as many would say Martha's does. Martha was portrayed in court as being haughty, a diva, a snob. One juror noted that she took a tax deduction for her vacation. We wonder; what about all those CEOs who deduct their membership at country clubs like Augusta that discriminate against women? . . .

. . . Imagine a man in Martha Stewart's position. Would Donald Trump be pre-judged guilty for arrogance and conspicuous consumption? Better still, would Martha Stewart be considered decisive and even charming when she says "You're fired!" to a reality show contestant vying for her favor? Hardly. . . .

. . . We're conditioned to not like that sort of power in women. The government prosecutors who decided to make an example of Martha Stewart knew that. . . .

. . . We believe this prosecution did send a message. The message is one of fear, and intimidation to those who stand up to the government. Don't stand up for yourself and protest your innocence. Don't be a successful, arrogant, unlikable woman--that will just make the government more vindictive." (http://www.msmagazine.com/Editor_Martha.htm)

The Spring 2004 issue of Ms. Magazine, now on newsstands, carries a number of provocative articles from a feminist perspective, including:

-- The cover asks a question everyone thinks but no one says out

loud: "First Ladies - Who Needs Them Anyway?" In a candid

interview, Teresa Heinz Kerry talks about the role..."if they

paid me and I was vetted...then I could open my big mouth."

The story and sidebars provide a terrific analysis of a near

impossible role, and the way the image of First Lady is

manipulated to suit her husband's agenda.

-- "Ashcroft Goes Nuts," a story about the U.S. Justice

Department's position, as part of Ashcroft's anti-abortion

vendetta, that there is no federal law protecting

physician-patient privilege and that patients have no

reasonable expectation that their histories will remain

confidential.

-- Madeline Albright talks turkey with Ms. Global Editor Robin

Morgan. "There should be a special place in hell for women who

don't help other women," says the former Secretary of State

and the highest-ranking woman in the U.S. to date.

-- Shock Porn: Why Men Should Be Outraged. A male professor

watches hours and hours of mainstream pornographic videos and

then analyzes what's wrong from a whole new perspective.

-- An excerpt from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker's

new novel, Now is the Time to Open Your Heart.

You must credit Ms. Magazine when referring to these stories.