Supermarkets shove tabloids under cover.

In the wake of Princess Diana's death, Los Angeles supermarket chains are playing hardball against the racy tabloids that have been a mainstay at check-out stands for decades.

Compton-based Ralphs/Food 4 Less has begun screening tabloids for sensitive stories pulling the Sept. 9 issues of the Enquirer, Globe and Star, the first tabloids to reach supermarkets after the Princess' death in a Pads car crash.

Vons Companies Inc. of Arcadia and Hughes Markets Inc, of Irwindale also pulled copies of the Sept. 9 tabloids.

A Hughes spokeswoman said the tabloids remain out of public view, but are available upon request.

Gelson's Markets, which operates 12 area markets and three Mayfair stores, has placed white placards over the National Enquirer, The Globe and The Star to obscure the screaming front page headlines that entice customers to buy their sensational stories.

"Mayfair recognizes the sensitivity of the tabloid issue to our customers," says a printed statement on the placard.

"We will continue to offer the tabloids for sale. However, we will cover the fronts of these magazines so that potentially objectionable photographs or headlines will not be visible."

Robert Stiles, president of Encino-based Gelson's, a subsidiary of the Arden Group in Compton, said customers had complained about the tabloids after Diana's death following a game of cat-and-mouse with paparazzi in Pads.

"We had calls telling us not to sell them anymore," Stiles said.

As a compromise, the store decided to cover the weeklies instead of taking them out of the store completely.

"Our position is we don't act as censors," Stiles said.

Taking a different tack, marketing executives for Ralphs/Food 4 Less have begun screening advance copies of the tabloids prior to putting them on sale.

"We are currently reviewing the tabloids each week before they hit the newsstands said Terry O'Neil, a Ralph's spokesman.

O'Neil said the tabloids are being especially scrutinized for stories about Britain's royal family that would "be deemed inappropriate, offensive or in bad taste."

The Sept. 9 issues were pulled in response to customers' requests and subject matter considered disrespectful toward Diana, O'Neil said.

O'Neil said the supermarket has screened the tabloids in the past, but now such previewing has become policy.

Ralph's operates 263 markets in Southern California, including Ralphs and 40 Food 4 Less stores in LA. County. Both markets are owned by the Los Angeles-based Yucaipa Companies.

Arcadia-based Vons, a division of Oakland-based Safeway, has no plans to restrict the sale of the tabloids, although the company did pull the Sept. 9 issues.

"We got a lot of phone calls at our headquarters and at our stores," spokesman Brian Dowling said, "and when we looked at the magazines we found there were distasteful articles about the princess."

He said Vons has no plans to screen the tabloids before putting them in checkout racks.

Supermarket checkout stands are one of the principal outlets for the sensational publications, which rely on titillating headlines and photos to make sales.

Obscuring those covers would likely result in sharply reduced sales, although Gelson's would not say what the impact has been.

"If sales go down then they go down," said Stiles, who did not know how long he plans to keep the tabs covered. "We're still going to make them available to customers who want them."

He said he has no plans of stopping the sale of the publications.

At the Mayfair market on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood, a check-out clerk who asked for anonymity said the placards had little effect on hard core tabloid buyers.

"They know where they are," the clerk said. "You can't hide them."

Shoppers at the market had mix feelings about the coverup. Some said it was a good idea, but Laura Anders said she was concerned about censorship.

"I think it violates the fights of people to read anything you want," she said.

Phil Bunton, the editor of The Star, said he was dismayed by the actions of the supermarkets.

"It's rather ridiculous," he said. "Why not let the public decide to purchase them or not? They are way too sensitive."

Bunton said he did expect that Gelson's move would affect his magazine. "We'll lose money," he said. "Why don't they ban the sale of cigarettes or contact lens cleaners tested on rabbits?"

Steve Coz, the editor of the National Enquirer, declined to comment on the developments, but Tony Frost, the editor of the Globe, said he was unaware of Gelson's aggressive decision.

"Why would anyone want to cover our (Princess Diana) commemorative issue?" he asked. "I can't understand it. It's a wonderful commemorative issue."

Frost could not offer any details about the effects of Diana's death on circulation. Bunton said that the Star's sales have jumped considerably, according to preliminary reports.

"It's up about 15 per cent," he said. The Star averages about 2.4 million copies, but has been selling around 3 million since Diana's death.

Arthur Rockwell, a financial analyst at Los Angeles-based Yaeger Capital Markets, doesn't expect any sanctions against the tabloids to last. "I think it is a temporary reaction," he said. "I can't imagine people would live without their tabloids very long. This is just a temporary backlash."