"She's scary smart. But smart only takes you so far. She also has an amazing knack, perhaps more than any other star, for knowing how to shape a public image." Times reporter Brooks Barnes points out that while Jennifer Lopez also sold pictures of her twins to People, she has a team of eight to assist her. "Ms. Jolie, 33, has her cellphone, a lawyer and [her manager] Mr. Kosinski (and, of course, the counsel of her partner, Mr. Pitt)."

Barnes insists that if a magazine wants Angelina's cooperation with a story, they're going to have to highlight her humanitarian work. He writes:

Shifting the focus is one of Ms. Jolie’s best maneuvers, magazine editors and publicity executives say. When she became romantically involved with Mr. Pitt, for instance, she faced a public relations crisis — being portrayed in the tabloid press as a predator who stole Mr. Pitt from his wife, Jennifer Aniston.

What did Angie do? She appeared in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Kashmir, focusing on international crises. "Presto, they come out looking like serious people who have transformed a silly press obsession into a sincere attempt to help the needy," says celebrity publicist Michael Levine. Of course, Angelina's philanthropic adviser, Trevor Neilson, who is a former executive at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, says: "People don’t realize the complexity of what Angie is doing. A lot of her charity work is done quietly and not in front of the media."

Meanwhile, numbers at magazines like In Touch and Life & Style — which do not have exclusive deals with A-list celebrities like Angelina — are down. Does this mean people are buying exactly what Angelina wants them to?

Angelina Jolie’s Carefully Orchestrated Image [NY Times]
For Two Celebrity Mags, a Reality Check on Readers [WSJ]

The DMA has its own opt-out service but it requires users to submit a credit card number to verify their identity and costs $1. That's right — they want you to pay not to get catalogs. Victoria's Secret and J. Crew declined to comment on the BusinessWeek article — while the Harry & David spokesperson said he was too busy making sure "all of Santa's orders come through" to discuss the issue. One thing is for sure: Without receiving catalogs, we would ever have found our new boyfriend or the beloved polyester Loser throw. Would you rather save the environment or live without a RoboPanda?

Cutting the Stack of Catalogs [BusinessWeek]

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