K-Day

In London last week, the world's biggest daily, the tabloid Mirror (circ. 4,432,700) got out its three-inch type for a single banner headline: WOMEN. In smaller type, the Mirror added: Dr. Alfred C. Kinsey, the World's No. 1 Sexo-analyst, Blows the Gaff Today on All About Eve. Indiana's Dr. Alfred Kinsey was not alone in blowing the gaff. K-day --the prearranged release date* for a summary of his book on Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (TIME, Aug. 24)--set off the biggest and raciest commotion the world's press had seen in years.

Self-Analysis. In reporting Kinsey's findings, newspapers revealed as much about themselves as Kinsey did about women. The New York Times had refused to sign the contract required to cover the event, used only a 1,000-word condensation of the A.P.'s summary--and buried that on the book page. With characteristic spleen, the Chicago Tribune reported the news, denounced Kinsey as a "real menace to society."

Many papers, e.g., the Oakland Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, did not run a word from the entire report. Neither did the gossipy Hollywood Citizen-News, which half-proudly, half-wistfully called its readers' attention to the fact that it had passed up the "most sensational news story in the history of journalism." The stately Philadelphia Bulletin had a worse case of split personality. It had signed the agreement, sent a reporter to Bloomington, Ind. to get the Kinsey report story, and had his 3,300-word summary written. But it finally killed the story with this rueful notice to readers: "It is impossible to present any adequate summary of the findings without giving unnecessary offense to many in [our] large family of readers . . . For those who want it," the Bulletin added helpfully, "the book itself will be available next month." Slightly less timid, the Raleigh Times ran no story but offered galley proofs of the wire-service account to any readers who wanted them, gave away more than 900 by week's end.

Hearst papers generally gave the story maximum play, while simultaneously cluck-clucking on their editorial pages. Hearst's New York tabloid, the Daily Mirror, which seldom passes up any story with a sex angle, explained to its readers that it ran this "supposedly . . . scientific effort [because] we felt we could not become overpious and fail to publish it." Scripps-Howard editors had local option on how to handle the story, e.g., the San Francisco News ran only an explanation of why it was leaving Kinsey out ("This is adult reading"), while Denver's Rocky Mountain News cut out the data on teenage petting. Other editors had more trouble figuring out euphemisms for Kinsey's clinical expressions.

His Next Lecture. Some editors did their best to keep the story going, with follow-ups on what women thought about Kinsey. Many readers were indignant. The Great Bend, Kans. Tribune got so many protests "from religious groups and . . . individual readers" that it stopped a five-installment series with the first and swore off: "No more Kinsey."

In England, the Mirror's lusty coverage was countered by the usually sensational Daily Express, which omitted the report and wrote instead about "Our Sex-Sodden Newspapers." In Italy, most papers gave it only brief, rather bored play, or ignored it altogether. Sophisticated Paris simply yawned. Said Alfred Charles Kinsey, vacationing in California: "My next lecture is Aug. 25."

* To gain access to Kinsey's study, some 160 newspaper and magazine writers had signed contracts binding themselves to such restrictions as: 1) not to publish stories until release date, 2) limit them to 5,000 words, 3) submit advance copies to Kinsey for his approval on their accuracy.

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