Quote, unquote: On the thriving of magazine covers, not necessarily as covers

In the digital age, the magazine cover has become a separate entity, no longer necessarily attached to the rest of the magazine. Digital did for the magazine cover what it did for articles -- it gave them a life of their own. Many readers, for instance, will encounter a cover on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter long before they see it in print, extending its reach with every “like” and share. Indeed, cover images are getting into the hands of readers faster than ever before. While digital media seems to be making the newspaper “front page” less and less important, the opposite is true of the magazine cover.

-- From Catherine Taibi's article on Huff Post: "How The Magazine Cover Is Surviving -- And Thriving -- In The Digital Revolution"