SI MAKES SWIMSUIT ISSUE OPTIONAL FOR SUBSCRIBERS

          Sports Illustrated this week published a notice for the
     first time offering subscribers the option of not receiving
     the magazine's annual swimsuit issue, according to an AP
     report in the BOSTON GLOBE.  SI Dir of Public Affairs Dave
     Mingey said it was the first year SI had published such a
     notice, "although we have offered that option for a few
     years."  Mingey said SI received "about 79" letters this
     year "critical" of the swimsuit issue, adding that the
     number has been declining since '75.  While "some readers
     have canceled their subscriptions in years past, Mingey said
     none did so last year" (AP/BOSTON GLOBE, 3/21).
          TO RECEIVE OR NOT TO RECEIVE?  SI's notice appears in a
     box on its Letters-to-the-Editor page: "To Our Readers:
     Subscribers who would prefer not to receive our annual
     swimsuit issue should write to SPORTS ILLUSTRATED ... or
     call Customer Service" (SI, 3/24 issue).