weirded out by newsstands

Often I'm next to a news stand and I can't help but wondering at the bizzare (at times alarmingly so) sight of all those magazines lined up, smiling faces on them. If a face is not smiling, it's guaranteed to be that of a celebrity or semi-celebrity in some (real or imagined) stressful situation. Example: "Madonna horrified at the price of lettuce!!" or some such tripe.

I look at the smiling faces and I wonder exactly why the smile, or the laugh, or the happiness. Who hit on the facade first as a magazine-selling mechanism? Is it a selling mechanism? Do the people that work designing the covers, a new smiley face every week enjoy their job? Do they find it fulfilling?

Wondering about all of this doesn't really give me any good answers (particularly since I ask these questions to myself :)), but at least it seems to relieve the weird-out effect and then I can go on and ignore the news stand and its printed, smiling faces until the next time it happens.