To put this issue into historical perspective, in the early days of our ODT Diversity Training programs (1982-2004) we always used the Mercator as an example of a "bad" or misleading map.  We purchased many, many Mercator maps from Rand McNally, the publisher of the map Jane used above on the Oprah Winfrey show ... as it was a best selling title for them ... up until 2005. When they ran out of those maps, we asked for permission to reprint it ourselves (again, only for comparison purposes in our Diversity Training sessions and in our Peters Map Teacher's Package). Here is the reply we got:

"The North America centered Mercator projection conveys a worldview and corporate image that are contrary to Rand McNally's mission of Map, Navigate, and Discover YOUR World (not "ours"). We do not license content or publish products that promote ethnocentrism."

So, in fact, corporate publishing in 2005 was "waking up" to to the cultural bias in maps... especially the Mercator. To continue with our Diversity programs, we switched to another Mercator image which we still sell today ... as an example of a bad map.