FOLIO: Section Blogs by City and Regionals

When Bad Publishers Happen to Good Magazines

Dylan Stableford — Wed, 07 May 2008 15:28:06 -0400

[There Will Be Blood still, courtesy of Paramount.]

There is nothing that will create a bond between art and editorial quicker than a meddling publisher. Granted, editors and artisans should already be thick as thieves, but when a publisher starts needlessly getting involved in the creative aspects of a magazine, there will be blood!

Take the case of a design-driven b-to-b magazine. The creative staff worked together nicely throughout the production process, but almost like clockwork, the publisher would decide to put her two cents in. It basically happened every other issue.

Seriously, you could set your watch by it and it always involved cover art. Typically the magazine would run glossy, beautiful shots of a building’s interior or a statuesque shot of an exterior ... then along comes the publisher.

This particular publisher liked artwork on the cover. But not striking artwork. She would find stock art of a businessman going up a staircase or vague representations of dollars and cents or, worse yet, flow charts! Since the mag was a trade book, it’s not like newsstand sales were an issue, but the magazine still needed to be attractive. The problem was solved when the parent company was bought out by another company and all the individual magazine publishers were replaced with group publishers.

Now, there’s a nightmare nobody wants to go to sleep for!

Speaking of group publishers, consumer books have seemed to realize that the group publisher model just doesn’t work that great. It’s like a teacher with too many students or a single parent with too many kids; sooner or later somebody falls through the cracks and ends up on the streets. Magazines are no different ... I know this lesson firsthand.

Take the case of the group publisher who played favorites. After being acquired in a buyout, two b-to-b books found a new home at a big publisher. Both of the magazines’ publishers were fired and a new group publisher was brought in who had just seen the collapse of his venerable title after almost 100 years. (This magazine, by the way, survived two world wars and the Great Depression, but not this publisher!)

The new group publisher took a shine to one of the books that was more his style because it was glossier and more in line with what he was used to. The second book—the stepchild he got in the marriage, as the mag’s editor-in-chief termed it—was more nuts-and-bolts and technical, but highly respected and a leader in its field. Sales people were taken away from the tech-y book altogether.

Guess what happened? Sales plummeted! Go figure!

Then the tech-y book defied the odds and won a Jesse H. Neal Award for Outstanding Business Journalism. The magazine’s reward from the big publisher? Pink slips! And the three staffers sent packing were not even placed in similar available jobs within the company (apparently that was against policy).

Then, of course, you have the publisher who is extremely hands-off, lets the creative staff do what it was hired to do. Then one day he gets an idea because he’s been talking to other publishers—no more sodas at your desk; all headlines should be in "Courier"; numbers must always be on the cover ... ALWAYS! And insists that the edit and art staff institute new changes or rules. Luckily these kinds of publishers get distracted by other trends ... or something shiny!

If any editors or art directors have “bad publisher” stories, feel free to share!

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Harvard Lifestyle Magazine Featured Eliot Spitzer, Wife 'In Happier Times'

Dylan Stableford — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:28:42 -0400

That didn't take long.
A scant two hours and 17 minutes after the New York Times broke the story that linked governor Eliot Spitzer to a prostitution ring, I got this press release from a publicist for 02138, perhaps the last (only?) magazine to feature Spitzer and his wife on its cover.
From: [REDACTED]
Sent: Monday, March 10, 2008 6:03 PM
To: Dylan Stableford
Subject: Eliot Spitzer & wife Silda Wall on cover of 02138 ---in happier times

In Happier Times: Eliot Spitzer and wife Silda Wall on the “Power Couples” issue of 02138, the lifestyle magazine for Harvard influentials

Photo Credit: Jake Chessum at Capsule Studio in New York

Eliot Spitzer’s shocking admission about his involvement in a prostitution ring has rocked the political arena today.

Not long ago, Spitzer and his wife Silda Wall posed for the cover of the Winter 2007 “Power Couple” issue of 02138 magazine, the lifestyle magazine for Harvard influentials. The Harvard-educated couple, selected because of their influential careers and continued commitment to maintaining a strong and lasting relationship, seemed the picture of political marital bliss. The black-and-white cover photo showed a part of Spitzer and Wall’s relationship not often depicted in the public realm.

To read the full article from the “Power Couple” issue of 02138, go to http://www.02138mag.com/magazine/article/1113.html.

For a jpeg of the Winter 2007 02138 cover with Eliot Spitzer and Silda Wall, please contact me at [REDACTED] or [REDACTED].

Best,

[REDACTED]
Note: It appears Domino recently conducted a video interview and tour of the Governor's mansion with Silda. Perfect timing, that.
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Christian Groups Slam Boston Mag Ad

Jason Fell — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 17:21:44 -0500

As reeling Boston sports fans look for someone—anyone—to blame for the Patriots’ upset loss to the New York Giants in yesterday’s Super Bowl, Boston area Christian groups are pointing their fingers at Boston magazine over what they say is a controversial ad in the February issue.
The ad, for the Equinox Fitness Club, depicts a group of women dressed as nuns in habit sketching a buff naked man. The ad was designed, in part, by edgy advertising agency Fallon Worldwide as part of its “Happily Ever” campaign which the agency says asks: “What is your Happily Ever? What are you striving for in fitness? In life? What’s the fairy-tale end game to all your hard work?” The campaign has also run in a number of national magazines including Vanity Fair, Vogue and Esquire.
“This patently stupid ad that Equinox is floating suggests that it must hype its edgy image in order to compete,” Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights president Bill Donohue wrote on the group's Web site. “That’s too bad—apparently their targeted demographic group isn’t lured by the prospect of more barbells and fruit bars. Hence, the need to rip off Catholic imagery in a sophomoric soft-porn ad.”
Sophomoric? Maybe. I’m not sure how this installment of the “Happily Ever” campaign really helps sell gym memberships. Soft porn? The ad is certainly edgy (it has caused a bit of a stir, hasn’t it?), but I’m not sure that it really crosses any lines.
David H. Lipson Jr., president of Metrocorp (Boston magazine’s parent company) did not return an e-mail seeking comment. A Fallon Worldwide spokesperson declined to comment about the controversy.
What do you think?
NOTE: Please leave your comments in the comments section below.
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Philly Mag Editor Vetoes Congressional Bid

Dylan Stableford — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 15:20:36 -0500

Given that I live in a city that elected a bar owner as its mayor, you'd think that nothing about politics would surprise me anymore. Still, I couldn't decide whether to be tickled or befuddled at the ongoing rumblings that Philadelphia magazine editor Larry Platt was contemplating a run for Congress. [FULL DISCOSURE: I've been drunk with the guy. Several times.]
As recently as last week, Roll Call was making it seem like a done deal:
Philadelphia magazine editor Larry Platt is planning a bid against Rep. Jim Gerlach (R) and an announcement is forthcoming next month, according to a Pennsylvania Democratic operative with knowledge of the race.
"He's certainly moving ahead and finishing his due diligence, but we certainly expect that he will be running," the Democrat said. [...]
Local Democrats are hopeful that Platt's connections in the wealthy Philadelphia suburbs will be the ticket to defeating Gerlach in a district that voted for Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004.
Well, Philly Dems are going to have to make other plans. Platt has told his staff that he's out:
After being a prospective candidate for two days at the Pennsylvania Society last weekend, I was so sick of my own voice, so tired of hearing me talk about me, that I realized this life change wasn’t for me. When you’re a journalist, I realized, you’re interested in hearing and conveying other peoples’ stories. When you’re obsessed with your own story, you create your own little echo chamber inside your head. It’s not fun.
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Going Postal

Dylan Stableford — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 14:42:46 -0500

You don't often see the admittedly arcane subjects of postal rates and magazine circulation strategies debated in the mainstream media, but the U.S. Postal Service's recent rate hikes are back in the spotlight.
Here's pundit Eric Alterman:
"Back in March, the Commission voted to approve a plan pushed by a coterie of major magazine publishers that will likely increase mailing costs for small periodicals everywhere by as much as 30 percent—a crushing burden for many small, editorial operations. Big magazines like Time and Vogue, however, may actually see their rates decrease, owing to the new bulk rates."
Here at 5280, we mail about 40,000 subscriber copies each month but have only seen a modest boost in our postage costs. Because so many of our copies go to a relatively few local zip codes, we can qualify for many of the sorting discounts enjoyed by the big boys. But I'm guessing it's a different story for regionals that serve a larger area, or national pubs that serve a niche audience. Alterman continues:
About 5,700 small-circulation publications will incur the large rate increases. In many cases, the increase might put the final nail in their proverbial coffins. True, The Nation can absorb its likely additional $500,000 in postal costs by firing staff and cutting back in other ways; ditto National Review and its $100,000 increase. But for many smaller, particularly minority publications, the postal rates are literally a matter of life or death. And the death of these publications is a death in the marketplace of ideas and a blow to the function of a healthy democracy.
More on the increases, as well as a way to make your voice heard on the issue, is available here and here.
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You Get What You Pay For

Dylan Stableford — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 15:43:44 -0500

I have often said that anyone with basic Mac skills and the ability to pay a printer thinks they can be a player in the magazine publishing business these days. Most city & regional publications are having their markets diluted with freely distributed, rack-in-the-drugstore-vestibule publications. To a certain extent we are the victim's of our own success. Robust growth of the regional magazine business has resulted on healthy looking books in many markets and frequently forays into the bridal and shelter book markets by local publishers. Hence "the entrepreneurs" have been lured by the apparent riches they see in the four-color glossy pages of regionals.

Adding to the woes of reputable publishers is the fact that many of these neophyte entrepreneurs routinely and glaringly ignore all the MPA rules regarding editorial integrity on their pages. Our sales folks are routinely queried by advertisers conditioned by these publications- looking for free editorial ink as a thank you for their advertising commitments. The fact that these publications are four color glossies seems to lure some of the less knowledgeable local advertisers like a moth to a flame.

Emmis Communications has taken a leadership role in the city and regional publishing business by commissioning multiple studies in the markets where they own magazines to determine the "recallability" of these free rack and forced distribution publications. In every case the "other" non-audited publications are not even on the radar screen when it comes to recall and effectiveness of content-both advertising and editorial-in swaying the recipients buying habits.

The first question all of us need to ask advertisers when confronted with this merging completion is "Do you really know who is looking at your ad?"

Second one: "Do you think they are really spending time looking at it?"
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Publishing in the (Long) Shadow of New York

Dylan Stableford — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 18:22:03 -0500

The publishing world may seem gloomy in Magazine Central, but out here in what many New York print types view as the hinterland, I'm thankful to be a regional magazine publisher. For one thing, people still do read magazines, especially the ones that cover topics they have a passion for and -- laugh if you will -- our readers have a passion for all things Jersey. I think Dan Brogan, my fellow regional publisher from Denver (5280), gave the best explanation of the strength of our category when he called city and regionals enthusiast magazines for a particular place. Our readers really do want to know where to go, where to eat, and, let me not forget, who the best doctors are.
Our pink sheet is clean, but I am thankful that our advertisers don't read pink sheets. Yes, they look at the first page, and I am hearing more about "accountability," but the tempests at ABC that increasingly pit advertisers and agencies against publishers haven't crossed the Hudson Ocean (err, I mean River).
I hear a lot about national advertisers moving their advertising from print to the web and other new media, but I am thankful that our advertisers haven't joined the stampede-yet. They are experimenting with new media, but haven't allowed themselves to forget that it's all about results rather than following the fashions, which is good for print. Judging from some of the comments I heard at the City and Regional Magazine Association conference in September, local advertisers in some areas are starting to shift dollars to the web, but we have some time to craft our own web strategies to take advantage of the transition.
Operating a business in the New York Metro has its downsides-and that's a rant for another day-but there are some things to be thankful for, such as the incredible talent pool that Magazine Central represents. About half our staff members have gotten their training at one of the large, national magazines in our backyard.
Publishing a magazine outside NYC gives me much to be thankful for, and, if anyone can come up with a way for a magazine to make serious money on the Web, I'll be grateful for many Thanksgivings to come.
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How Regionals Differ From City Magazines

Dylan Stableford — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 14:54:08 -0500

As editor-in-chief of a regional magazine-Southern Breeze-I get a lot of other regionals across my desk that I never knew existed. And while all magazines everywhere-with the exception of InStyle and most of the other ladies books-are fighting for ad dollars, our challenge seems wholly unique, even in the regional realm.

Southern Breeze delivers "the good life on the Gulf Coast" so we cover the tropical South along the Gulf of Mexico from Lake Charles, Louisiana to Apalachicola, Florida. Editorially, this is great because we have a large swath of the Southeast to feature in every issue. From an advertising standpoint there are significant challenges. What is a benefit for the writers-an entire region to cover-is a detriment for the ad salespeople. Why would a restaurant in Baton Rouge buy a full page ad when the magazine only covers a portion of its audience?

We also can't do a lot of the types of stories that city magazines do each year like the "Top 10 Doctors," "Top 10 Lawyers" et al because we're not exclusive to any one city. What is a boon to most city magazines would be ill-advised for us. Add to this conundrum the fact that we compete with other city publications and you'll find the print advertising dollar stretched very thin. There are only a few regional mags that have pulled this off successfully that I can think of, most notably Southern Living (duh), Midwest Living and Sunset.

As spectacular as these magazines are, none of them had their entire coverage area gutted by a spate of what we down here call "tropical occurrences." Hurricanes Katrina, Ivan and Rita gave us all a bit of a beating physically, financially, and emotionally. Sure our advertising dollars dwindled during that time, but we bounced back pretty quickly. We're not just the little regional magazine that could, we're the little regional magazine that does: ad dollars, competition, and Mother Nature notwithstanding.
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Time Out New York Editor's Sex Issue Goal: Cancelled Subscriptions

mtownsley — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 03:00:00 -0400

Brian Farnham, speaking at the American Magazine Conference Monday, said he had one goal in mind when putting together the 2007 sex issue, his second as editor: Cancelled subscriptions.

"If you do a sex issue and no one cancels, you're probably not doing your job," Farnham said.

Farnham said after no one cancelled their subscriptions after publishing the first sex issue of 18-month tenure at TONY, he wanted five this time around.

"I'm happy to report we vastly exceeded my goal."
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Selling 'Six'

mtownsley — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 03:00:00 -0400

As Folio: previously reported, Rupert Murdoch's New York Post launched the latest glossy iteration of Page Six late last month as a Sunday insertion with guns aimed at the hated Gray Lady's New York Times Magazine. What we didn't report: the tabloid's marketing push. The Post has thoroughly (if annoyingly) blanketed subway cars and Metro North trains with display advertising, like the placard above, playing the obvious alliterative "sex" theme. They're even running an ad on local New York television stations.

No word (yet) on how Six is selling. Stay tuned.
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