The Business of Magazines

[Marc10]

Sarah Moonves EIC???? Jesus, I rather stick with Stefano.

Just fold this title already, there's simply no chance this will work.

 

[Benn98]

'She's a genius'

According to who?

I'm really not a fan of Sara's styling. That's all I can add because that's the only medium of her work I'm familiar with. Cannot begin to imagine what sort of EIC she'll be.

 

[vogue28]

Sad to see Stefano Tonchi leave W. The magazine hasn't interested me in years, the recent rebranding efforts fell completely flat and W did become a shadow of its former self. Still, it was evident Tonchi absolutely adored the magazine, so I do feel for him and his departure.

 

[GivenchyAddict]

Already can say RIP W. Sara Moonves is the epitome of rich and talentless so as an EIC I have no expectations.

Plus, the new owner seems to be very bad. Tonchi did the right thing to refuse for whatever reasons.

 

[Faith Akiyama]

'She's a genius'

According to who?

I'm really not a fan of Sara's styling. That's all I can add because that's the only medium of her work I'm familiar with. Cannot begin to imagine what sort of EIC she'll be.

I think that quote is actually referring to Lynn Hirschberg (If I'm reading correctly).

 

[axiomatic]

Plus, the new owner seems to be very bad. Tonchi did the right thing to refuse for whatever reasons.

Agreed-not at all confident in their ability to lead this magazine, even at its diminished state

 

[axiomatic]

WWD's article on the sale:

Kali Hays
5-7 minutes
Stefano Tonchi is out at W magazine, which has just been sold to Surface Magazine.

The longtime editor of the oversize fashion glossy, at the title for almost a decade, has decided to leave after it was acquired by Surface, a deal reported by WWD. Tonchi wrote in a statement to WWD that he was “incredibly grateful to my team, my W family, who have been instrumental to the magazine’s success.”

“My top priority in the last year has been to ensure that W finds a new home and carries its legacy into the future, and that every effort is made to protect my staff’s job security,” Tonchi added. “I worked very hard to bring in and meet every prospective buyer. In my view, what is required is a larger vision, a proven track record, international experience, a robust business model with multiple revenue streams, and an ability to anticipate market trends, and ultimately, to innovate.”

As first reported by WWD, Tonchi wasn’t keen on the deal with Surface, after WWD reported on some of the operational and business history of Surface and its chief executive officer Marc Lotenberg. This was a swerve for Tonchi, who had been eager to find a partner to keep the magazine alive in print and stay in his leadership role. What Tonchi does next is an open question, but it seems unlikely he will simply retire from publishing and fashion altogether.

Condé’s new ceo Roger Lynch told company staff of the sale in a memo. He said the magazine, founded almost 50 years ago by WWD owner and publisher John B. Fairchild as a sister publication, will formally joint the operations of Surface and its little known publication Watch Journal. This marks the third sale since Lynch has taken over, with Brides and Golf Digest both going in May to new buyers. Although the titles were put up for sale under his predecessor Bob Sauerberg, it’s thought that Lynch was more eager to cut deals for the titles. He’s expected to do his own overview of the business once he’s completed a sort of “listening tour” of Condé’s offices and staff.

Replacing Tonchi as editor in chief of W will be Sara Moonves, daughter of ousted CBS chief executive officer Les Moonves and the magazine’s style director since 2017 and a stylist of many years. Amber Estabrook, vice president of revenue at Condé covering W, but also Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, Teen Vogue and Them, is leaving to company to join Surface as its chief revenue officer. Editor at large Lynn Hirschberg is staying with W as well, and Surface insisted in statement that 30 other staffers were coming on board as well. It remains to be seen how many will have staying power, as there has been previous concern among some, given Surface’s reputation as a company with very high turnover and a difficult workplace culture.

The three magazines now under Surface will become part of a new holding company, Future Media Group. Lynch explained that W “will fit well as part of this new, luxury-focused portfolio.” The sale also includes W’s license in Korea with Doosan Group. While the price was not disclosed, the asking price was previously said to be between $7 million and $8 million. While the buyer is Surface, the deal is said to have been made possible through outside financing from Magna Entertainment, which last year invested $2 million in Surface. Magna is a New York holding and investment company owned by Joshua Sason, who was sued in February by the Securities and Exchange Commission for “microcap fraud” that took place between 2012 and 2013, based on Magna’s alleged scheme of obtaining fake promissory notes to short penny stocks.

For the time-being, W’s small remaining staff will stay at Condé headquarters at One World Trade Center and Condé will manage ad sales for digital and video, along with broad operations of the brand, through 2019.

Nevertheless, Surface/Future Media, is already talking a big game. In a release on the acquisition, the company said it will be taking over W’s bureaus in Paris, Milan and New York (despite its remaining under Condé’s roof and operational management for now) and that there is even a new Los Angeles office planned. After the “transitional period” with Condé, the teams of W, Surface and Watch Journal will “converge” and start to work across all departments. Surface, which has a quarterly print product, said it intends to keep W’s current print schedule of eight issues per year. Lotenberg, who will become ceo of the new Future Media Group, said in a statement that under Sara Moonves, W will move “beyond its core print distribution into various offline, online and augmented formats.” Lotenberg did not get into specifics.

With plans already to effectively consolidate staffs and operations — something Surface is said to have gotten an early start on with a small round of layoffs earlier this month — it begs the question how long W staffers who are lower on the masthead and unlikely to have lucrative employment contracts will remain in their roles. With the loss of Tonchi, too, who basically served as W’s publisher, too, there is already chatter of whether W will be able to maintain its current level of access and sway with advertisers.

I haven't subscribed to Surface in years, but it seems an odd fit for the two magazines if they're gonna consolidate editorial staff

 

[Xone]

if you guys watch the mini doc "the remaking of W" you can see Stefano had a vision...bad that the magazine was very bad and out of place but i don't think the new EIC has the same passion. Better the devil you know applies perfectly in this situation...

 

[Benn98]

I think that quote is actually referring to Lynn Hirschberg (If I'm reading correctly).

Which I was aware of, I never got the Hirschberg hype - not back then and not now. And I'm sure Courtney Love and MIA will agree with me.

 

[MON]

Stefano had a vision, but that vision had no space in a dying industry. Thus, the resort to the W we have now.

 

[kasper!]

Another stylist con editor-in-chief...interesting.

 

[Marc10]

 

[axiomatic]

Stefano Tonchi Sues Condé Nast Parent Advance Publications
Kali Hays
3-4 minutes
Only 48 hours ago Stefano Tonchi was going on a decade as editor in chief of W magazine. Today he’s suing his former publisher.

Tonchi filed a breach of contract suit in local Manhattan court against Advance Publications Inc., the parent company of Condé Nast asking for just over $1 million in damages, claiming he was wrongfully terminated.

In his brief complaint, Tonchi argued that he “has not been convicted of a felony or abused his office, or intentionally failed to perform any material duties for which he has been responsible as editor in chief of W or otherwise, or violated any material term of the employment agreement.” Nevertheless, he says Condé claims to have fired him “for cause,” meaning the company did not have to fulfill any termination requirements in his employment contract, like severance.

A Conde spokesman called Tonchi’s claims “patently false.”

“Condé Nast has a long track record of honoring all our obligations and more,” the spokesman added. “We look forward to defending the case in court.”

According to Tonchi, his base salary was around $800,000 and his contract called for severance equal to that, along with coverage of health insurance. It even called for an additional $400,000 in salary to be paid if he could not find work a year out from his termination. But that is only if he was fired or laid off without “cause,” which he said is defined only as a felony conviction, “abuse of office” or some failure to perform his professional duties.

Tonchi also signed a “closing bonus” when Condé last year and still under the leadership of former chief executive Bob Sauerberg decided to sell W, along with Brides and Golf Digest. That contract purportedly specified that his employment contract “remain unchanged” and Tonchi went about locating potential buyers for W and met with them at the “behest” of Condé and Advance executives.

In the end, which was yesterday, W was sold to executives and financiers behind Surface Magazine, a deal Tonchi no longer supported after WWD reporting on the reputation of Surface, the ceo’s previous history and that of his backers. Tonchi wrote in his complaint that he was informed at a meeting Tuesday morning that he was being terminated for cause, and would not receive any of the pay laid out in his employment or closing bonus agreements. He added that the two executives he met with “did not provide any facts that constituted cause.” He’s said to have been escorted out of the building after the termination meeting.

“Defendants have unlawfully and improperly tried to invoke ’cause,’ absent any supporting facts, to avoid paying plaintiff the severance benefits and closing bonus amounts he is owed,” the complaint reads.

Tonchi is demanding $950,000 in damages, along with at least $130,000 in interest, putting his tally at $1.08 million.

 

[mikel]

Messy

 

[Xone]

wow...why execs act that way all the time...so embarrassing....and what a great contract Tonchi had...

 

[Benn98]

As a member of staff myself, I definitely support Tonchi. You'd think that companies would toe the line knowing that so many people actually read their contracts, and as such would have no problem dragging unfair dismissals to a tribunal. CN especially, after the recent Vogue Russia scandal. But no, they still pull stunts like this. And since that CN already took a knock selling W, Tonchi's 1million will likely be deducted from their already shaky profit which means they're somewhat out of pocket. You can't make this up, lol.

Yet with that said, I can't help wondering how exactly Tonchi sat and drew such a fat package while the staff around him got purged throughout, and made little to zero effort to rejuvenate W magazine which would at the very least help secure the ones left behind. It's absolutely unconscionable to me! I mean, this is W magazine, not Vogue China.

 

[dodencebt]

I wouldn't be surprised at all if this was true. Both Diana Vreeland and Grace Mirabella went out pretty much this same shameful way.

 

[Bertrando3]

So messy I LOVE IT ahahaha but then again all big corporations act like that and I´m sure financially Tonchi is ``OK´´ so we´ll see how this story unfolds but Condé Nast people are definitely ballsy ahaha.

 

[MON]

I’ll concede that CN did him dirty by that audacious move, BUT if I were Tonchi, I would’ve let it go. I mean this is bound to get dirty, and at least he can save face by the fact that he RESIGNED and was not FIRED.

Look at Carine, until now she sticks with the story that she resigned notwithstanding endless rumors of her being otherwise fired. She controls the narrative.

Not like this.

Although it got me thinking, maybe Tonchi WANTS this publicity then in a few years time he is to launch his scandalous tell-all memoir

I highly doubt he’s doing this for the $

 

[Melancholybaby]

I highly doubt he’s doing this for the $

Oh, you're underestimating rich people. He's 99% doing it for the money.

@Benn98 raised a great point, he was getting paid almost a million a year plus bonuses, while W's permanent staff was being laid off or made to go freelance.

I don't have any horses in this race, so I'll just follow this story for the public messiness.