The Business of Magazines

[Xone]

Porter's first biannual outing now isn't coming later in 2020. They replied to my comment via Instagram asking where the new print edition was, and "exact dates will be available in the future". Ugh.

I always had the idea that they'll never gonna make a print edition again....and with that reponse, it makes it more clear....

 

[MON]

Why's Naomi out? I checked my copy of the March issue and she's still listed as the contributor in the masthead (+ featured in the dinosaur editorial).

Someone posted in the Model Behavior Thread (I think it was @Benn98 [correct me if I’m wrong]) that Naomi and Edward’s relationship had fallen out and her future in the magazine is uncertain (somewhere along those lines). I think it was about work ethics and Edward’s closeness with Naomi’s ex, Liam Payne. Take it with a grain of salt as this came from the Mail.

 

[tigerrouge]

"Work ethics" has never mattered when it comes to trophy hires at magazines, but if Naomi has yet again become persona non grata at UK Vogue, then somewhere out there, Alexandra Shulman is.... probably now also waiting for the moment when the momentary sales triumph of a Meghan-edited issue starts lingering around the magazine like a bad association that won't go away.

 

[Benn98]

Alexandra Shulman is.... probably now also waiting for the moment when the momentary sales triumph of a Meghan-edited issue starts lingering around the magazine like a bad association that won't go away.

LOL. Well you know of course she's got another memoir about her time at Vogue to be released in April. So expect quite a few soundbite articles, along with a push for her Boots makeup kits.

 

[Benn98]

OUR FAVORITE NEWSSTAND GUY TELLS US WHICH FASHION MAGS ARE STILL HOT SELLERS

written by Eddie Roche February 14, 2020

It’s been a hot minute since The Daily stopped by Magazine Café on West 37th Street to catch up with our buddy Manish Golchha. How are beloved glossies holding up in stores? Brace yourself…

Last man standing!
The problem we’re having is we can’t keep popular magazines in stock, which is an issue. The supply chain isn’t that strong anymore for international magazines. It’s difficult to reorder. They come from overseas, and the volumes are less because they don’t want to pulp the magazines when they are left over. Shipping from Europe is expensive.

Has that increased the newsstand prices of international magazines, compared to, say, five years ago?
No. The prices are still the same. No one is going to pay more than $15.

Obviously the international editions of French Vogue and British Vogue do well. Are any other Vogue editions doing well?
The current issue of Vogue Italia is extremely hot. It’s an eco-friendly issue because there were no photo shoots. It’s basically illustrations inside, so they didn’t have to fly models to do photo shoots. People are finding the illustrations different and are taking to it. It’s cool! But I think it’s just a novelty. They had to do something different to get the eyeballs.

Which American titles are flying off shelves?
Vogue is always our No. 1 seller; we sell about 200–300 copies a month. V is doing very well. InStyle and Harper’s Bazaar are also doing well. Interview took a bit of a break, if I’m not mistaken. We weren’t getting it here. It’s back, but it’s not like before. It’s gone down. Maybe they skimp on the quality or there are changes in the team.

Any other glossies that have dipped in sales?
Porter is not doing too well. People aren’t picking it up.

Is Jennifer Aniston still selling like hotcakes?
Not really. Taylor Swift does unbelievably well. Beyoncé is on every fourth cover. J. Lo [sells] once in awhile. Gwyneth Paltrow still does well.

How are the tabloids doing? Is Meghan Markle your favorite person now because she sells so many magazines?
Yes! I would like her to be in controversy forever! The tabloids are okay. There are less than before.

How are the indies doing?
Lula Magazine has gone down. iD, LOVE, Pop, and Dazed & Confused are all selling pretty well.

How many copies of System do you sell a month?
We used to sell way more before, but we sell 30 to 40 copies a month.

What’s the hottest new title?
Cabana has exploded out of nowhere. It’s become a raging-hot magazine. They always have different covers with a text [heavy] feel with different designs. We can’t keep enough of them on our shelves. We sold 1,000 copies of one of the issues. People love collecting them.

What’s your favorite magazine to read?
Numéro Homme is pretty interesting for men’s fashion. Besides that, I love gadgets, so I love Stuff.

How’s the adult section doing?
It’s mostly visited by aged 60-plus males! It’s for people who don’t have access to online p*rn. Otherwise, nobody’s looking at them anymore. There used to be a French Playboy-style magazine called Lui and we used to sell a ton of them, but they shut down.

Why do you think things have changed so much in magazines?
People can get access to content on their smartphones. Print isn’t going to die. It will always have a place. The market has shrunk, but people still like having a magazine to hold in their hands. We’re seeing things stabilize.

Fashionweekdaily

 

[MON]

Which American titles are flying off shelves?
Vogue is always our No. 1 seller; we sell about 200–300 copies a month. V is doing very well. InStyle and Harper’s Bazaar are also doing well. Interview took a bit of a break, if I’m not mistaken. We weren’t getting it here. It’s back, but it’s not like before. It’s gone down. Maybe they skimp on the quality or there are changes in the team.

This is why Anna does what she does

 

[Benn98]

You must have to pity for Dan Peres, lol. The man has clearly been living in some sort of cocoon over the past few years. I thought the New York Times writeup was damaging, but it's really child's play next to what is being written elsewhere about this memoir after they've tried so hard to package this as 'sensitive.' He even comes across as very vapid on podcasts specialising in mental health. I'm guessing he and Harper Collins thought the media would instantly warm to the book and consider it similar to Beautiful Boy when actually, it would make a great John Waters movie because all of it is dripping in camp. And maybe that was their first mistake because Dan himself comes across as impossibly campy, so lengths should have been taken to show more of his personality and less about the juice tidbits or the drama. Or maybe this is being explored in the book?

Also, sadly this memoir is coming at a point where society does not really have the time nor inclination to listen to what a privileged white man has to say. For instance, I was shocked to find a copy of Nicholas Coleridge's British Vogue memoir tucked behind the general autobiography section instead of the Fashion section where you'd find Alexandra, Tina and JJB's memoirs. Would the everyday reader know who he was, and what the memoir represented? Doubt it. But anyone interested in fashion magazines certainly would.
The takeaway from all these terrible Peres reviews so far mostly read to the effect of 'how a white man got everything handed to him on a platter and squandered it all'. And while that's probably an unfair approach to take given he's talking about addiction, Peres and Harper Collins should have given more thought on how the current social climate would interpret this.

And suddenly the PR agents of all those other media people with upcoming memoirs must now think of strategies in addition to just rounding up a bunch of outlets to plug their books. Pity, because I'm looking forward to Ariel Foxman's memoir.

 

[Xone]

Click and read about Alexandra Shulman's new book....funny
Clothes... and other things that matter

 

[JPineapple]

 

[axiomatic]

wwd.com
Hearst Casts Its Net Far and Wide in Search for Harper’s Bazaar Editor
Kathryn Hopkins
5-6 minutes
As the search for Glenda Bailey’s successor as editor in chief of Harper’s Bazaar goes on, Hearst Corp. executives are casting their net far and wide — and a few new names have come into the picture.

One of those said to be in the running is Fabien Baron. While his name is new to the race, Baron is certainly no stranger to Harper’s, having worked there in the Nineties as creative director when Liz Tilberis was in charge. Most recently, he’s been running his creative agency Baron & Baron, which counts Dior, Zara, Coach and Bottega Veneta among its clients. Other side gigs include a pricy coffee-table tome.

Baron, who was on a retreat in Europe and could not be reached for comment, certainly has the right contact book for the job thanks to his decades of editorial work within fashion and celebrities and he brought in plenty of talent to Interview magazine when he was its editorial director and before it imploded. There are questions, though, over his digital chops.

Samira Nasr, executive fashion director at Vanity Fair since 2018, is also understood to be someone Hearst executives are looking at and certainly has contacts on the creative side, although perhaps not the advertising contacts that some of the other candidates boast. She does have a history at Hearst, though, previously working as Elle’s fashion director. Prior to that, she was style director for InStyle. Nasr could also not be reached for comment.

In addition to Baron and Nasr, Hearst is thought to have extended its search outside of the U.S. and is said to be eyeing some international editors, including Jo Ellison, the new editor of the Financial Times’ How to Spend It and the newspaper’s former fashion editor. Vogue Mexico editor in chief Karla Martinez was also in the running and met with executives last month, sources said, but it’s understood she’s not in a position to move countries for personal reasons. The two declined to comment.

As well as Martinez, someone else who has been at Hearst Tower recently is Phillip Picardi. He has been without a full-time position since mid-December when he stepped down as editor in chief of Pride Media’s Out magazine. However, it’s understood that his visit to Hearst was more of a “let’s get to know each other” meeting and that the Bazaar job wasn’t specifically discussed.

Elsewhere, InStyle editor in chief Laura Brown is another name being repeated in media circles. Brown, who declined to comment, is also no stranger to Harper’s, having worked for the U.S. edition for more than a decade until she departed in 2016 to join InStyle. But sources say she’s happy at InStyle and enjoys the Hollywood side of things and that Bazaar would bring her back to straight fashion.

Still thought to be in the running are digital director Joyann King and Wall Street Journal’s Kristina O’Neill. When the news first broke of Bailey’s departure, King, the executive editorial editor of Bazaar’s web site, was thought to be the frontrunner as elevating her fits in perfectly with the apparent strategy employed by Hearst Magazines president Troy Young of promoting successful web editors from within to take on editor in chief roles.

But as she still hasn’t been put in the top job, there has been more chatter about the role going to an outsider. One source said the thinking is that if she doesn’t get it she will be given an editor in chief’s title at another Hearst publication when a suitable position comes up.

O’Neill has been mentioned as a possible successor to Bailey for several years, but she has always said she is happy at WSJ. Still, with her success with advertisers and events at WSJ, O’Neill seems to be a good option for Bazaar, even as a source pointed to her relative lack of digital experience, something Young and Hearst chief content officer Kate Lewis are hyperfocused on. She does know the magazine well, though, having been its executive editor prior to joining the Journal. O’Neill and King could not be reached for comment.

Interestingly, Elisa Lipsky-Karasz, O’Neill’s deputy, is also thought to be in the running for the Harper’s job. Lipsky Karasz, who’s been at the Journal since 2012, also has a history with Harper’s, having worked there for three years as features director. She declined to comment.

While not commenting on any potential candidates, Kate Lewis, chief content officer at Hearst Magazines, said: “It’s been a delight for me to talk to so many people who think so much of this brand. Those conversations are ongoing – we’re in the midst of fashion month so there will be no announcement until after the shows.”

 

[caioherrero]

Baron ❤️❤️❤️

 

[aracic]

Ooh, I'd definitely love Baron for Bazaar!

 

[MON]

Call it whatever, but I think men leading women's magazines is a disaster. I am yet to be impressed by male editors.

 

[mikel]

Please let it be Baron.

 

[Benn98]

Not the right fit. He'd be a great creative director for Bazaar, but like Mon I'm not sold on him as an editor in chief. At least not for this magazine. Definitely Vogue Italia though.
The problem is this job at Bazaar is not just about getting the right stylists and photographers, there's wheeling and dealing with advertisers, coaxing celebrities and power agents, setting up reader initiatives and so forth. It's a big business. And Fabien is a creative to the core.

 

[vogue28]

Fabien Baron as Glenda Bailey’s successor would be a dream, and Baron at the helm of a major fashion magazine like Harper’s Bazaar would surely throw a spanner in the works for its rivals and prompt them to do better.

A design overhaul would be imminent and I believe celebrities would flock from afar to be featured on the cover (à la Edward and British Vogue). Baron would have his work cut out trying to ditch the cheap and amateurish cover shoots, however. I’d be down for Baron’s Bazaar, nonetheless!

 

[mikel]

Fabien Baron as Glenda Bailey’s successor would be a dream, and Baron at the helm of a major fashion magazine like Harper’s Bazaar would surely throw a spanner in the works for its rivals and prompt them to do better.

A design overhaul would be imminent and I believe celebrities would flock from afar to be featured on the cover (à la Edward and British Vogue). Baron would have his work cut out trying to ditch the cheap and amateurish cover shoots, however. I’d be down for Baron’s Bazaar, nonetheless!

He succeeded 30 years ago, so I have high hopes he will succeed this time if he gets the chance.

And wouldn’t it be hilarious if he was able to lure Meisel to Bazaar?

 

[GivenchyAddict]

Baron for HB, there are some pros and some cons but it would be still way better than Glenda Bailey

 

[tigerrouge]

What exactly is going on with US Bazaar that the existing editor is going and they have no immediate replacement lined up? Print isn't what it was, but this is still the editorship of a major US magazine, yet all the press makes it seem like even an intern would turn it down.

And UK Bazaar also still needs an editor, as for as we know.

Is there something going on at Hearst that makes working for them very unappealing at the moment? Editors leaving "on good terms" for "other projects" and no-one rushing into the seats left spare.

 

[Benn98]

And UK Bazaar also still needs an editor, as for as we know.

Is there something going on at Hearst that makes working for them very unappealing at the moment? Editors leaving "on good terms" for "other projects" and no-one rushing into the seats left spare.

I was listening to an interview with Justine (btw, worst person ever to interview because she's unbelievably evasive and answered maybe 2 out of 10 questions directly!). Anyway, she said she always wanted to leave when the going is good as opposed to overstaying her welcome. So I get that nobody is actively campaigning for the US edition, but based on a few posts ago, the UK edition couldn't be in better shape! They've even seen an increase in sales.

Both editions are ripe for a massive design overhaul. Maybe it's because nobody really knows how to come up with new ideas the would appeal to readers nowadays.