The Business of Magazines

[KoV]

Sports stars and musicians seem to be the favored professions for GQ covers in the US, too. But there’s some recent exceptions even among POC cover stars, such as Issa Rae, Henry Golding, Rami Malek, and Michael B. Jordan.

 

[Benn98]

Men's magazines are far more diverse when it comes to race. Agreed, and it's not set out to look like an agenda. It fits seamlessly in with the magazine's aesthetic, and it runs throughout the magazine not only the cover.
They feature more black cover stars than women's magazines to begin with. Plus back in 2012 Jeremy Lin had a US GQ cover, UK Esquire gave Kohei Takabatake a cover on his own last year which was a great coup because he's a model, and British GQ gave Henry Golding a cover although that was a multi cover effort. Guys like Riz Ahmed, Zayn etc also have their covers and I'm sure there are more.
This is a women's magazine problem that needs sorting.

Now when it comes to shape diversity, men's magazines are the worst and that's because of body image standards that never quite moved with the times. And that's also the reason why Men's Health would have the worst stats ever. Plus that magazine should never be used in any conversation, ever. Especially on tFS. It's more toxic than the venom a death adder!

 

[MON]

But if you check GQ's Woman of the Year and the women they constantly feature... it's rather white.

 

[honeycombchild]

By definition Men’s Health is a magazine for men who want to work out, build muscle etc. So I’d argue that it doesn’t necessarily need to be as diverse in terms of the body type as magazine that exists to service those interested in fashion and beauty for example. As a man, I would like to see a fashion magazine for men that did indeed reflect multiple bodies, however as a man who’s going to pick up Men’s Health, well, then I know exactly what I’m going to be faced with as that it’s purpose?

They’ve Also featured Paralympian's and POC there before also, though definitely not enough of the later.

 

[tigerrouge]

I think this would result in revealing another problem in the print industry - the public itself.

Diversifying the covers and the contents are one thing, buying the issue itself is another.

The audience is an aspect that isn't being considered in the current discussions - a magazine is a commercial product, and if certain cover stars aren't bought by the public in comparison to others, what should a magazine be expected to do, given that they aren't being underwritten by independent funding or operating as a charitable foundation?

An editor can push for the magazine to take a chance, but the executives aren't in the business of betting on chance after chance after chance, if the general public doesn't bite after the first few times.

Well, that's how things were.

There is a certain bitter aspect to all the inroads being made right now - just as print is dying and no-one is buying. People are getting their time to shine in print magazines because the executives have calculated they've currently got little to lose and everything to gain from pretending they suddenly have a social conscience. What the executives really see are terminal declines in their traditional readerships and the opportunity to tap into new ones, as a last resort.

 

[KoV]

But if you check GQ's Woman of the Year and the women they constantly feature... it's rather white.

Agreed, they’ve rarely featured WOC (aside from superstars like Rihanna and Beyoncé) but recently they’ve improved in that area as well, at least at US GQ. Issa Rae was on the comedy issue in 2018, along with 2 white comedians. Serena Williams And J Lo have been the 2 most recent woman of the year and both got a cover (which often has been not the case for woman of the year.) They’re far off from where they are with men, but they’ve made recent progress, for sure.

 

[vogue28]

I vaguely recall Alexandra Shulman responding to criticism about the lack of diversity on British Vogue's covers at one stage in her career, and she answered back that it was simply down to market research and the findings stating Vogue's audience preferred subjects with blonde hair and blue eyes.

Shulman went on to say she had a magazine to sell, or something like that - hence why there was a total shortage of diverse representation back then.

 

[Benn98]

So I’d argue that it doesn’t necessarily need to be as diverse in terms of the body type as magazine that exists to service those interested in fashion and beauty for example.

Yeah, look I mean I think it does actually. The fitness advice they are peddling is outdated. It has been scientifically proven that just because you are on the chubbier or on the slimmer side doesn't necessarily mean you aren't fit or healthy, or can build muscle and such. The entire premise of Men's Health is to take both the chubby and slim bloke and morph them into their singular and tired 'Greek God' ideal. It's conformity. Thank God that has nothing to do with fashion and beauty.

 

[honeycombchild]

She also then essentially said, this year on a podcast, it wasn’t her fight to have to and there was only so much she could do.

I can’t say I had an abundance of respect for her as it was but that interview punched out the ring dregs that were there.

 

[Lola701]

I think this would result in revealing another problem in the print industry - the public itself.

Diversifying the covers and the contents are one thing, buying the issue itself is another.

Some people who clamor for diversity, are the very same people who allow BIPOC cover stars to fail in the newsstands. The people outside of this forum should start putting their money where their mouths are.

I'm saying "outside this forum" since I'm presuming most of the members here (or are actively participating in the magazine threads) are magazine collectors.

AMEN to this! As I said earlier, it’s a pity black women sells less or that we need a multi diverse cast on the cover to have black models or even that we need « blockbuster stars » like Beyonce, Halle Berry, Rihanna, Lupita Pr even Zendaya...

But this is a reality that people fails to realize. If representation is not supported financially, it means nothing. Because according to people on social media, Vogue (particularly) should have a black woman on a cover every month. Because let’s face it, the conversation is mostly about black people...Not diversity as a whole because people considers that Asians, Latinos, Arabs have their markets with each versions of the publications.

The conversation around having more people on the staff is kinda different but it’s also important as your readers or your audience influences your decisions and you need representatives of that audience to make the best decisions.

Buying magazines for me is like a militant act because I believe in paper, in the work of editors and on how magazines are totally important when you are into the lifestyle aspect of fashion.

It’s time to put some responsability on readers I think buy I don’t think the industry is brave enough to admit that. People seems to care a lot about magazines these days but at the same time, print is dying. Something is wrong..

 

[Benn98]

People seems to care a lot about magazines these days but at the same time, print is dying. Something is wrong..

Because their so called 'caring' is superficial and doesnt extend to sales. Rihanna posts her Vogue cover on IG, she'll get 300k likes, the magazine maybe 100k, everyone will share it all over the place. Hours later Vogue will put the entire interview and edit on their website. The next day a video surfaces on Vogue's YT page, but not to plug the cover or funnel users back to their website. To feed their YT followers and keep them on YT. 2 days later US Weekly will take one saucy quote, build a gossip story around it and run with that as well. In the meantime, nobody is actually running out to buy the magazine because all the selling points are available online for free on Vogue's website - high quality cover, edit images, story, the lot.

As despicable as I find UK magazines giving the Mail first dibs to their cover stories, a few lines get released and 2 images from the cover edit at most. You'll have to buy the magazine for the full set of images and full stories. No wonder they can still run January and June issues with 250pages each.

 

[Bertrando3]

I vaguely recall Alexandra Shulman responding to criticism about the lack of diversity on British Vogue's covers at one stage in her career, and she answered back that it was simply down to market research and the findings stating Vogue's audience preferred subjects with blonde hair and blue eyes.

Shulman went on to say she had a magazine to sell, or something like that - hence why there was a total shortage of diverse representation back then.

I remember that the past editor-in-chief of Vogue Brazil said the same thing.

 

[Bertrando3]

Because their so called 'caring' is superficial and doesnt extend to sales. Rihanna posts her Vogue cover on IG, she'll get 300k likes, the magazine maybe 100k, everyone will share it all over the place. Hours later Vogue will put the entire interview and edit on their website. The next day a video surfaces on Vogue's YT page, but not to plug the cover or funnel users back to their website. To feed their YT followers and keep them on YT. 2 days later US Weekly will take one saucy quote, build a gossip story around it and run with that as well. In the meantime, nobody is actually running out to buy the magazine because all the selling points are available online for free on Vogue's website - high quality cover, edit images, story, the lot.

As despicable as I find UK magazines giving the Mail first dibs to their cover stories, a few lines get released and 2 images from the cover edit at most. You'll have to buy the magazine for the full set of images and full stories. No wonder they can still run January and June issues with 250pages each.

ABSOLUTELY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Benn98]

Kellie is probably glad she got out when the going was good!

Bauer confirms Australian exit with sale to Mercury Capital

Max Mason
Media and marketing editor
Jun 17, 2020 – 10.47am

Bauer global chief executive Yvonne Bauer's foray into Australian media ended on Wednesday morning at 3.30am, closing off a chapter in the German family-owned company's history it may rather forget.

The Australian Financial Review's Street Talk column revealed the imminent deal late on Tuesday night, with Sydney-based private equity firm Mercury Capital, run by Clark Perkins, expected to pay less than $50 million for Bauer's Australia and New Zealand operations.

Bauer Media Group has spent $565 million via two acquisitions, including its initial move into Australia in 2012, buying ACP Magazines from Nine, publisher of the Financial Review, for $525 million, and most recently completing a $40 million acquisition of Pacific Magazines from Seven West Media in May.

The German company made several attempts over its time in Australia to convince Lachlan Murdoch to sell Bauer his privately owned radio business Nova Entertainment, which the News Corp co-chairman rejected. Bauer is Europe's largest radio broadcaster.

Magazine advertising has plunged since, and Bauer Australia has been through six chief executives since 2012, has closed multiple titles including Dolly, Cleo, Cosmopolitan and Men's Style, and pushed many rounds of redundancy, including 130 people in the latest round at Bauer and its recently acquired Pacific Magazines, which includes titles such as New Idea and Marie Claire.

In May, Bauer was forced to continue with the PacMags deal. It had agreed to the deal last October but tried to reduce the value of it and even get out of it after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission raised concerns about it in December, and the COVID-19 pandemic landed a major blow to its revenue.

Seven, using a financial guarantee Bauer's German parent company gave its Australia subsidiary, took Bauer to court to make sure the deal went through. Bauer closed down its New Zealand operations in the midst of the crisis.

'The future is really bullish': Hill
Mercury's new magazine publishing business will be rebranded with Bauer Australia chief executive Brendon Hill, who became CEO in July 2019 and first joined ACP Magazines in 2006, continuing to lead the company under private equity ownership, with its newly expanded portfolio of 43 brands. The Financial Review first revealed Mercury Capital's interest in November last year.

Mr Hill, however, is buoyant about the new ownership and the expanded portfolio of magazine titles following the PacMags deal completing last month.

"I think the future is really bullish. The combining of Bauer and Pacific together was a great move, and I'm even more excited now that we get to rebrand and be owned by someone else to really start a new chapter and a new business moving forward" Mr Hill told the Financial Review.

"The reach we've got, the digital audience, we'll continue to evolve those digital products, plus launch new ones off the back of the big audiences we have."

Mr Hill said it has "never been a part of our plan" to shut titles as part of the PacMags deal. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced some tough decisions; Bauer has currently suspended printing of Elle, NW and Harper's Bazaar.

"It's always been 'they work well now, so they'll work well together under one owner'. As far as I can see they have different audiences, different advertising, different targeting and they work really well, so that shouldn't change," Mr Hill said.

"However, the impact of COVID on advertising revenues was dramatic for all media, not just us, and it was a really difficult decision we made to pause some titles that were reliant on advertising. But we've still seen some green shoots there and the last three weeks has been more positive.

"We were always planning and hoping they would come back in September, October, but it is all so dependent on the impact of COVID-19 on the advertising ... when the advertising is there, they work. We are still planning for that."

Financial Review

 

[Srdjan]

So sad. I don't believe these magazines will come back at all.

 

[MissMagAddict]

I was the first black model on the cover of Vogue. The fashion industry still isn’t fixing its racism.

By Beverly Johnson

Beverly Johnson is an American supermodel, actress and businesswoman. She is the author of “The Face That Changed It All: A Memoir.”


Model Beverly Johnson. (Fadil Berisha /Fadil Berisha)

I was the first black model on the cover of Vogue in August 1974. I was told before it could never happen. Ruth Whitney, the then-editor in chief of Glamour Magazine, the venerable publication that gave me my first break in the 1970s, proclaimed that I had “broken all color barriers.

”My debut was meant to usher in a current of change in the fashion industry. But as the national conversation around racism expands, stories about discrimination in the fashion industry and at Vogue, in particular, have come under the spotlight.

After my 1974 cover, I shot hundreds more, including two more covers for Vogue. I was the first black model on the cover of French Elle. But my race limited me to significantly lower compensation than my white peers. The industry was slow to include other black people in other aspects of the fashion and beauty industry. I was reprimanded for requesting black photographers, makeup artists and hairstylists for photo shoots. Silence on race was then — and still is — the cost of admission to the fashion industry’s top echelons.

Anna Wintour, who has been the editor in chief of Vogue for over 30 years and is currently the doyenne of Condé Nast, admitted last week to a culture of structural exclusion at Vogue and across the fashion industry. Wow — after three decades, fashion’s leading arbiter has finally acknowledged that there may be a problem!

Managing racism is one of the things the fashion industry does do well. Year after year, companies inflict harm against black culture while actively gouging it for inspiration and taking all of the profit. In the past few years, brands have committed back-to-back racist faux pas. In 2018, Gucci created a minstrel-inspired line. Last year, Burberry created a hoodie with a noose around the neck. When called out, these companies plead for forgiveness, waving promises and money around. Then it’s back to exclusion as usual, until the next brand “accidentally” repeats racial vulgarity. The racism management cycle then begins anew.

Black culture contributes enormously to the fashion industry. But black people are not compensated for it. Brands do not retain and promote the many talented black professionals already in the fashion, beauty and media workforce. Brands do not significantly invest in black designers. The fashion industry pirates blackness for profit while excluding black people and preventing them from monetizing their talents.

For 50 years, I have fought for inclusion and equal pay in the fashion industry. My black model colleagues and I pushed for the inclusion of more black runway models, photographers, hairstylists and makeup artists. But decades later, the fight for inclusion is still fierce. In 2018, Beyoncé advocated for Tyler Mitchell, a black photographer, to shoot her September Vogue cover — making him the first black photographer to shoot a Vogue cover in its 125-year history. But Mitchell’s cover was a one-off, not a spark. Since then, there have been no black photographers who have shot a Vogue cover.

Wintour sits on the board of directors of Condé Nast, a global media juggernaut that owns publications such as Vogue, GQ, the New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Glamour and many more. Each month, Condé Nast’s digital content generates more than 1 billion views and reaches 423 million consumers across social platforms. Wintour steers the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s annual gala and is a force behind the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, which supports emerging fashion designers. Wintour is arguably the most powerful person in the world of fashion. Wintour’s power would ostensibly allow her to hold her peers in fashion accountable for making structural changes.

oI propose the “Beverly Johnson Rule” for Condé Nast, similar to the Rooney Rule in the NFL that mandates that a diverse set of candidates must be interviewed for any open coaching and front office position. The “Beverly Johnson Rule” would require at least two black professionals to be meaningfully interviewed for influential positions. This rule would be especially relevant to boards of directors, C-suite executives, top editorial positions and other influential roles. I also invite chief executives of companies in the fashion, beauty and media industries to adopt this rule.

Whitney declared I was “the Jackie Robinson of modeling.” Forty-six years after my Vogue cover, I want to move from being an icon to an iconoclast and continue fighting the racism and exclusion that have been an ugly part of the beauty business for far too long.
source | wapo

 

[MON]

In 2018, Beyoncé advocated for Tyler Mitchell, a black photographer, to shoot her September Vogue cover — making him the first black photographer to shoot a Vogue cover in its 125-year history. But Mitchell’s cover was a one-off, not a spark. Since then, there have been no black photographers who have shot a Vogue cover.

Without mentioning that Tyler Mitchell has shot Zendaya's cover, and the Beauty Without Borders issue. Further, that he is slowly becoming a permanent member of Vogue's roster.

Again, singling out Anna Wintour. How many BIPOC has Edward, Alt, Nina Garcia, Glenda Bailey has ever championed? These puff pieces for relevance has to stop.

 

[Benn98]

Without mentioning that Tyler Mitchell has shot Zendaya's cover, and the Beauty Without Borders issue. Further, that he is slowly becoming a permanent member of Vogue's roster.

Again, singling out Anna Wintour. How many BIPOC has Edward, Alt, Nina Garcia, Glenda Bailey has ever championed? These puff pieces for relevance has to stop.

Maybe the idea is to publish as much of these hit pieces until she gets sacked or steps down. But the one thing all these writers don't seem to realise is how much CN depends on her right now. You'd think everyone would be up in arms over Roger Lynch and what was revealed about his conduct, which is far more worrying that cheap stabs and false claims getting thrown around.

 

[Lola701]

« Wintour’s power would ostensibly allow her to hold her peers in fashion accountable for making structural changes. »

Beverly lost me there. It’s totally unrealistic. Being the most powerful person of the industry does not make you « Queen of the world ».

 

[KoV]

This reads as a self-congratulatory puff piece as much as it does an indictment of the industry. The rule she’s proposing doesn’t actually guarantee more diversity, isn’t inclusive of all BIPOC, and, of course, she named it after herself.