The Business of Magazines

i've read somewhere ... not that long ago ...
that men.style.com will shut down pretty soon ...

is that true ?
is that still what's gonna happen ?
 
You're so late on those news :lol::flower:

It will...to make things shorter they will make individual sites for Details and GQ.
 
source | wwd.com

OBSERVING THE PROCESS: Editors at 4 Times Square are about to have some company. This week, consultants from McKinsey & Co. have embarked on meet-and-greets with certain editorial staffers at Condé Nast. According to company insiders, the consultants are doing a deep dive into the editorial processes at Vogue and Condé Nast Traveler to observe all the functions of putting out a magazine, from retouching photographs to editing copy to organizing the fashion closets. Insiders believe McKinsey picked the two magazines to assess ones of different sizes — Vogue is a large circulation book with more than 1.2 million circulation, while Traveler is a midsize title with a circulation of 800,000 — cost structures, efficiencies and editorial approaches in order to get a sense of how processes within Condé differ. The plan is then to apply their findings to other titles at the company.

According to Condé insiders, the consultants are interviewing every person on the mastheads of both Vogue and Traveler to assess what their duties are and how they carry them out.

Insiders believe other titles are expecting visits from McKinsey — sources within the building said the consultants had met with staffers of GQ as well, but weren’t observing the editorial floor in the same manner as they are at Vogue and Traveler, and some believe Glamour could be next on the list. The visits should come as no surprise since chief executive Charles Townsend revealed McKinsey’s arrival in July, and at least one editor in chief — Anna Wintour — is said by sources to have told Condé Nast chairman S.I. Newhouse Jr. that she would welcome McKinsey to her offices.

Until the consultant’s report is complete, which is expected to be around the beginning of October, it’s anybody’s guess (and there are slews of those, both inside and outside Condé Nast) what the firm will mandate in terms of cost-cutting or reorganization. At this point, speculation is that more changes will be made on the business side of the operation rather than the editorial side. That said, McKinsey hasn’t made its way to the business side of most magazines just yet — and editorial isn’t expected to escape totally unscathed. A spokeswoman for Condé Nast declined comment.
 
Oh my, i guess there will be quite few people cut after McKinsey & Co. is done with their job, i do like that Wintour agreed to welcome them though, she is just fearless!
 
NO MORE EASY LIVING FOR CONDÉ NAST
The advertising downturn is forcing even the world's most prestigious publisher to tighten its belt.
James Robinson on the emergency strategies being taken at the home of Vogue, Tatler and GQ


Early in September, as models and magazine editors arrive in the capital for London fashion week, a report by management consultants McKinsey & Co is set to land on the desk of "Si" Newhouse Jr at Vogue publisher Condé Nast. The octogenarian chairman of the luxury publishing house summoned the men in grey suits to its New York offices six weeks ago in a bid to protect profits in the wake of the worst advertising recession in a generation.

McKinsey is expected to put forward a cost-cutting programme at the American arm of the group, which also owns fashion magazine Allure, GQ and the New Yorker. The idea of sombre management consultants ploughing through the expense account of Vogue editor Anna Wintour and quizzing Graydon Carter, who runs Vanity Fair, about the cost of the title's lavish Oscars party is a delicious one for Condé Nast's competitors, which include National Magazines, publisher of Esquire and Harper's Bazaar. All publishers are struggling, but Condé Nast has carved out a niche at the top end of the industry by investing huge sums in its titles, using their market dominance to charge the highest advertising rates. It is not a company usually associated with cutting corners.

Jonathan Newhouse, Si's cousin and head of Condé Nast International – currently outside the remit of the review – concedes that perks at the company, ranging from expensive stationery to lavish parties, are "part of the magic of our magazines". The recession, however, makes housekeeping measures inevitable.

Charles Townsend, president and chief executive of Condé Nast in the US, paints a gloomy picture of the company's short-term prospects: "We feel strongly that the recovery of revenues lost through the recession will be painfully slow in the US luxury marketplace." He emphasises that McKinsey has been asked "to look at processes and approaches to our business, not salary lines and headcount".

Condé Nast is owned by Newhouse's Advance Publications, which also runs dozens of American newspapers, and its accounts are notoriously opaque. In a good year its American operation is thought to make a profit of around $200m. This year, with the number of advertising pages down by between 30% and 40% at key titles, reflecting similar falls in the market as a whole, there is speculation in New York media circles that it could plunge into the red for the first time in its history. A spokeswoman simply said: "Condé Nast carried more ad pages here in the US in the first half of the year than any other publishing company. From the advertising that is available, we have maintained market share. The recovery will come, but there is uncertainty around timing."

The group's titles are heavily reliant on advertising from luxury goods houses and fashion brands, which have dramatically curbed their spending this year. In April, the second largest publisher after Time Warner closed its business monthly Portfolio, after spending up to $100m on the title in two years.

The situation in the UK is not as severe, and advertising is down by around 20%, in line with the European average. Industry sources say Condé Nast UK, run by Nicholas Coleridge, made £22m-£23m in 2008 and had a turnover of £125m. Coleridge concedes there are few signs that advertising is about to bounce back, but emphasises that the UK arm, which "has been profitable for 22 years", will remain so this year, despite two expensive launches, Wired and Love. "Individual magazines have seen green shoots throughout the summer, but there is no sustained recovery yet," he says, conceding that revenue will be down this year after record profits in 2008. "British Condé Nast was late into the recession (the autumn 2008 issues were notably fat with ad revenue) and we expect the downturn to last into 2010. Our main advertisers are not yet ready for a return to their previous levels of spend. But it will happen. During the recession of 1990-91, many predicted that the magazine industry would not get back to its previous levels. In fact, 1998-2008 was the strongest ever period for magazines."

Condé Nast International is run out of London by Jonathan Newhouse. He says it accounts for about 40%-50% of the group's revenues, but will not be drawn on how much it makes. Industry analysts believe the international business turned a profit of $170m (£102.6m) last year and estimate that could fall to $100m (£60.4m) in 2009 as a result of the advertising recession, but Newhouse seems sanguine. "We are withstanding the strain rather well and we will come out of it stronger than our competitors. So I'm not alarmed. You have to engineer your business to withstand downturns, which are part of the economic cycle." Of its outposts in 23 countries, only one is operating at a loss, he says. He adds that Condé Nast globally is stronger than it was in the last recession and launches have not been put on hold.

In the last year, it has unveiled "seven or eight" new editions, including Vanity Fair in Spain last September, and Bulgarian versions of Glamour and GQ. Vogue will launch in Turkey soon and a Chinese GQ will appear in October. Coleridge says the international business has trebled in size in 12 years and now employs 4,500 people, adding that it will also make a profit this year, "following record profits in 2006, 2007 and 2008".

The workforce at the international arm has been reduced by close to 10% over the past year by not replacing those who leave, according to Newhouse. He describes the measures as neither "drastic" or "draconian", but they are unusual at Condé Nast. Expenses have been targeted, with spending on taxis and flowers curbed; corporate hospitality has also been hit. During Paris fashion week, Newhouse says, "I would [normally] have a dinner for all the Vogue editors, fashion editors and designers in a nice restaurant as a way to build the spirit of the company." That didn't happen last season and has also been cancelled this year, as was Vanity Fair's opulent party at Cannes. That matters for a magazine company that operates in the upper echelons of the market, and where editors – and publishers – are expected to fraternise with the luxury goods houses that bankroll many of their titles, often claiming costly gifts for clients on expenses. Some staff complain that the unique character of a company whose titles are aimed at an "aspirational" audience is being slowly eroded.

Newhouse insists, however, that the magazines are in rude health, despite the recession and the problems in the US: "There's not a lessening of demand for magazines, even if some people are prophesying that." Even so, some observers believe advertising will not recover as more readers migrate to the internet.

The international arm's websites are being overhauled following the recruitment of a new president of its digital division, former Skype executive James Bilfield. More power has been handed to magazine editors, who previously had little involvement with the sites, and print journalists are now filing more copy online. Fashion writers at Vogue, for example, now write daily blogs for the website. "At one point we were operating the internet [sites] as a separate business," Newhouse says. "We've now reintegrated it and the magazine editors are all deeply involved.

"It's something we are doing because it's where our readers are devoting a good deal of their attention. We have to create products and services that correspond to the needs of our readers and advertisers."

The reorganisation is an acknowledgment that the internet will play a huge part in shaping the company, and maintaining profitability, long after the advertising downturn has ended.

In the meantime, according to employees, a new mood of frugality has taken hold at the privately owned company. Graydon Carter, a Manhattan-based media linchpin who usually lunches in New York's most fashionable restaurants, was even spotted at the staff canteen at the American headquarters in New York's Times Square recently. Newhouse will not discuss the situation in the US, but when asked about the Vanity Fair editor, he says, archly: "Graydon Carter has been to the company cafeteria more than once." He may be frequenting it more often in future.
theguardian
 
Last edited by a moderator:
^:lol:

Anna eats in the Condé Nast cafeteria all the time. She likes her burger blood rare!
 
wwd / august 19, 2009

NO MORE SPECIAL SHOPS: Lucky will no longer produce regional editions of its magazine that included product and shopping information specific to more than a dozen cities. The Condé Nast shopping title at one time produced 14 different versions of the magazine to distribute to cities including Dallas, San Francisco, Boston, Miami and Philadelphia, and employed stringers in various cities to produce specific content for each area. But since 2004 — long before McKinsey & Co. arrived in the halls of 4 Times Square — Lucky has pared back its regional editions. That year, it dropped two regionals and, six months ago, it stopped producing special editions in Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle, Baltimore and Dallas. By November, the magazine will cease regional editions for Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami and San Francisco. As of January, the magazine will no longer publish a New York regional issue. Lucky will further integrate national shopping coverage into its pages and on its Web site, luckymag.com. “After thorough research and evaluation of the continuing effectiveness of the regional editions, it was decided that they had served their purpose and that we would not be hurt by eliminating them,” said editor in chief Kim France. A spokeswoman for the magazine said some stringers would not have their contracts renewed as a result of the move.
 
source | wwd.com

WELL RED: Vogue’s creative director, Grace Coddington, continues to win far more than 15 minutes of fame for her scene-stealing turn in “The September Issue,” the documentary film about the magazine that premiered earlier this week. The September issue of French Vogue, arriving on newsstands Monday, devotes four pages to the flame-haired editor, including one devoted to tear sheets from her modeling days. The accompanying two-page article delves into her sometimes-prickly relationship with editor in chief Anna Wintour and contains this zinger: “Anna and I, we’ve known each other a long time.…We have a real mutual respect for each other, even though sometimes I feel like killing her.” It’s a sentiment Coddington also expresses in the documentary.

The French Vogue piece follows an article in the fall 2009 issue of T magazine, in which Coddington confesses she slyly used filmmaker R.J. Cutler’s crew for espionage purposes. “They were following Anna in the art department, listening to her reaction to my pictures. So I would ask them, ‘What did she say? Did she like them?’” As for stealing Wintour’s thunder, Coddington demurred: “It wasn’t intentional.”
 
source | wwd.com



PAPER’S BIRTHDAY: Paper magazine is marking its 25th anniversary next month — and it includes a rise of 4 percent in ad pages at a time when many other titles are reporting declines. New advertisers in the issue include Chanel, Nicole Miller, Intermix, CW Television, Morgans Hotel Group, Liz Claiborne and Showtime.

“We started as an indie business in a recession and we are celebrating our 25th anniversary, still independent, in tough economic times,” said David Hershkovits, co-founder, publisher and editor. He added the company has evolved and expanded, from just a publishing business to now being in the “content business.” “We have Buzzeteria — our online network, which includes papermag.com — and our marketing division, Extra Extra, which does larger programs for blue-chip companies like Target, Sony and Absolut,” he said.

Paper’s new issue also ushers in a top-to-bottom redesign, including a new logo from design director Andrea Fella. Publisher, editor and co-founder Kim Hastreiter said five different covers will be available on newsstands beginning Monday, each featuring five 25-year-olds, such as Mamie Gummer, Alexa Chung, Lydia Hearst, Zoe Kazan and Jessica White.

LeSportsac has created a limited edition tote for Paper that will retail in stores for $58, and the magazine is teaming up with HP (which is marking 25 years of the ink-jet printer) for an anniversary celebration at the New York Public Library on Sept. 8, to kick off fashion week.
 
^All this "Coddington is stealing Anna's limelight" - it couldn't possibly mean Grace C would become EIC eventually?
 
^Yeah, she seems to be 67 or something....thought she was much younger, around 55...
 
^yeah she's older than Anna. IMO as of now... they are grooming Katie Grand to be EIC eventually. Jonathan Newhouse loves her.
 
Okay Grand is (or was would be a better word) a very talented editor/stylist. But I believe Love is proof that she has lost her mind, so I seriously hope she doesn't get the job.

Also would Katie be willing to leave her own magazine to be confined to the restrictions of US Vogue? LOVE is a blank canvas. Katie can do anything she wants because people do not know what to expect. However she can't really shake things up at US Vogue.
 
Hmmmm....it's gotta be a while then, considering how far Love is from American Vogue...
 
I think Katie is being groomed for UK Vogue first, but who knows what could happen in the future. Personally I hope she gets neither.
 
I'm fairly certain that Grace Coddington isn't up for the EIC job, nor is she interested in it, at least not at Vogue. If the September Issue showed anything, it was that her role was definitely not of an editor but a creator and she's probably happier that way anyway.

Anna Wintour was probably clever and deflected attention away from herself to Grace who overall is more warm and likeable than Anna (and they both know it). A film based on Anna Wintour's infamous coldness won't go down well at all - instead it's balanced out by focusing on Grace Coddington.

I also don't think Katie Grand will be groomed for the EIC job. They like picking someone from the outside. Giving Grand free rein over her own magazine, only to have her be implanted somewhere else later (ie Vogue) - I just don't see that happening. But who knows!
 
I agree with MMA, imo Grand is being groomed for either US or UK edition, or possibly first UK and then US, i could totally see that happening.
 
I think this belongs in the thread, even though it's not official "news," per se:
14b40hj.jpg

Scanned by me from GQ September

I found it pretty intriguing in terms of marketing/censorship, at least :magic:
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Forum Statistics

Threads
212,652
Messages
15,194,465
Members
86,631
Latest member
KSoukupova
Back
Top
monitoring_string = "058526dd2635cb6818386bfd373b82a4"
<-- Admiral -->