The Business of Magazines

[MissMagAddict]

source | wwd.com

Some sources claim Stefano Tonchi has signed a deal to become editor in chief of W.

IS HE OR ISN’T HE?: The rumor mill grinds on. It seems W magazine will be getting an editor in chief any minute now, and it will, in all likelihood, be Stefano Tonchi — depending on whom you ask. One highly placed source inside The New York Times confirmed Tonchi has been speaking with Condé Nast, but said the editor had not yet made a decision regarding the W job as of Friday. But several other sources said Tonchi had already signed a deal with Condé Nast. “It’s been known for a while, but they didn’t want to announce it all in one day,” said one Condé Nast insider, referring to the split between W and WWD. “They wanted to give [it] breathing room.” It is widely believed the company will reveal its pick for W’s top spot as early as today.

And while a Condé Nast spokeswoman denied a decision had been made, she said there “will be an announcement possibly early next [this] week.”

 

[MissMagAddict]

source | wwd.com

REMEMBERING MCQUEEN: The New Yorker’s style issue pays homage to the late Alexander McQueen with a cover illustration that features the designer’s butterfly hat, originally inspired by muse Isabella Blow. In addition, Platon provided the magazine with a previously unpublished photograph of McQueen, taken in his early days as a designer, as part of a photo portfolio.

Inside the issue there is a profile of cashmere titan Brunello Cucinelli, who points to President Barack Obama as a recent inspiration, calling him the new Marcus Aurelius. Cucinelli has even gone as far as commissioning a marble bust of Obama, which will be displayed in his home, next to those of Socrates, Seneca, Aristotle and Aurelius. “I sit in front of the fire and talk to them,” Cucinelli told writer Rebecca Mead.

Despite the economic downturn, Cucinelli said the business was profitable last year, and he has hired 20 people since the financial crisis began.

Meanwhile, the issue also has a look at fashion Web site Polyvore, which is referred to as “the world of virtual Anna Wintours.” Jess Lee, vice president of product management, told writer Alexandra Jacobs that the site sets out “to empower people on the street to think about their sense of style and share it with the world.” She believes that the “Funny Face” days are history. “Newspapers and magazines are, like, these things outside that get wet,” she said. “They’re like roadkill.” The style issue hits newsstands today.

source | newyorker.com

 

[MON]

OMFG! Peter Lindbergh to return in US VOGUE! Imagine fresh face celebs shot by Peter

About the W speculations, I really don't think Carine would leave Vogue Paris. Vogue Paris is bigger than W and I don't think she suits the job. W is too celebrity and Carine is too focused on her favorite models.

There's this article in Bryanboy linking Andre Leon Talley as the possible EIC of W. He was removed or "reshuffled" from Editor At Large to a Contributing Editor. Read it if you want.
"Bryanboy.com"

 

[MissMagAddict]

source | nypost

A new editor for W is expected to be named early this week, according to a company spokeperson.
With long-time top editor Patrick McCarthy now out as editorial director, the guessing game on the new editor continues to be the most gossiped about position in the publishing world. According to Maurie Perl of Conde Nast, "We have not named an editor yet, but we may by early this week."
The early favorite, Joe Zee, the creative director of Elle, is now seen to be in a neck and neck race with Stefano Tonchi, the editor of the New York Times fashion magazine "T."


Tonchi's status was given a big boost when it was floated in the WWD gossip column Memo Pad on Friday.
"He's dapper and he'd be good at selling ads," said one source. Less clear is if Tonchi has the contacts with top fashion photographers needed for a very visual magazine.
Whoever is named editor will have to refashion the masthead as it moves from the gritty Fairchild division into the glitzy Condé Nast wing of Advance Publications.
Many of the current writers are pulling double duty working on both W and Women's Wear Daily.
Top editors such as Bridget Foley, the executive editor, and about eight staff members below her on the magazine will be reassigned completely to Women's Wear Daily, the fashion daily that helped spawn W decades ago.
Whoever wins the spot will not pull in the $2 million-a-year package that McCarthy is said to have commanded, in part because McCarthy also served as chairman of the Fairchild Fashion Group. He hangs around with that title until year's end.

Joe Zee all the way

Although Tonchi would be fine with me. He's done an amazing job with T Magazine!
​

 

[MissMagAddict]

Alex White will be leaving

Though names like Joe Zee and Carine Roitfeld have been floated as potential new editors-in-chief for W, Stefano Tonchi still appears to be the front-runner for the job this week. WWD reports that a "highly placed source inside The New York Times" said that as of Friday, Tonchi had not made a decision about accepting an offer from W. However, a "Condé Nast insider" said Tonchi took the job some time ago, and Condé just didn't want to announce it so soon after making public the title's split from WWD and Fairchild Fashion Group. "They wanted to give [it] breathing room," this person said.
Sources told Fashion Week Daily last week that Tonchi would "likely" take the W job. Today the trade publication reports that the departure of Fairchild editorial director Patrick McCarthy shocked top W staffers, who plan to leave with him. Sources inside W tell us they know nothing about their employer's future. The Daily reports that no meetings have been held to discuss any of the recent announcements. We hear staffers are abuzz over Stefano taking the helm.
Creative director Dennis Freedman, design director Edward Leida, and fashion director Alex White will reportedly leave W with McCarthy. The T staffers Tonchi is most likely to try to bring on, sources say, include senior photo director Judith Puckett-Rinella, food editor Christine Muhike, and features director Armand Limnander. The Daily reports that Elle's Anne Slowey, a close friend of Tonchi's, could wind up in the executive editor's seat at W, if not just replacing him at T.
An announcement is expected as soon as today. We're awaiting responses to the rumors from Condé reps.

source | nymag.com

 

[Flashbang]

Such a double - edge sword situation

 

[Pedro]

If all these rumors are true then W will be a totally new magazine!

I'm in love with THE NEW YORKER McQueen cover!!!

 

[Fiercification]

W is in definite need of a reshuffle...but losing McCarthy and Alex !!!!!!!!

Alex has defined W to me for these last couple of years...I just don't know how I'd be able to take the magazine seriously without her. Camilla is a great stylist but she works at so many different magazines that I've never felt a distinct W aesthetic about her work.

However if there's anyone I'm rooting for it's Joe Zee. Bringing back him and Michael Thompson may be the only thing to counteract the depressing state of the departures IMO. I like Stefano's work @ T, but I don't think that the aesthetics of both magazines are parallel.

 

[cesarcmma]

Which was the period when Joe Zee worked on W? I've heard about it but never got hold of the actual dates. How was W under him? maybe MMA can tell us a little

It's all seems like a full revamp.

 

[mikel]

Alex White leaving W is the worst thing that could happen to W right now. Terrible, terrible news!

It's will be interesting to see what she will do next though. Hope she doesn't end up at Elle or something.

 

[Fiercification]

^^ I know that Joe Zee's reign as Fashion Editor ended around 2003 some time?

I think a Vogue will probably pick Alex up? She used to contribute to Vogue Italia so that's a possibility.

 

[MissMagAddict]

^^ I know that Joe Zee's reign as Fashion Editor ended around 2003 some time?

Yeah, and then he launched Vitals. IMO a really good magazine, but it didn't last long. Then he was off to Elle.

He worked for W as a contributing fashion editor & fashion director about nine years total.

It will most likely be a total revamp. For September, I would imagine.

 

[MissMagAddict]

I like Stefano's work @ T, but I don't think that the aesthetics of both magazines are parallel.

IMO that probably doesn't matter. Tonchi made a ton of money for the NY Times. Some T Style Magazines [before the recession] were over 300 pages. That's a lot of advertising revenue that W desperately needs to find again.

 

[nyc_art_style]

Alex leaving W is just devastating. She is W. I hope she finds something amazing soon.

I can't imagine Zee at W. He just strikes me as too commercial. If that's the direction Conde Nast wants to take W, then fine. But if they stick with their current aesthetic it's not a good move.

This WWD and W split is just causing a huge domino effect. It's making me nervous.

 

[tarsha]

Elle Russia shows the rapid growth of audience

Following the recent wave of media measurement TNS Gallup Russia readership of one issue of the magazine Elle in Russia has reached 613.2 thousand people (NRS Russia, the wave of 2009 / 1: September 2009 - February 2010), demonstrating the growing audience of 14%.

Studies show that in the period from September 2009 to February 2010 audience of fashion magazine Elle in Moscow rose to 230.6 thousand people. Thus, the rapid growth of audience compared with the previous wave was 21%.

Summer 2009 Elle, the most popular fashion magazine in the world, proclaimed fashionable in Russia to the Revolution, declaring thereby the serious and decisive changes in the magazine. New editorial team led by Elena Sotnikova updated the structure and design of the publication, while maintaining a global positioning Elle.

We introduce about 15 new entries in the log appear the most relevant characters and topics cover adorned with leading top - models and mega world - the stars, most covers are the result of the creative efforts of team Russia's Elle. Clearly, such changes instantly resonated in a demanding and very dynamic audience of the magazine.

In support of the reforms made in Elle, November 2009, Moscow launched a large-scale advertising campaign "It's time ELLE», which was continued in all major cities in Russia in 2010.

glossy.ru

 

[Flashbang]

!

Stefano Tonchi to Edit W Magazine
By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD

Stefano Tonchi, the editor of T: The New York Times Style Magazine, has been appointed editor of W, the fashion magazine published by Condé Nast.

The news is expected to be announced at a staff meeting for T employees at 11:30 this morning.
Maurie Perl, a Condé Nast spokeswoman, did not immediately return a call for comment, nor did Mr. Tonchi.

The news follows a very short search for an editor at W, after it was announced last week that Patrick McCarthy, editorial director, would be leaving Condé Nast. Ad pages at W had fallen almost 50 percent from 2008 to 2009, to about 1,050 pages, according to Media Industry Newsletter. That made it one of the hardest-hit titles at Condé Nast.

Mr. Tonchi joined The New York Times as style editor for the company’s magazine in 2003. He had previously been a fashion and creative director at magazines including Esquire, Self and L’Uomo Vogue.

But T, like other high-end magazines, has been hit by the decline in luxury advertising. Last summer’s women’s fashion issue, for instance, was folded into the regular New York Times Magazine rather than printed as a standalone issue.

nytimes

 

[Flashbang]

Stefano Tonchi has been named editor in chief of W magazine, effective April 12. He takes over from longtime chairman and editorial director Patrick McCarthy, who is exiting at the end of the year. Tonchi, who will report to Conde Nast editorial director Thomas J. Wallace, had been editor in chief of The New York Times' T magazine. In addition, a spokeswoman for Conde Nast confirmed the magazine will move operations from 750 Third Avenue to 1166 Avenue of the Americas in a few months.

wwd.com

 

[MissMagAddict]

Announcement From The New York Times

Stefano Tonchi to Edit W Magazine

11:50 P.M. Updated with comment from The New York Times and Condé Nast.

Stefano Tonchi, the editor of T: The New York Times Style Magazine, has been appointed editor of W, the fashion magazine published by Condé Nast.

The news was announced at a staff meeting for T employees at 11:30 this morning, where members of the magazine were crowded into a sixth-floor conference room, and confirmed in a press release from Condé Nast sent around noon.

Mr. Tonchi will begin as editor in chief of W on April 12, said Maurie Perl, a Condé Nast spokeswoman. The news follows a very short search for an editor at W, after it was announced last week that Patrick McCarthy, editorial director, would be leaving Condé Nast.

Mr. Tonchi said in an interview that he began talking with Condé Nast just last week. “I share a set of values with the Newhouses,” he said of Condé Nast’s owners. “We believe in the strength of journalism on paper, and we believe in magazines, and I think we believe in this kind of fantastic combination of images and words that publications are.”

His plans for W, he said, were “still very open,” but he wanted to make it more accessible, “probably to just make it more of a general-interest style magazine, and less of a fashion-obsessed publication.”

“I think it’s very specific,” he said of W’s current approach.

Mr. Tonchi said he did not yet know whether he would be taking other T editors and writers with him, given some murkiness over who was still on W’s staff. Condé Nast said last week that it would be changing W’s organizational makeup, moving it from the trade-oriented Fairchild group to the consumer Condé Nast group. As part of that shift, high-profile editors like Bridget Foley, who had written both for W and the Fairchild trade publication WWD, had been reassigned to WWD only.

“I have not even talked about it,” Mr. Tonchi said of conversations about what T employees might join him.

“Also, I don’t have any idea what is the actual staff on W after the split,” he said, other than that some well-known editors like Ms. Foley will not be writing for it. “I personally don’t know who’s still on the masthead, if you know what I mean,” he said.

Mr. Tonchi joined The New York Times as style editor for the company’s magazine in 2003. He had previously been a fashion and creative director at magazines including Esquire, and the Condé Nast publications Self and L’Uomo Vogue.

“It’s very exciting,” said Condé Nast spokeswoman Maurie Perl. “He’s returning to us.”

“Stefano created a strong franchise for The New York Times and we expect to name a new editor soon to build upon his success,” said Robert Christie, a spokesman for The New York Times, in an e-mail message. Diane McNulty, a Times spokeswoman, added in an e-mail message that Mr. Tonchi will oversee the remaining T magazines for spring, and the company hopes to name a new editor by May 1.

Ad pages at W had fallen almost 50 percent from 2008 to 2009, to about 1,050 pages, according to Media Industry Newsletter. That made it one of the hardest-hit titles at Condé Nast.

Ms. Perl said today that W offices will be moved from 750 Third Avenue to 1166 Sixth Avenue sometime this spring. Several Condé Nast corporate groups, including Condé Nast Digital, work from the Sixth Avenue offices, although magazines like Vogue and Vanity Fair are out of the Four Times Square flagship offices.

Nina Lawrence remains the vice president and publisher of W.

T, like other high-end magazines, has been hit by the decline in luxury advertising. Last summer's women’s fashion issue, for instance, was folded into the regular New York Times Magazine rather than printed as a standalone issue.

“I had a really wonderful six years at the Times,” Mr. Tonchi said. The move was “taking a new challenge and going to a company whose priority is publishing magazines, versus, you know, a company whose priority is publishing a newspaper.”

source | nytimes.com

 

[surrealseven]

" to just make it more of a general-interest style magazine, and less of a fashion-obsessed publication."


that doesnt sound good to me to be honest, but I feel Tonchi's focus on good journalism,
hopefully (also on great photography) will revitalize W, which I feel now, is lacking in both departments

 

[loladonna]

W needs a complete revamp. There is really no content at all. I subscribed for 1 year and never renewed. Every month there were a few editorials featuring Lara Stone's breasts with very paltry, uninfomative articles.