The Business of Magazines

[dodencebt]

Here's the official announcement on Laura's Instagram page. I really like her, I believe she can do wonders at InStyle.

 

[Benn98]

I'm still sad that Ariel is leaving, he was doing such a fantastic job there. And speaking of HB, would love if he takes over and clean that mess....

So would I!! He'd do a brilliant job over there.

I'm glad for Laura, but I'm a bit on the fence regarding this move. In my mind Glenda cannot be blamed for everything that's wrong with HB. Linda too may have had a hand in all the corny middle-of-the-road stuff we've seen from the magazine over the years. It seems her social media brilliance may have been one of the decisive factors for getting this job.
I do hope she won't go in all guns blazing and restructure the magazine yet again. At least six more months in it's current state would suffice since I'm absolutely mad about the new direction. Maybe just bulk up the features a bit and give it more substance, and like the WWD article states, focus on the digital presence.

September was Foxman's last issue, so if sh'll start next week, her first edition will probably be November or December.....

 

[tigerrouge]

^Recent sales are very interesting to read, most of them are lower than the average. And wow, US Vogue isn't selling well overall.

We all realise businesses love going after fresh markets, but magazines and their obsession with attracting younger readers makes me wonder how well they're retaining their older ones. There's no point targeting people who make the occasional purchase if you're losing five or ten long-term subscribers who represent the core of your numbers, year after year.

If publishers want print editions to survive, there would be some sense in continuing to also target the age groups that you don't have to train into buying magazines, because it's what they've known while they were growing up.

 

[Benn98]

Getting sacked while on maternity leave? Is that even legal?

Seventeen Editor in Chief Michelle Tan Out at Hearst
By Alexandra Steigrad on August 22, 2016

Tan had held the top job for about two years.

Michelle Tan, the editor in chief of Seventeen, has been let go after about two years in the job, WWD has learned.

A spokeswoman from Hearst declined to comment but did confirm the departure.

Tan, who joined Hearst in November 2014, came from Time Inc.’s People where she served as special projects editor. At Hearst, Tan reported to Cosmopolitan editor in chief Joanna Coles, who also holds the role of editorial director of Seventeen.

According to sources, Tan was notified that she would no longer be needed at Seventeen while on maternity leave. Under her stewardship, Tan made a push to court the fashion set with more edit pages devoted to emerging designers. She also made a play to highlight diversity in the magazine’s pages, and launch a capsule collection of core basics dubbed “The Edit by Seventeen.”

But Tan had her work cut out for her; producing a magazine whose core reader no longer reads print is no easy feat. The teen media market is also fickle with young consumers jumping from one social media platform to the next.

In the second half of 2015, Seventeen’s total paid and verified circulation was flat over the prior year at about 2 million. Total single-copy sales, however, declined 47.1 percent to 81,831, according to the Alliance for Audited Media. While circulation has held steady since Tan took the reins, the newsstand has been falling fast in recent months. In the last five months of 2016, Seventeen’s newsstand sales averaged 57,760.

While the newsstand has been challenging for all print publications across the industry, Seventeen has had trouble improving on the digital front. From February to July, Seventeen’s Web traffic totaled 3.9 million unique visitors, according to Comscore. In 2015, Seventeen pulled 3.7 million uniques on average. Numbers aside, insiders also noted Tan has had a few managerial bumps, but there has been no official word on why Tan was dismissed.

Hearst has not announced a replacement for Tan, but it is assumed that the magazine’s executive editor Joey Bartolomeo will continue to play a leading role in the glossy’s production.

Source: http://wwd.com/media-news/fashion-memopad/seventeen-editor-in-chief-michelle-tan-out-at-hearst-10511884/

 

[honeycombchild]

I'm not sure if it's the same in the US, but here in the UK when you go on maternity leave you are guaranteed a job when you return with the salary you left on, however that's not to say you will get your exact job back. So it could be that she was informed that if she came back she would be required to take the role of Deputy Editor for example, which would in turn force her hand to resign. I'm absolutely no expert on maternity law but I'm sure there is something along those lines...

 

[Deleted member 45369]

For me Laura Brown, Glenda Bailey, and Joanna Hillman are the perfect trifecta of tackiness. They're all to blame for the train wreck that is Bazaar! It's a shame that she's replacing a capable editor like Ariel.

 

[Benn98]

I'm not sure if it's the same in the US, but here in the UK when you go on maternity leave you are guaranteed a job when you return with the salary you left on, however that's not to say you will get your exact job back. So it could be that she was informed that if she came back she would be required to take the role of Deputy Editor for example, which would in turn force her hand to resign. I'm absolutely no expert on maternity law but I'm sure there is something along those lines...

Apparently, that's not the case for Americans. In the UK, something like this would be taken to tribunal. The company would need to justify their reasons for making her redundant.

.......Hearst offers eight weeks of paid maternity leave, and it seems like if someone is on maternity or any kind of parental leave, they shouldn’t be let go while trying to take care of their child. Firing a parent while they’re out of the office for a legitimate reason and someone is covering for them at work sort of defeats the idea that leaving the workplace to take care of a child is a safe thing to do.

Then again, getting fired on maternity leave is totally legal. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ensures that someone can’t be fired because they are on leave, but an employer is allowed to make a business decision, much like Hearst appears to have done, about the future of the company. However, just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s cool.

Krista Mitzel, managing partner at The Mitzel Group, LLP, told Vogue, “How a company goes about dealing with a termination while someone is on any type of medical leave speaks volumes about the company’s culture, how they value employees, reflects on employee satisfaction surveys, and exhibits their sophistication about risk assessment and risk management.”

Hearst had the legal right to fire Tan, but it feels dirty to sack someone while they’re home with a new baby. Especially at a publication that’s supposed to empower young women.

Source: http://www.thefrisky.com/2016-08-23/seventeen-fired-eic-michelle-tan-during-her-maternity-leave-and-its-totally-legal/

 

[Nymphaea]

That's not ok!

 

[Benn98]

Will have to keep next Thursday evening free!!

British Vogue Documentary to Air on U.K.’s BBC Two in September
By Lorelei Marfil on August 24, 2016

“Absolutely Fashion: Inside British Vogue” will air on BBC Two on Sept. 8 at 9 p.m. GMT.

FASHION DOCUMENTARY: British Vogue has opened its posh doors to BBC Two, who will air the two-part “observational documentary” on Sept. 8.

Produced by Lightbox and filmed by Richard Marcer, the two 60-minute segments were done over a duration of nine months.

Macer documents the ins-and-outs of editor in chief Alexandra Shulman and her staff including fashion director Lucinda Chambers, creative director Jaime Perlman, and editor at large Fiona Golfar. The first episode features magazine shoots with Kate Moss, Edie Campbell and photographer Mario Testino and delves into preparations of the publication and special events coinciding with the centenary anniversary as well as international fashion week coverage. Events that marked the 100th anniversary included a gala, an exhibit at London’s National Portrait Gallery, a limited-edition coffee table book set for September, and a collection of special products done in conjunction with luxury brands.

“At Vogue, we are more used to being behind the lens than in front of it,” said Shulman. “The process of being filmed over such a long period of time was intriguing although at times, testing.”

This is the first time the publication has allowed access for a televised film crew. BBC Two previously aired a documentary about British society magazine Tatler — another glossy under Conde Nast Britain — in 2014 titled “Posh People: Inside Tatler.”

“Absolutely Fashion: Inside British Vogue” will air on BBC Two on Sept. 8 at 9 p.m. GMT.!

Source: http://wwd.com/media-news/fashion-memopad/british-vogue-documentary-air-on-u-k-s-bbc-two-alexandra-shulman-10514321/

 

[honeycombchild]

It's actually two parts, so you'll need to keep the next two Tuesday's free

 

[8eight]

More on the doc. From the daily mail:


Richard said he found Alexandra 'difficult to read' during his interviews but it was easy to see she is driven, logical and super competitive.

The latter is illustrated when she pulls the Kate Moss cover at the eleventh hour to replace her with Rihanna in order to trump a cover planned by American Vogue editor Anna Wintour.

 

[Miss Dalloway]

^ Ha, i love tidbits like that, looking forward to the docu. I have also heard several different stories about Shulman as opposed to the image she presents in her interviews.etc, but i guess most personalities don't come through in the media.

 

[Benn98]

Lol, what a bold move from Alexandra! Who knew she had it in her? I've certainly never seen her competitive side before, but running such a big magazine does require an iron fist.

She outwitted both Rihanna (who must've known the US edition would release their cover before the UK one - that's rather shady of her, actually), and Anna (who feels almost entitled to monopolise her coverstars). I don't have figures, but the mere fact that UK Vogue had two weeks to lap up digital publicity must've dented American Vogue's numbers.

 

[Benn98]

Vogue's British team are barred from show screening over revelation British editor Alexandra Shulman stole a Rihanna exclusive from America to cheat Anna Wintour

By Sebastian Shakespeare for the Daily Mail
Published: 00:59 GMT, 2 September 2016 | Updated: 08:30 GMT, 2 September 2016

The cat has been set among the pigeons at Vogue HQ, following my news that the British editor-in-chief, Alexandra Shulman, did the dirty on her U.S. rival Anna Wintour.

Shulman had secured Rihanna as cover girl for her May issue. But after discovering Wintour intended to put the pop star on the cover of American Vogue's April issue, she dumped supermodel Kate Moss as the UK April cover girl at the last minute and replaced her with Rihanna to rob la Wintour of her world exclusive.

Word now reaches me that just hours after I reported their rift will be exposed in a forthcoming BBC Vogue documentary, Shulman's team were blocked from last night's in-house screening of the show.
Tensions between Alexandra Shulman and Anna Wintour, editors-in-chief of UK and U.S. Vogue respectively, piqued when they both planned to put Rihanna on the cover

Yesterday morning, emails were fired out in a hurry to staff, reminding them the preview was for contributors only. The Beeb still has time to cut any reference to the rivalry in the documentary, which airs in a week's time.

A BBC spokesman tells me: 'The preview is not a final version and the commentary is still being finalised.'

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3770102/SEBASTIAN-SHAKESPEARE-Vogue-s-British-team-barred-screening-revelation-British-editor-Alexandra-Shulman-stole-Rihanna-exclusive-America-cheat-Anna-Wintour.html

 

[honeycombchild]

Well I suppose we'll see if it stays in the episode come very soon!

 

[Benn98]

Carine can be very candid, so we'll hear her side of the story pretty soon, I'm sure.

Carine Roitfeld and Stephen Gan have called it quits

By Mara Siegler
August 28, 2016 | 7:09pm

Former Vogue Paris editor Carine Roitfeld and Stephen Gan, her partner in CR Fashion Book, are officially over, a source tells us.

In July, Page Six revealed that a rift had torn the top fashionistas apart, with a source telling us they “had a major falling out,” and that things had gotten so bad, they were only speaking through lawyers.

At the time, an insider close to the pair insisted to us: “They are working together more than ever,” and, “Lawyers are there for business . . . but they are good friends who still speak to each other and there is no drama.”

Now, amid more drama, they are parting ways, with another source telling us Roitfeld will take her high-end fashion book — whose covers have featured Kate Upton, Beyoncé and Gigi Hadid — off of Gan’s Fashion Media Group roster.

“Stephen refused to let Carine negotiate a new contract,” said the source. “When she asked to change a few terms, he threw a hissy fit and told her, ‘If you feel that way, then you should just leave.’”

Gan, who founded another high-end magazine, Visionaire, also acts as creative director for Harper’s Bazaar, where Roitfeld was named global fashion director in 2012. We hear things reached a boiling point between the pair during a recent shoot for Roitfeld’s annual Icons issue for Bazaar — when Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld showed up seven hours late to photograph Kim Kardashian and Kanye West for the September cover story.

“Kanye was disappointed to learn there was no concept,” said the source. “Scrambling, Stephen came up with the ‘selfies’ idea . . . Kanye later expressed his disappointment to Carine, and she blamed Stephen for failing to come up with an idea.”

Page Six reported in 2014 that Gan and Cecilia Dean, his partner in V magazine, also split. Reps for West told us Lagerfeld wasn’t late for the shoot, reps for Roitfeld had no comment and reps for Gan and Bazaar didn’t respond to requests for comment by deadline.

Source: http://pagesix.com/2016/08/28/carine-roitfeld-and-stephen-gan-have-called-it-quits/

 

[Miss Dalloway]

How typical of a hack like Shakespeare to pit these two women against each other, and go as far as to claim Shluman didn't let her team attend the screening, which is an utter LIE! But then again its the sort of lies that are his trade at DM.

 

[Srdjan]

^^ Hopefully this results in better Carine x Bazaar stories.

 

[Deleted member 45369]

^^ Hopefully this results in better Carine x Bazaar stories.

Idk shouldn't Carine have had a whole set up ready? She is the one "producing" the story. Looks to me like Stephen had every right to be mad and it makes sense why her stories are so bad. She clearly makes no effort and this just proves it. It was clear from the first sight of threat edit that it was a lazy idea and now we know why.

 

[Benn98]

Michele Promaulayko Named Editor in Chief of Cosmopolitan

By Alexandra Steigrad on September 6, 2016

Hearst is bringing back a familiar face to helm its flagship title, Cosmopolitan.

Michele Promaulayko, the former editor in chief of Women’s Health and Yahoo Health, has been named editor in chief of Cosmopolitan. The editor had served as executive editor of Cosmopolitan from 2000 to 2008 under Kate White.

Promaulayko, who will also assume the role of editorial director of Seventeen, succeeds Joanna Coles, who has been named chief content officer, following Ellen Levine‘s resignation from the role. She starts her new job today and reports to David Carey, president of Hearst Magazines.

“We’ve been talking with Michele for some time,” Carey told WWD. “She was really the only name we were considering. It was Michele or bust.”

According to Carey, Promaulayko will pick up Coles’ mantle and help close the loop between print, digital and events for the brand. That includes the continuation of programming, such as Cosmopolitan’s E! reality show, both Promaulayko and Coles will have starring roles.

“All of our businesses are in a constant state of evolution and we ask our editors to look at them with fresh eyes,” offered Carey.

For her part, Promaulayko hopes to bring in new voices, as well as build out new sections, including health. Cosmopolitan tried its hand at health with the development of CosmoBody, but that endeavor came to a halt due to waning interest from subscribers.

“I hope to develop fluidity across platforms…that’s what you’ll see,” the new editor in chief offered. “Working at Yahoo made me better equipped to be a stronger partner with the digital team here.”

Promaulayko exited Yahoo when the company folded roughly half of its digital magazines. Prior to that, she helmed Women’s Health for six years, where she oversaw all aspects of the brand, including print, digital, and brand extensions including events, apps, and books. At the time of her departure for Yahoo in 2014, expressed excitement to move into the digital sphere.

But on Tuesday she told WWD that her return to print would allow her to “bring all of the facets of the Cosmo brand” together, including “deeper dive” stories on careers and wellness. The editor will also have oversight over Seventeen, which currently has no editor in chief, following the dismissal of Michelle Tan last month.

“I am incredibly excited to be coming home to Hearst to take the reins of two brands for which I have so much affection,” Promaulayko said of both Cosmo and Seventeen. “Cosmopolitan is not only iconic, it’s an innovative market-leader and an inspirational powerhouse for young women around the globe. Both Cosmo and Seventeen have major influence on the lives of millennial women—I can’t wait to take on the challenge of guiding such a vital audience.”

Source: http://wwd.com/media-news/fashion-memopad/michele-promaulayko-editor-of-cosmopolitan-10521851/