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******* Must be spring fever. Bikinis and beaches are popping up all over magazine covers, just when the rest of us are ready to shed our winter blahs. Say this about Vanity Fair Editor Graydon Carter: He pays attention to what sells and what has been ailing his magazine. During the second half of 2004, when single-copy sales were as weak as Martha Stewart's defense, dropping an eye-opening 23 percent, Carter knew something had to change. Wham! Carter orders up April's cover of three bikini-clad Russian supermodels standing in the surf getting their thighs wet. Why should sports weeklies have all the fun, Carter must have been thinking. Do you remember who got the cover treatment last April? A much more demurely dressed Keira Knightley. Who? Exactly. Also in the issue, the absolutely boring (although brilliantly presented by Sarajane Hoare) International best-dressed list gets much lower billing and Dominick Dunne goes navel-gazing. "Unfortunately, the two weeks I spent at the Robert Blake murder trial in Los Angeles were sort of boring," Dunne writes opening his column. Hey, save it for the expense report. Don't get us wrong, we love Carter's work product. It's always a great read, and this month's issue, with a look at how the government is treating Halliburton whistle-blower Bunnatine Greenhouse, is no different. But equally exciting is Carter's battle to resuscitate newsstand sales.
Anyone who has ever backpacked through Europe will read with interest ??” and a bit of nostalgia ??” the piece by Travel + Leisure's Peter Jon Lindberg, who retraced his Eurorail steps some 14 years after his original journey. Though he trades hostels for hotels and a back pack for a Tumi rollaway, the flavor of spiraling through the Euro pean coun tryside and landing in an unknown city remains. Travel pieces about Jamaica ??” or other Caribbean islands ??”tend to be common this time of year, but it's still hard to tear your eyes away from the lush photos of hammock-strewn beaches and colorful villas in what T+L calls its search for the "real" Jamaica. Real, or not, it looks a lot better than the snow piled up outside. T+L also touts its first-ever design-award winners. These things tend to be a bit
of a bore, but two awards seemed noteworthy. The Leica D-Lux digital camera won for best travel gadget. And the Singapore Airlines' A340-500 won for best transportation.
2. AdAge
Hearst Magazines undertakes a major financial gamble this summer as it launches its first U.S. weekly, a low-cost women's service title dubbed Quick & Simple. By dint of its frequency, Quick & Simple becomes the boldest move into the low-cost women's service niche -- as well as the most expensive. An industry executive pegged the costs of such a launch as being between $40 million and $70 million.
"It's going to cost real money," said Cathleen Black, president of Hearst Magazines, without commenting on specifics, but, she added "think Parade. Think USA Weekend, the production values and the efficient printing operations of those vs. a glossy."
3. NY Times
Sidney Frank, the liquor baron who recently sold Grey Goose vodka to Bacardi for $2 billion, was just back from Hawaii, where he had bought a house - his sixth - for $12.5 million. "I am on a quest for the best," he said by telephone from another of his homes in Southern California. He said that his search applied both to his personal life and his decision to start a new luxury magazine. "I want a magazine for my lifestyle and other lifestyles like mine."
It is not clear just how many others live like Mr. Frank - he said 14 members of one of the country clubs he belongs to are billionaires - but at 86, he is not alone in jumping into the business of luxury magazines to seek gold in the rising hills of glossy advertising, in his case by buying up and revamping titles like Travel Savvy.
4. NY Times
Never one to mince words, Graydon Carter, the editor of Vanity Fair, blamed the cover models for his magazine's flagging newsstand sales in a recent interview with Women's Wear Daily. The drop, he said, was the result of three covers in a row featuring men at the end of 2004 - Jude Law in October, Johnny Depp in November and Leonardo DiCaprio in December. "The simple fact is that women tend to sell better than men on our covers," he said. In the last half of 2004, newsstands sales of Vanity Fair plunged 22.5 percent. Mr. Carter may have found a way to improve those sales with the cover of the April issue, which features three models in white bikinis. "Meet the New Wave of Eastern European Supermodels," the headline reads. Mr. Carter was not available for comment.
Of course, not just any woman can sell magazines. As Mr. Carter pointed out in a recent interview in the British newspaper The Observer, "attractive people sell better than unattractive people."
5. Gawker Something strikes us as inherently wrong about Vanity Fair??™s latest cover story, featuring ???the new wave of Eastern European supermodels??? who are ???from Russia with sand, surf, and microbikinis!??? (We??™d love to meet the staffer who came up with that one. The Post has a job for you, my friend.)
Initially, we thought it was the shameless grab for the attention of Maxim readers that had us feeling uneasy ??“- but enticing the kegerator crowd is okay, apparently, if Patrick Demarchelier is behind the lens. (Frenchmen are automatically classy, after all.) The real head-scratcher, however, is the notion that Eastern European supermodels represent some new trend worthy of a Vanity Fair cover and that said ???trend??? is worthy of a special Vanity Fair online video. That??™s right: models splash and frolic, courtesy of Graydon Carter. 6. NY Times If there was any question that Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia has been eagerly awaiting the return of its founder and namesake, the coming issue of the magazine Martha Stewart Living lays it to rest. On the cover is a bowl with daffodils, and attached to the binding is a half-cover flap featuring Ms. Stewart, looking cheerful in a pale-blue barn jacket and cradling a chicken. Readers are directed to "her new monthly column" on Page 32. "Welcome home, Martha," the headline says.
This worshipful focus on Ms. Stewart is a departure from the last two years, when the magazine minimized Ms. Stewart's name on the cover and replaced some features that bore her name with more generic columns.
************ ... that Town & Country Magazine is seeking an Editorial Assistant with at least one year experience at a shelter magazine, ideally as an intern. Responsibilities will include scouting and returning products used for shoots; attending market events; researching monthly Design Trends pages; and writing short copy. Position entails assisting the Director of Architecture and Design with administrative tasks, including but not limited to answering phones, preparing contracts, handling correspondence and preparing expense reports, etc. Knowledge of the interior design world is absolutely required. For consideration, please forward resume and cover letter (including salary history/requirements to: magazinesHR5@hearst.com. Please type Editorial Assistant in the subject line. (OK to mention Ed) ??¦ that the progressive prochoice Catholics for a Free Choice, a social justice organization working to advance and protect women's rights and reproductive health in the US and internationally, is looking for a senior writer/researcher. The ideal candidate will have at least three years experience in writing and research across a spectrum of issues. He or she will be able to draft grant proposals and foundation reports, fact sheets, brochures and lengthy policy-related reports for publication; conduct investigative research using a wide variety of research tools and analyze results, trends and other relevant areas for publication. Critical to a successful candidate are excellent writing and editing skills, a proven record in investigative research/reporting using a wide variety of research tools, a microscopic attention to detail, an ability to work productively under multiple deadlines and very effective time management Preference will be given to candidates with experience and interest in reproductive rights, religion, healthcare, women??™s issues and progressive social policy. Competitive salary and excellent benefits. Please send r?©sum?©, salary requirements and three writing samples to Writer/Researcher, Catholics for a Free Choice, 1436 U St NW, Suite 301, Washington DC 20009 or fax to (202) 332-7995. Please note that we do not accept email attachments. ??¦ that the progressive prochoice Catholics for a Free Choice, a social justice organization working to advance and protect women's rights and reproductive health in the US and internationally, is looking for a publications associate. This full time staff member in the busy writing and research department will help with the administrative process of producing and distributing a quarterly magazine and several other publications including liaising with authors, printers and other vendors. Tasks are wide-ranging and include overseeing the subscription process, assisting other writers on staff with research and drafting short pieces for publication. The ideal candidate will have three years experience in the workplace, be a stickler for detail with proven administrative and computer skills, have excellent verbal and written communication skills, a proven record of using a variety of research tools, online and offline, a love of investigative research and an ability to work productively under multiple deadlines. Position requires addiction to hard work, long hours and an equal willingness to stuff envelopes and write cutting edge analysis. Preference will be given to candidates with experience and interest in reproductive rights, religion, healthcare, women??™s issues and progressive social policy. Salary $35,000 plus excellent benefits. Please send cover letter and r?©sum?© in the body of your email to humanresources@catholicsforchoice.org (NO ATTACHMENTS), mail to Catholics for a Free Choice, 1436 U St NW, Suite 301, Washington DC 20009 or fax to (202) 332-7995. ... that there??™s opening regarding a weekly updating of website of a Chicago area monthly newspaper. Must be experienced in Dreamweaver. Mac or PC. contact: editor@irishamericannews.com (Do NOT mention Ed)
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