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"By the beard of Zeus!"
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Storm, ye heavens, storm! (Ed loves a good thunderclap.)

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News
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1. NY Times
To Market a Magazine, Fill It With Celebrity Gossip
By Roben Raezad
8/16/05
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/16/business/media/16adco.html

The voracious demand for Hollywood gossip, from Brad Pitt's love interests to Tom Cruise's spat with Brooke Shields, drove circulation increases for celebrity magazines in the last six months. Celebrity publications posted strong total paid circulation and newsstand gains in the first six months of the year, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations' latest report of publishing estimates. More serious categories - particularly newsweeklies and men's titles - continued to struggle, according to the report.

Circulation of magazines about celebrities soared in the first half of the year, with an increase of nearly 24 percent for US Weekly. Circulation increased almost 50 percent for In Touch.

And some titles missed their rate base, the paid circulation promised to advertisers. While People, a Time Inc. publication, still led the group in total paid circulation and newsstand sales, smaller rivals registered higher growth.

MORE ONLINE

The Audit Bureau of Circulation today released the Fas-Fax, its semi-annual report of top-line publishers estimates, for the first half of 2005.

Titles across all categories, especially the slew of celebrity magazines, showed strong newsstand growth to help drive circulation gains, while other struggling publications, like Playboy and The Source, continue to falter by either missing rate bases or not filing their estimates on time.

Despite recent major world events like the London terrorist bombings in July and the late December tsunami in Thailand, newsweeklies continued to struggle for the first half of the year. Time magazine, published by Time Inc., saw circulation remain flat for the period at 4.05 million, while newsstand sales dipped 3.4 percent to 157,217 copies. Newsweek saw its newsstand sales plummet 14 percent to 126,163, while total paid circulation rose 1.8 percent to 3.2 million.

MORE ONLINE

Time Warner chief Dick Parsons agreed to meet this week with Carl Icahn to discuss the hedge fund manager's ideas for goosing the media giant's stock price.

Icahn ??” the former corporate raider who now operates a hedge fund and targets companies he views as undervalued by threatening to wage proxy battles ??” went public yesterday with his plans to rattle the cages at Time Warner.

But his ideas for increasing shareholder value ??” a stock buyback and spin-off of Time Warner Cable ??” are hardly innovative, and many on Wall Street and in the media are dubious of Icahn targeting Time Warner.

MORE ONLINE

EMPTY NESTERS: Perhaps it's time to stop talking about "nesting," at least as far as magazines are concerned. Newsstand sales for the shelter magazine category ??” never all that robust to begin with, trend-mongering notwithstanding ??” were particularly dismal in the first half of this year, according to numbers released Monday by the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Only one of eight major shelter titles was up versus last year on the newsstand, while three ??” Country Home, Elle D?©cor and Metropolitan Home ??” were down more than 20 percent. Met Home got the worst of it, falling 36.9 percent in single-copy sales and missing its rate base of 600,000 by 0.5 percent. (More Online)

GANG OF FOUR: Graydon Carter had better polish up his witty anecdotes. The Vanity Fair chief is one of four editors who will be interviewed by "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart next month at an event sponsored by the Magazine Publishers of America. Carter will be joined onstage by Cosmopolitan's Kate White, Time's Jim Kelly and Men's Health's David Zinczenko at the event, titled "Laughing Matters: Magazines Celebrate Humor." "Here's hoping he's a Men's Health fan," said Zinczenko. "I don't want him going all ???Crossfire' on us."

DEPARTURES HAS ARRIVED: If you recently spotted Lauren Weisberger at a seaside resort in Indonesia, you might have thought that "The Devil Wears Prada" author was hiding out from all the people who will be mad at her when her new book, "Everyone Worth Knowing," hits shelves in early October. Actually, she was attending scuba-diving school for a story scheduled to run in the January issue of Departures. (More Online)

MORE ONLINE

Are you confused about who will be filling Jane Pratt??™s shoes at her eponymous Fairchild Publications magazine? Then pick up a print copy of Fairchild??™s Women??™s Wear Daily, which today features a a whopping six full-page ads introducing the already-introduced new editor, Brandon Holley. From the ads, we learn that Holley is a style maven, a hoarder of lipsticks, once Advertising Age??™s Woman to Watch, music obsessed, a drummer in search of a band, a newsstand-sales record breaker, a rule breaker, someone who gets away with it, an Adweek Hot List alumni, a surfer, a drag racer, a power player (in a good way), a former bartender, a maker of good martinis, a reason to celebrate, able to change her own oil, and driven. It??™s amazing she finds time to edit a magazine.

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Whisper Jobs
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Ed hears??¦

... that the senior associate editor at seventeen.com (NYC) just gave notice. Fax resume, cover letter, and clips to Fiona Gibb 917-934-6574. No calls or e-mails. (OK to mention Ed)

... that Merge magazine, a weekly entertainment/lifestyle pub in Allentown, PA, is looking for a full-time features writer. Salary: Under 35k with benefits. For the 18-34 demo, with an emphasis on music and movies. Owned by Tribune. Bachelor's degree, at least one year reporting or equivalent experience required. Online and multimedia skills a plus. Send cover letter, resume and work samples to: Aaron Sagers, editor, Merge, P.O. Box 1260, Allentown, PA 18105-1260 or Aaron.Sagers@mergedigital.com. (OK to mention Ed)

Internships:
... that Tango, a new magazine about love and relationships, is seeking a fall intern to help with our fourth issue. We'd like someone who could start ASAP and stay with us through the holidays. 20 hours per week (schedule is flexible); $500 stipend. Contact Marnie Hanel at marnie@tangomag.com. (OK to mention Ed)

... that Cosmopolitan magazine (NYC)is looking to hire fall interns for the fashion department ASAP. We are looking for interns that are particularly free on Mondays and Wednesdays. Internships are for school CREDIT ONLY. Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to: managing accessory requests and returns, assembling fashion boards, organizing designer samples in the closet, picking up clothing samples within the city, organizing clothing for shoots, as well as occasional administrative tasks. All candidates must: be able to commit THREE full days per week, be eligible to receive school credit, and have a positive attitude. This is an excellent opportunity to gain valuable initial fashion editorial experience and we will only interview candidates who match these criteria. Please send cover letter and resume to Brosen@hearst.com. (OK to mention Ed)

... that Harper's Bazaar (NYC) is still looking to hire interns for the fashion department ASAP. We are looking to hire full-time interns for the remainder of August. For the Fall, we are looking for interns to work three days per week (9 -6). There are opportunities to assist in the fashion closet, with the market team, or in the accessories department. Internships are for school CREDIT ONLY. Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to: managing clothing requests and returns, assembling fashion boards, organizing designer samples in the closet, picking up clothing samples within the city, organizing clothing for shoots, as well as occasional administrative tasks. All candidates must: be able to commit THREE full days per week, be eligible to receive school credit, and have a positive attitude. This is an excellent opportunity to gain valuable initial fashion editorial experience and we will only interview candidates who match these criteria. Please send cover letter and resume to Stefania at SPalandjoglou@hearst.com. (OK to mention Ed)

... that the Improper Bostonian seeks a full-time copy editor. At least two years' professional experience in a full-time copy editor position, a thorough knowledge of AP style and QuarkXpress in a Mac environment, experience querying authors, and the ability to work swiftly and accurately under tight deadlines are required. Send cover letter and resume with salary requirement to Editor, Attn: copy editor position, 142 Berkeley St., Third Floor, Boston, MA 02116, or e-mail them to editor@improper.com, with copy editor position in the subject line. No calls please. Don't mention Ed.

... that American Media, Inc. (NYC) (publisher of Star, Celebrity Living, National Enquirer, Shape, Country Weekly, Men's Fitness, Natural Health, Fit Pregnancy, Flex and SLY magazines) is still seeking fall interns in Editorial, PR, Advertising Sales and Photography. The internship must be either for college credit or for your own experience. It is a non-paid internship. If you are interested please email your resume to myresumenyc@amilink.com or fax 212-696-5589. Please state what magazine and in which area you are interested in interning. (OK to mention Ed)

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