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| << August24, 2005 - Minority mag covers and ASME rules; plus jobs! |
August25, 2005 - As if the Internet needs more naked photos. >> |
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******* When will the bubble burst for magazines' genre du jour, the celebrity weeklies? The short answer: Not anytime soon. According to the first half of 2005 sales data released this week by the Audit Bureau of Circulations, newsstand sales of the genre's brightest stars -- Wenner Media's Us Weekly and Bauer Publishing's In Touch Weekly -- grew 32.6 and 49.4 percent respectively over the first six months of 2004. Considering that both magazines currently sell about a million copies each week, their continued surges are astounding when compared with the industry as a whole. Even their bitter archrival, the Bonnie Fuller-directed Star magazine, managed to grow more than 20 percent in the same span by more than doubling its number of subscribers. And the blue chip that inspired them, People, continues to sail serenely above them all. Having far more subscribers than the other three combined, it holds the crown as the industry's top cash cow. (People is the corporate sibling of this magazine; both are published by Time Inc.) But have no doubt that they are indeed living within a bubble. By the time Bauer, Wenner, and American Media (parent company of Star) are finished churning out brand extensions -- Bauer's In Touch has begotten the 500,000-circulation Life & Style Weekly, AMI recently launched Celebrity Living, and Wenner is reportedly planning a celebrified women's title of its own -- the editors won't be the only ones who feel eternally exhausted. The last time publishers felt this bullish about a genre was five years ago, back when the Backstreet Boys and NSync headlined an Orlando invasion of teen magazines that led first to record newsstand sales, then to a wave of brand extensions (e.g., CosmoGirl, Ellegirl, and Teen Vogue), and finally to professional ruin for some when sales finally receded. The collapse of YM's newsstand sales and the subsequent lies its parent, Gruner & Jahr USA, told about those sales inevitably led to its extinction and also to G&J USA's dissolution this summer. While the supply of celebrity weekly readers is still inexhaustible for the moment, there are other, possibly fatal constraints. One is distribution. Unlike the rest of the magazine industry, the weeklies live and die every week at the newsstands, which are, for all practical purposes, the wire baskets mounted around the checkout counters at supermarkets and convenience stores across the country. The bulk of the weeklies' revenue is generated from these sales, rather than from the ads within. Only People has succeeded in maintaining a loyal readership, therefore becoming an ad vehicle (although Star is trying). The weeklies' business model has more in common with how magazines are distributed in the United Kingdom and throughout Europe. (This also explains why Bauer, which is a much bigger force in both of those markets, was quick to master the formula.) There's a finite number of baskets, also called ???pockets,??? available, and what you won't find in the ABC's figures is how many copies of Us Weekly and In Touch are being printed to fill them, or how much they're paying for the privilege. ???Nobody owns those pockets,??? Bauer CEO Hubert Boehle gloomily told me this spring. ???Everybody has to go to the chains and rent them. Any newcomer can step in with an offer that, if it's strong enough, can knock your magazines from the best spots.??? MORE ONLINE 2. Jossip.comDeath to the Celebrity Editor? By Michael Diebert 8/24/05 http://www.jossip.com/ The New York Sun handed the pen to former Ladies Home Journal editrix and More founding editor Myrna Blyth and what'd they end up with? A declaration of the end of the celebrity editor. Break out the Louis Vuitton tissues. Jane Pratt is out. Bonnie Fuller is barely making waves. Tina Brown is recycling her media celebrity as a Princess Di chronicler. ???Blyth points to the uncelebrated success of In Touch, which is a little more friendly to the A-list and saw it's circulation shoot up nearly 50 percent to 1.12 million copies over the same period last year. But who's editing it? Our man-not-about-town Richard Spencer, who, if you've even heard of, you probably ignore. MORE ONLINE 3. Journalism.co.ukNewsweek stories get Technorati top ten rating By Robert Andrews 8/24/05 http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/story1491.shtml For editors who care what people think of their writing, blog indexes are a veritable readers' panel - type in a URL and you reveal the kind of conversations started in response to published articles. Now Newsweek has teamed up with leading index Technorati to share that information. Its Blog Roundup feature is a list of "the most blogged-about articles on Newsweek in the past seven days" that includes a link to each weblog post to cite those stories. Good will toward Technorati was well and truly punctured, however, with a savage critique from A-list blogger Jason Kottke that prompted Guardian Unlimited assistant editor Neil McIntosh to condemn the site as "flaky". MORE ONLINE
4. New York Post
Vogue is mixing mass with class in its glossy pages. The magazine is running ads for huge discount retailer Wal-Mart alongside upscale designers such as Gucci, Oscar de la Renta and Roberto Cavalli. The Wal-Mart ads are the latest sign that Vogue is lowering the bar for advertisers. Some ad execs and media buyers have criticized the trend, saying the ads don't live up to the magazine's stature. Indeed, just a few years ago, "the fashion bible" had a reputation for either turning away ads deemed too down-market or relegating them to the back pages to avoid drawing too much attention. MORE ONLINE
5. New York Observer
???Yesterday, I had drinks with a New York Times fact-checker,??? said David Bradley, the multimillionaire owner of The Atlantic. In April, Mr. Bradley had announced that he would be uprooting the magazine from its ancestral soil in Boston and replanting it in Washington, D.C. By year's end, The Atlantic is supposed to be on the banks of the Potomac, in a second-floor suite at the Watergate. Nine-tenths of the Boston editorial staff, more or less, will be staying behind and taking severance. So Mr. Bradley does need to find a fact-checker. He also needs a copy desk, some mid-level editors, a managing editor-and an editor. ???And while I'm at it, I'm interested in finding more reporting talent,??? Mr. Bradley said. It was a Thursday morning, Aug. 18, in the second-floor restaurant at the Peninsula Hotel on Fifth Avenue. Mr. Bradley was at the end of another leg of an ongoing intermittent, coast-to-coast ???listening tour???: part recruiting drive, part educational field trip. MORE ONLINE
************ ... that Funnydebutante.com, a lifestyle trends e-newsletter launching in Sept is looking for a freelance writer to spot new trends. Pay is very low, but would give you good clips. Interested writers should email info@funnydebutante.com. (OK to mention Ed) ... that Hachette Filipacchi Media will be looking for a production assistant for Woman's Day SIP's and For Me magazine. The current production assistant just gave notice and the Production Department is waiting for approval from H.R. to begin interviewing. Send resumes to Human Resources department at Hachette Filipacchi. Do NOT mention Ed. ... that Saturday Night Magazine is seeking accomplished (and aspiring) writers. This is a great opportunity to get published and to learn more about the magazine industry. Opportunities are endless; writers will be able to give ideas for stories, headlines, lead-ins, art and design. Writers may also have the opportunity to interview celebrities, attend exclusive events, and receive free concert or theater tickets. Candidates must be well organized, be able to meet deadlines and be conscious of details and overall style. You must be creative, flexible and able to produce quality material. The magazine is a monthly publication. Saturday Night Magazine is a hip, up-and-coming magazine that is distributed at 10 colleges in the Los Angeles area. Primarily a news and entertainment college magazine, the content consists of fashion, city nightlife, celebrity interviews, and also includes political pieces, humor and career tips. You can find out more about the magazine at www.snmag.com. Also looking for illustrators and photographers. Please send resume, writing samples (if any) and a cover letter about why you wish to work for SNMag. Editorial contact: Bryce Longton, bryce@snmag.com; Art/Photo contact: Melissa Tran, melissa@snmag.com (OK to mention Ed) ... that Psychology Today is looking for a few smart interns to join the magazine for the fall semester. We're looking for ambitious, outspoken young journalists with a keen interest in science. This is a great learning opportunity for the right person. Interns interact closely with editors and have ample opportunity to write and get published. Small daily stipend. At least three full days per week. Three month commitment. PT has been covering issues and trends in human behavior since 1967. Submit resume, cover letter, and three writing samples to: Willow Lawson, News Editor, willow@psychologytoday.com. (OK to mention Ed) ... that fall photo interns are needed for the photo department of Seventeen magazine. Our ideal candidate is enthusiastic and hard-working with good organizational and phone skills, a strong interest in photography a good knowledge of popular culture and celebrities. Responsibilities include photo research, assisting with photo shoots, assisting with real girl casting, filing and organizing film, calling in and tracking portfolios, and generating ideas for upcoming articles. You must be a college student eligible to receive school credit. Please email resume to Lucy Fox at lfox@hearst.com with the subject "Internship" or fax at 917.934.6574. No phone calls please. (OK to mention Ed) ... that Bridal Guide magazine is looking for an outgoing and friendly intern to assist our Art/Photo department and Production manager in all phases of magazine design and production. Our ideal candidate will have strong phone skills, be an organized, self-starter and questions asker. Candidate will be someone who is interested in the magazine business and understands that there is something to be learned from even the most menial-seeming tasks. Intern responsibilities include but are not limited to; assisting with scanning and trafficking art, photo research and administrative duties, among other tasks and projects. Design is possible. Candidate MUST possess a thorough knowledge of QuarkXPress, PhotoShop and scanning software. Qualified candidates only, need apply. Position is 3 days a week. Internship is unpaid. College credit or non-credit. Please email resumes and cover letters to Ms. Morgan Jennings, Assistant Art Director at mjennings@bridalguide.com. No Phone Calls Please! (Official Ed2010 posting) ... that Life & Style Weekly is looking for an enthusiastic fashion intern to join a fast-paced, celebrity-obsessed, style-savvy editorial staff this fall semester. Interns must be able to receive college credit and work a minimum of two days each week. We are looking for someone to help in the fashion closet with organizational tasks, calling in items, returning clothing and accessories, and much, much more. It's a great way to become immersed in the fashion and journalism worlds. Life & Style Weekly is located in Englewood Cliffs, NJ - just a hop, skip and a jump (by public transportation) across the George Washington Bridge. Please send a cover letter and resume to Barbara Seigel, assistant features editor, at bseigel@bauerpublishing.com for consideration. (OK to mention Ed)
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| << August24, 2005 - Minority mag covers and ASME rules; plus jobs! |
August25, 2005 - As if the Internet needs more naked photos. >> |
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