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Yum, pizza
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Ed will have a Sicilian slice, thank you.

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News
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1. Radar
Spin and Vibe Drum Up Bidders
10/27/05
http://www.radaronline.com/fresh-intelligence/2005/10/27/index.php#report_003785

Music mags Spin and Vibe have been quietly put on the market, giving leading suitor Quincy Jones some unwelcome competition, sources say. The Daily Deal reported in August that Jones, the legendary record producer who founded Vibe in 1994, had teamed up with BayStar Capital Management in an unsolicited $100 million bid to buy both mags from Miller Publishing. But according to a source close to the deal, interest from competing groups prompted Bob Miller, the company??™s CEO, to open up the sale to other bidders. ???There are a number of parties with strong interest in the properties,??? said the source, adding with a chuckle, ???I think both magazines will have a nice life after this.???

The package deal, which is being brokered by the Jordan, Edmiston Group, was the talk of last week??™s American Magazine Conference in Puerto Rico, we hear. ???It??™s pretty well known in the industry at this point,??? says the source. ???The auction has been in progress for about six week now.???

Spin magazine, founded in 1985 by Bob Guccione, Jr., became part of Vibe/Spin Ventures LLC as the result of a $42 million sale in 1997. Vibe passed through the hands of a publishing consortium called Vibe Ventures in 1996 before ending up at Miller. Both magazines have seen advertising and readers erode in recent years thanks to a crippled record industry and strong competition from other upstart music mags, both in print and online.

???They want to unload both books while they still have some degree of heat attached to them,??? says another source close to the deal. ???It??™s now or never.??? A representative for the Jordan, Edmiston Group declined to comment on the sale, and neither Miller nor Jones, who owns a minority stake in Vibe/Spin Ventures, returned calls. Sia Michel, the editor of Spin, and Mimi Valdez of Vibe could not be reached by press time.

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WhisperJobs
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Ed hears. . .

. . .that Metropolitan Home magazine (published by Hachette Filipacchi) is looking for a senior design editor. The ideal candidate will conceptualize and produce feature/well stories, and style/art direct both front-of-book and feature/well stories. The candidate will also seek out architects and designers for story ideas; manage city editors and supervise their work for the magazine; assist in production of annual Design 100 issue. In addition, the individual will cover markets, represent the magazine at trade shows and industry events and serve as a spokesperson on trends and markets on television and at industry events. The candidate will have at least five years of related design experience, preferably in magazines; extensive experience in the production of location and studio photo shoots; a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of modern design/architecture. Please e-mail resume with cover letter, including salary requirements to jobs@hfmus.com. We will contact only those candidates whose experience matches our needs. No phone calls please. (OK to mention Ed)

. . .that Meredith Corp is looking for a PAID web editorial and production intern, who will focus on optimizing content for the web, both for search engines and for the website user experience. The right candidate will: Edit and format licensed content for production team with an eye to web usability and search engine optimization; Identify magazine content that should be added to the website; Conceive of new story ideas and content areas to be added to the website in all content areas of the site, especially beauty/fashion and relationships; Be able to perform light administrative tasks, so strong organizational and communications skills are a requirement. Experience and a strong interest in women's service journalism are a plus, along with experience with a web content management system. HTML and other programming languages are not required. This is a great job for a recent college graduate looking to get a start in web publishing. Please email resumes and cover letters to: healtheditor@meredith.com (OK to mention Ed)

. . .that Yoga Journal (in San Francisco) is looking for a web-editorial intern to start right away. Position is paid. About 30 hours a week. (Do NOT mention Ed)

. . .that Quick & Simple, Hearst's new weekly women's lifestyle magazine, is seeking a spring intern (January-May) in the Photo/Art Department, 2-3 days a week. Students will have the opportunity to work closely with the Photo Director and assist our digital photographer in our inhouse studio. Other responsibilities include: propping for photo shoots, organizing photographer contracts and release forms and maintaining the prop closet. Please send resume, cover letter and availability to mmariola@hearst.com. (OK to mention Ed!)