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FASHION ?
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What is it with what NYC women are wearing this spring? Is it just totally in right now to look as mismatched and downright ugly as you possibly can?

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News
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1. WWD
In Plane Sight…Pocket Change
By Sara James
04/28/06
http://www.wwd.com/issue/article/106046

Given all the layoffs and buyouts at Time Inc. in the past five months, is now really the time for conspicuous spending within the company? Several longtime employees were surprised to learn this week that the entire editorial staff of Real Simple was staying at the posh Montage spa and resort in Laguna Beach, Calif., for an offsite.

Exotic editorial offsites in locales like Mexico and the Caribbean were standard practice at Time Inc. in the late Nineties, before Time Warner merged with AOL and the magazine industry experienced a post-9/11 ad slump. But in the past few years, only sales staffs have taken offsites that required plane travel - and even those have been scarce, according to several Time Inc. employees. While last year People's sales team went to Miami and just last week, In Style's sales staff met in Northern California for an offsite, most of the company's sales and edit meetings have been conducted in and around New York City of late.

A Time Inc. spokeswoman declined to comment about whether other editorial offsites would happen in 2006 and said that offsite spending was left up to the discretion of the individual titles. As one employee put it, “You make trade-offs to be able to go.” A spokeswoman for Real Simple and In Style, meanwhile, said, “Offsites offer a unique opportunity to share ideas and foster innovation. And yes, the weather was great.”

POCKET CHANGE: It looks like Elle will get a bigger allowance now that its kid sister has been restricted to the Web. In July, Elle will pick up 25,000 newsstand pockets from the shuttered Ellegirl. To fill those pockets, the magazine is simultaneously increasing its draw by 10 percent and will up its cover price to $3.99 from $3.50 as of October. (The September issue has been priced at $4.00 since 1998, and last year, Elle began charging the same amount for the March issue as well.)

“Given how well we're doing, our head of circulation feels that we can handle the increased pockets, the increased draw and the increased price at the same time, and we'll still be able to hold our margins,” said group publishing director Carol Smith. The magazine saw newsstand sales increase by 11 percent in the first quarter of 2006, according to the publisher's best estimates. Its average for the first half of last year was 276,167.

SELF-MADE MEN: Who are the most influential designers in the world today? According to Time magazine, that would be Sean “Diddy” Combs and Ralph Lauren. Both were selected for inclusion on this year's Time 100, the newsweekly's annual list of tastemakers and innovators, to be published in next week's issue. Vivienne Tam wrote the entry on Diddy, whom she calls “a Renaissance man” and “a force of nature.” “Translating the sensibilities of contemporary urban life and music into fashion...was a keen business move that brought his fans closer to his art, closer to his music and to him,” Tam writes.

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HE search for a new editor in chief at Fitness is over - sort of. Denise Brodey, the executive editor of Shape is getting the job, our sources say. Ah, but things are never that simple.

It seems Shape's parent company, American Media, had inserted a standard non-compete clause into her contract which bars her from working for a competitor for three months, according to several industry sources..

So, to be on the safe side, Meredith Editorial Director Michael Lafavore decided it was best to park Brodey for the next three months at More, the older women's magazine.

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If all goes according to plan, some months from now glossy-mag giant Cond? Nast Publications will launch an interesting Web site for teen girls. By this I mean it may interest even the nonteenagers out there, because, according to executives familiar with the project, the site's content will be created not primarily by Cond? Nast staffers but rather by its users.

This embrace by Cond? Nast, which publishes Teen Vogue, of "user-generated content" -- the toothache-inducing term for the stuff a media outlet's consumers create, which I'll call citizens' media -- comes at a critical juncture. Magazines as a medium are still struggling, with ad pages flat in the first quarter and showing signs of slowing thereafter. Meanwhile, total Internet ad spending is predicted to surpass the spending at magazines this year, according to Merrill Lynch (MER ). But some intriguing Web-based magazine initiatives loom. It may be premature to call this the dawn of Digital Magazine 2.0, but at least in some quarters Digital Magazine 1.5 isn't wholly far-fetched.

Unlike newspapers, many magazines have moved slowly on the Web or essentially ignored it. Incredibly, video, which garners higher ad rates, is virtually absent on the Web sites of Time, People, and Entertainment Weekly. (Time Inc. says it is planning to put more video on its Web sites this year.) Wenner Media's Us Weekly, the ridiculously successful celebrity mag, has a Web site largely consisting of a blog, "sneak peeks" at the current issue, and a subscription coupon. Cond? Nast's The New Yorker did not have a bona fide Web site until 2001, and Vanity Fair not until 2004.

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Time managing editor Jim Kelly, who's presided over the newsweekly since January 2001 in good times and bad, will give up his post sometime after next month's black-tie Time 100 dinner celebrating the most influential people in America.

Word is that the 52-year-old Kelly, Time's 16th managing editor since the mag's founding in 1923, will be leaving the job as early as June.

Yesterday Kelly wouldn't confirm his departure - the precise timing isn't nailed down - but joked, "I get job offers all the time, and if I'm offered a late-night TV hosting gig, I'm taking it."

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ONLINE VIDEO OFFERS MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS significant opportunities to profit from the digital revolution, senior media execs agreed at a forum hosted by the Magazine Publishers of America Wednesday in New York.

Video leverages the Internet's audiovisual capability, the execs said, thus differentiating magazines' online offerings from their print editions and allowing online properties to grow and attract viewers without undermining legacy publications. What's more, online video can be produced cheaply, yet can provide publishers with a valuable revenue stream because marketers are willing to pay a premium for quality video inventory.

ESPN Publishing's Senior Vice President and General Manager Keith Clinkscales said that after a sizable initial investment in digital infrastructure, the cost of online content can be kept quite low, as viewers may simply be interested in "behind-the-scenes" footage that takes them inside the editorial process. "People who make magazines think that people don't want to see what goes on behind the scenes, but the results have been very good," Clinkscales said, pointing to the popularity of "Deadline," an online promotional feature that details the monthly scramble to produce ESPN The Magazine.

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MAY FREELANCING CLASS HAS A FEW SPOTS OPEN
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EdSchool presents: How to get freelance work (and end up on staff if you want to!)

Back by popular request, mag freelancer and teacher Eric Butterman and Ed2010 present a 5-week super-intensive course on freelance pitching and writing. Enrollment is limited so there will be plenty of personal attention. Learn how to write the best email pitches possible, be good on the phone and actually sell stories (one student from last month's EdSchool/Eric Butterman seminar sold $3,000 in freelance stories the next day--we're not kidding). About Eric: He's been an editor on staff at Folio: and Travel Agent magazine, and has written for Glamour, Shape, Men's Fitness and countless other titles.

Class Details
When: Wednesdays from May 10-June 7 from 7-9pm (May 24th class ONLY is from 8-10 p.m.)
Where: Manhattan Theatre Club, The Creative Center, 311 West 43rd Street (near 8th Ave.)
Cost: $285

To sign up: RSVP to freelance@ed2010.com is REQUIRED. You'll get an email back with the PayPal URL.

... that SoHo Publishing, a leading full-service publisher specializing in innovative how-to magazines and books, seeks an assistant editor for a soon-to-launch bimonthly crochet magazine. The ideal candidate should be a crafty person with a strong understanding of crochet, an eye for fashion and style, and prior magazine publishing experience. Candidate must also be detail-oriented, deadline-driven and have at least two years writing and editing experience. This is an excellent opportunity to work with a great group of creative people and be very involved in the creation of an exciting new title. The position is full-time with 401K and health benefits. Please send resume, cover letter, and salary requirements to brett@sohopublishing.com. (Official Ed2010 posting)

... that Alloy Media and Marketing is seeking a freelance copywriter to assist the editorial team in putting together advertorial copy (heavy emphasis on editorial) and custom ad units. Must know teen pop culture, have prior copywriting experience (consumer magazine/internet preferred), and be available to start ASAP. Please send your resume along with three writing samples to kgemza@alloy.com. OK to mention Ed.

Internships

... that a “magazine publishing division” is seeking an organized, energetic and team-oriented photo intern with a strong photography background to work with a busy, fun department of six photo editors. Candidate will assist the photo editors with researching stock photography, maintaining the magazine library, logging in and returning photo images, calling in portfolios, administering contracts and processing invoices. Prospective intern should be college student or recent graduate with major or focus in photography. Ideal candidate should be interested in becoming a photo editor or photo researcher, and willing to commit to a six-month term as a positive contributor to the photo department. If you are interested, you should: have a keen interest in a broad spectrum of photography (still life, portrait, food, automotive, lifestyle, etc.); have strong research skills (knowledge of stock websites and agencies helpful); be Mac savvy and proficient with Word, Excel and Filemaker Pro; experience with InDesign and Photoshop a plus. To apply, send email to: timecustompub@yahoo.com (OK to mention Ed)

... that Rap-Up, a national hip-hop and R&B print magazine, is looking for writers to conduct interviews and write stories for upcoming issues. This is an unpaid internship, but is a great way to build up published clips in a national glossy. Candidates should have journalism experience, hip-hop knowledge, and be able to conduct in-person or phone interviews, preferably in NY, LA, Miami, or Atlanta. Please send cover letter, resume, and writing clips to jobs@rap-up.com. Looking for interns to start immediately. (OK to mention Ed)

... that Independent Photography Network is looking for an intern. The Independent Photography Network is a stock photography portal and technology solution for high end photographers. The internship will have a technical focus with a broad array of disciplines and tasks surrounding digital workflow and the business of selling stock photography. Duties will be commensurate with aptitude and skill- sets. Some such tasks may include photo research, digital processing, working with our member photographers, prepping material for international distribution, prospecting niche clients online and many other areas of the business of photography. Learn what is missing from the traditional curriculum and enhance your digital skills while earning class credits. This is not a shooting internship, please only apply if you have strong digital skills with things like Photoshop, FTP and digital workflow. Only applicants requiring college credit need apply. Mail resume and cover letter to info@ipnstock.com No phone calls please. (OK to mention Ed)

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About Ed:
Ed2010 is a purely volunteer organization dedicated to helping people reach their dream magazine jobs by the year 2010. Find out more (and donate to the cause!) at ed2010.com

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