Conde Nast Portfolio is doing aiight. [WWD]
Portfolio publisher David Carey responds to allegations that the magazine's in trouble and puts the recent onslaught of senior editorial departures in perspective: "Even [editor-in-chief Joanne] Lippman's well-publicized falling out with some high-profile staff members is overblown, he says. The magazine has a staff of 150, and only eight have left. Portfolio, he says, has one of the lowest turnover rates in the company."
Point taken, though we are talking about a list that includes Glamour and Vogue. Meanwhile, we can't wait to see what kind of spin Carey puts on it when Lipman's number is up. Then again, she would only be the ninth person to leave. Which, according to Carey, means there's absolutely nothing to worry about. [WaPo]
Chris Jones, the (now former) managing editor of Portfolio, joins his compatriots in running away from Joanne Lipman as fast as his little legs will carry him. Although Jones left voluntarily, his reasons for leaving are once more attributed to tension with the boss lady and the general feeling ill-at-ease that tends to accompany working on a sinking ship. Now, rumors persist Lipman may soon officially lose control of the magazine's website, a blow not wholly unexpected considering she's already unofficially lost control of the magazine's staffers.
Incredibly, "British publishing mogul" Richard Desmond has already sunk upwards of $85 million into the American launch of celebrity weekly OK! magazine.
While the gossip rag's longevity still has yet to be determined, they should take comfort in the fact that, should they prove to have a shorter shelf-life than expected, they've still got at least a 50/50 chance of besting Portfolio in the category of "Most Expensive Failures."
[NYP]
Jeffrey Chu, senior associate editor at Conde Nast's Portfolio, is leaving the mag to join Fast Company. Chu's departure follows that of senior writer Kurt Eichenwald and deputy editor Jim Impoco, who recently left for various undisclosed reasons otherwise known as "Joanne Lipman."
No stranger to over publicized launches and disappointing closings, Jeff Bercovici of Radar fame started his Mixed Media blog for Portfolio.com yesterday. Bercovici reports that Details is doing all right, so good in fact to run an extra holiday issue from spillover ads.
Bercovici also reveals that Conde Nast’s profitability rule of thumb is 1000 ad pages per year, which means Portfolio only has 693 more pages to go.
Should magazines be more habit-forming? Yes! says not-crazy medical expert Dr. Samir Husni (a.k.a. "Mr. Magazine") who owns over 800 neckties and contends that "magazines need to possess the 'addictive' quality of chocolate.
"Nobody needs chocolate," observes Husni. "But once you get addicted to chocolate, you are going to be eating chocolate time after time. Our product has to have that addictiveness."
Um, exactly.
Portfolio's second issue hits newsstands later this week, with improved tempo and pacing, but with new unrest now surfacing on Joanne Lipman's editorial staff. Overall, our evaluators here see an improved product, although not quite an "A" level from the high-priced A-team. We would give it a mid-range B, up from the B- that The Post gave it for its maiden voyage.
–Stingy media professor Keith Kelly, refusing to give those grade-grubbers at Portfolio anything higher than a B/B+.
Notorious Times' scribe Kurt Eichenwald* resigns from Portfolio just weeks before the second issue hits newstands. Since Eichenwald has yet to publicly address his reasons for stepping down, it has yet to be determined whether his leaving was prompted more by another journalism ethics scandal or simply by the irrepressible urge to jump ship before Joanne Lipman the crazy lady at the top ruins everything.
Earlier: Portfolio Deputy Editor Axed After ‘Night Of The Long Words’
*Best known for paying upwards of $2500 in exchange for internet pornography a story about internet pornography
Yesterday, the New York Observer broke the news that Portfolio EIC Joanne Lipman fired deputy editor Jim Impoco just prior to the release of the second issue, following months of tension-filled meetings, heated discussions and more than a couple incidences of gratuitous eye rolling.
But what truly caused the rift?
According to WWD, Impoco's ginormous expense account may have been to blame, or else the fact that he was an incurable sesquapedalian [Ed: A long word meaning "Given to or characterized by the use of long words"].
Have you ever picked up the inaugural issue of a brand new business-for-women magazine, weighing approximately 5-6 pounds, flipped through all the boring high-end advertisements (ooh! Luxury cruises you can't afford!) and then suddenly realized that the Michael Lewis sports/business hybrid article didn't actually make any sense, even though it was really long, and that you don't really care what Tom Wolfe thinks about Greenwich, Connecticut, anyway?
If so, you're probably on the edge of your seat, waiting for the second, do-or-die issue of Portfolio, to see whether Joanne Lipman has the chops to turn it around editorially—or at least the financial resources to "recruit" other, talented writers/editors who can.
And the good news is, you're not alone.
• Only Conrad Black would call Conrad Black's fraud trial "bullshit."
• Jon Friedman is first last to recognize Charlie Gibson/ABC's success.
• World rebels against business mags. Portfolio, however, is safe.
• Turns out Time Warner shareholders are more concerned with profits than with former HBO prez's indiscretions.
• San Francisco Chronicle to get 25% worse.
• AdAge: "The print-media industry is not only filled with f–k-ups, it coddles them." Case in point, AMI's David Pecker.
"Where," you've been asking yourself, "can Portfolio really succeed online?" This morning that questioned was answered with Matt Cooper's blog post "Behind the Scenes at Daily Show," an account from his appearance on last night's show.
Can you believe Jon Stewart actually visits the green room, personally, to thank guests for appearing? And that bleeping out the curse words for the broadcast version is funnier than the live version?
And then there's the whole recounting of his blood pressure spike.
CONTINUED »
You know you're in trouble when Jon Friedman dismisses you as being overly pompous.
Because, really, if anyone would know what it's like to reek of self-importance and excess, it's MarketWatch's Jon Friedman.
It doesn't matter that Conde Nast Portfolio is a biz magazine — Joanna Lipman & Co. know how important the celebrity factor is. So how to add the A-list to a sexed-up glossy about CFOs? With "Spottings," of course. It's Portfolio.com's excuse to post party photos where executives and Us Weekly's FOB come together.
So far we're not terribly impressed. Sony CEO Howard Stringer at the Perfect Stranger premiere? Big whoop if he's not posing with Halle Berry. Things get a little better with a Russell Simmons and Denise Rich pairing, but until we've got Yahoo chief Terry Semel snapped walking the red carpet with Rachel McAdams, this feature is bunk.
Editorial Director
