An interesting thing is happening inside the walls of 4 Times Square, and we like to call it cannibalism. Times two.
The first act of cannibalism is taking place between Vanity Fair and Portfolio, the anemic Conde Nast business magazine that wouldn't mind putting an A-lister on its cover — say, Will Smith? — and dissecting his Hollywood profit margins. Except doing so would infringe upon VF's territory, eating up Graydon Carter's editorial base.
And the second act of cannibalism?
That would be when Graydon Carter wields his power inside Tinseltown to keep Joanne Lipman and her charges from ever locking down an A-list cover. CONTINUED »
You can't judge a book by its cover, but you just might be able to glean a few inconvenient truths about the editors-in-chiefs based on the locations of their respective magazines' holiday shindigs.
Take, for instance, Portfolio editor Joanne Lipman, who "will host her magazine's first official holiday party on Dec. 11 at Runway of all places, a fashion-inspired lounge that shares its name with the magazine in The Devil Wears Prada."
Coincidence? Or just a matter of time before the next disgruntled (former) staffer drafts the sequel?
Did you hear? Portfolio's senior editor, Dan Roth (whom EIC Joanne Lipman once poached from Fortune "with much fanfare") has now officially been poached by the Conde Nast mag's top in-house competitor, Wired magazine.
What's more, in the hours leading up to Roth's defection, Wired editor Chris Anderson (a.k.a. "the mean man who stole Roth away") had the audacity to show up to S.I. Newhouse Jr.'s annual holiday lunch and shove down food as though nothing had even happened.
Worse still? According to Matlock doppelganger (and fellow lunch attendee) Keith Kelly, Anderson "didn't even have that great a seat." Poor Joanne. When it rains, it pours. [NYP]
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]
Hey, you know what’s probably not fun? Working for someone’s failing pet project. Especially when that someone is S.I. Newhouse and when that pet project is the $100 million money pit known as Portfolio.
S.I. Newhouse has been hanging out with Portfolio EIC Joanne Lipman. Last week, there was a breakfast meeting that ended with a new managing editor, Jacob Lewis. And this week, S.I. is making editorial changes.
CONTINUED »
Jacob Lewis lost his job security over eggs.
At a breakfast meeting between Joanne Lipman and S.I. Newhouse, Lewis, the managing editor of the New Yorker, became the managing editor of Portfolio.
Lewis is a Conde man through and through. He met his wife, who then worked at Vanity Fair, through Conde Nast, and their meet-cute/awkward courtship was the subject of an extended piece in Vows.
Blaise Zerega of Wired fame will become a deputy editor based in San Francisco for Portfolio, though one source told Keith Kelly, "He's being called deputy but it doesn't look like he will have any serious management responsibilities. Have you ever heard of a deputy 3,000 miles away?"
Another good question: Have you heard of a successful magazine with declining ad sales and unstable editorial board?
With Joanne Lipman foregoing an editor's letter in Portfolio's third issue, does that mean there will be a frickin' fifth page available to introduce contributors? [WWD]
Senior writer Katrina Brooker ditches Portfolio after being offered a plum position that promises to advance her career and provides her with a lucrative salary boost her old job back.
Brooker, a friend of ousted deputy editor Jim impoco and former "star reporter" at Fortune, will be back at "her old stomping grounds" well before Portfolio's third issue hits the stands.
Still to come: an explanation from EIC Joanne Lipman on why exactly it is that "Portofolio" has already become inextricably linked with word "Exit." [WWD]
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."
Know what's an awesome idea when your magazine's second issue has a noticeable drop in ad pages (which, despite how you may try to spin, is not good news)?
Waste four pages introducing your contributors!
Evidently, Joanne Lipman's team thought it'd be smart – clever? innovative? global? – to introduce their overpaid contributors over the course of a four-page world map (with a half-page's worth of a book ad). While most magazines limit their FOTB contributors page to a single (or, if they're lucky, a double), Portfolio's self-importance advised a larger space to rationalize its budget.
Sure, September's Vogue thinks a decent editorial-to-advertising ratio is 1.3:10. But with 63 fewer ad pages and a whole lot of editorial hype to live up to, perhaps dedicating a few more inches to, say, investigative business journalism might've been a smarter call.
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.
And the positive buzz on Portfolio continues with Michael Calderonne's profile piece on Joanne Lipman in this week's New York Observer.
"Even those who support her inside the magazine characterize her learning curve at a monthly glossy as steep, and often treacherous," warns Calderonne.
"Instead of being fired, [Jim Impoco] should have been named editor in chief," snipes one of Lipman's many supporters.
"She thinks she is 100 percent right, 100 percent of the time," agrees another insider. "She just isn't very collegial. The dissatisfaction is spread across all departments."
Chin up, Joanne! Just think—if you were still at WSJ, you'd be working for a self-serving pathological egotist right now!
Instead, well, you are one.
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"].
Just after closing Issue No. 2, Portfolio EIC Joanne Lipman axes second-in-command Jim Impoco. That's a … good sign, right? [NYO]
Editorial Director
