The annual Magazine Publishers of America Conference dropped 14% in attendance, which is no surprise seeing as how there is 50% less magazines out now then a year ago, and only 25% of last year's staff left (all except that first number are made up figures). Adam Moss' New York cover of Eliot Spitzer with his brain in his dorkle won Best Cover, but what people will really be talking about (besides the fact that Ah-nuld showed up to bemoan the state of things), is the San Francisco summit's lack of VIP treatment for important editors:
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Are we done with all these pictures of Wall Street types pinching the bridge of their nose or with their hands over their mouths as if to say "the world is on fire and it smells like sulfur?"
Brokers need to put their hands over their mics to make bids, which kind of makes it seem like they are yawning or gasping but it's a normal occurrence and it does not necessarily mean that all brokers/financiers are having a meltdown and are thisclose to killing themselves and their families, except for that one guy in LA who did just that. As for the nose-pinching? Well: sinus infections are rampant this time of year.
It's embarrassing enough to be caught by some random photog in a private moment of banker shame, but do the snark blogs have to call you on it as well? New York mag couldn't help themselves at taking this potshot:
• The man above had his photo splashed on the Times homepage almost all day. Now, in addition to being sad at losing a lot of money, he must be embarrassed, not least because he was wearing that weird shirt with the net on it on this of all days. But at least he now has a shot at becoming microfamous!
Cute, except as a tipster pointed out, the mesh backing isn't that unusual:
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Can anyone interpret how AdAge determined their Top 10 list for "outstanding accomplishment, growth, business and buzz among magazines?" Sure, it's been a tough year fiscally for all publications, but listicles in general are tough if they rely on "fuzzy math" to determine criteria such as oustandingness and growth.
Just looking at the front two contestants, The Economist and Women's Health, you see that while both publications saw a general increase in sales, ad pages, and subscriptions, WH had much larger percentage increases than The Economist in every category. The Economist may have had more ad pages overall, but they are still far below the numbers of New York magazine or Conde Nast Traveler, who nonetheless saw decreases in their pages and are featured much lower on the Top Ten list.
Make up your mind, AdAge: either create an easy formula for quantifying a magazine's success and share it with the rest of the class, or think of a more inventive way to celebrate magazines than another useless list that is all sound and fury, signifying nothing.
While flipping through New York Magazine last night under the table while saying mumbling "Baruch Atah Adonoi" along with the rest of the family, I noticed something a little bit…funky. Not that the magazine's 40th anniversary issue wasn't fantastic and full of pictures and charts and timelines and confirmation that NY's always been fucked up so don't worry about this whole Dow Jones mess, but I couldn't understand the how the editors picked some of their celebrities for their New York Actors segment:
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Liz Smith, the 85-year-old gossip columnist whose name, when mentioned in the press, is often accompanied by "industry veteran" or "losing her mind," recently starred in a New York Times photo shoot. It was happenstance; she was dining at Michael's post-Labor Day, so Vibe founder Jonathan Van Meter could interview her for New York, and the newspaper had sent a photog there to snap for Frank Bruni's biting review of the place.
But less about food, more about things that usually accompany Ms. Smith's name. "Gay" is also one of them.
The gossip columnist hasn't hid her sexuality in recent decades, but she's not wearing rainbow flags on her lapels, either. And when she did come out publicly, via her 2000 book Natural Blonde, she did so by saying she divorced her husband after just a year of marriage, which was "long enough for me to know it wasn't working for me." Get it?
Amusing, then, to see Ms. Smith so delicately broach the subject one more time: CONTINUED »
The Magazine Publishers of America will announce the winners of the their 2008 Cover Awards this Monday, which is sort of bittersweet news for an industry which is going down the shitter at an alarming rate. Well hey, it's like Michael Scott said in last night's weight-loss episode of The Office, "I don't care what any stupid scale says, you guys are all gigantic losers."
Pictures of the three candidates up for 2008 Cover of the Year, after the jump:
Karl Rove sits atop many lists. This week, it's New York magazine's media popularity contest for pundits. (Immediately below Rove? Rush Limbaugh.) Too bad New York, while writing about "opinionmongers," doesn't understand "pundits" are the people doing the commentary, not reporting the hard news, so it's a bit ridiculous to see names like Tom Brokaw, Bob Scheiffer, or even Andrea Mitchell on here. [NYMag]
According to a handful of Elle staffers we've spoke with in the past few weeks, the magazine's editor, Robbie Myers, is actually pretty well liked by many on the masthead. Sure, she has her flaws ("What's with the constant giggling?" snipes one; she's always in a "shitty mood," counters another) and we've been fed plenty of anecdotes to squeeze her in to some Jossip copy, but might Ms. Myers actually be running a fashion magazine and have the respect of her staff? Pity, then, that in New York's feature this week about the feud between soon-to-be-ex-Elle staffer Nina Garcia and fashion news director and Stylista face Anne Slowey, Myers didn't get to have her say. Though quizzed by the article's author (Gawker Media's Moe Tkacik) about Project Runway and Stylista, Myers wasn't asked about the supposed bad blood between her two minions. And that doesn't sit well with her: "That story is full of quotes about why I did what I did, how could they possibly know why I did anything or what motivated me to do anything in my job, unless they ask me? Even if someone else where to speculate about why I did something, the fact that nobody called me even to fact check it is egregious." (Myers has written us notes before, saying some of our coverage hurt her, too.) And there's the rub: Tkacik is, by profession, a blogger (from Jezebel to Gawker in some twisted job hijacking involving Radar), and we're trained not to ask those type of questions that might have you confuse us with journalists. But if her work is going to appear in New York, well, perhaps it should have met higher standards — and reported all sides of the story. By not doing so, well, this mini scandal stays alive.
A naked Lindsay Lohan and an adulterous Eliot Spitzer helped New York magazine actually increase newsstand sales. [Folio]
Jonathan Van Meter's New York magazine cover story this week about plastic surgery — really, is there more to be said about people in this city having work done? — had, like anesthesia gone wrong, one unexpected side effect: outing an anonymous source who plans to get plastic surgery for her 60th birthday. It didn't take much sleuthing to finger the woman as Elle publisher Carol Smith. Gracefully owning up to the detective work, Smith says her face lift will have to wait; she's moving apartments.
Clay S. Felker, who started New York magazine as a standalone title with the $1 million severage he received from the New York Herald Tribune, where the publication existed as an insert, has died. He was 82. [WaPo]
How many Barack Obama magazine covers can qualify as rip-offs this week? So far, our tally is at two. CONTINUED »
One of New York magazine's five questions with Gov. David Paterson: "Yeah?" [NYM]
If this New York magazine cover is any indication, Gossip Girl is the second coming of Jesus. Jessica Pressler & Chris Rovzar make the case that this show, despite the lackluster ratings, is a game changer. They even give their reasons in listicle format!
We're going to do one better: We're gonna refute each bullet point. In listicle format! CONTINUED »
For a magazine run by celebrated homo Adam Moss, New York isn't doing much for gay authors. [The Gay Recluse]
Editorial Director
