OMG, we are so totally gushing right now. This is so flippin' cute! We want to go around in frilly aprons and feed little toddlers chocolate cupcakes while following them around with a vacuum. And not just because Michael Noer recommends it for husband getting. But because Conde Nast cuties Domino and Cookie are moving to the same floor.
Domino, meet Cookie. Condé Nast’s two “happiest” magazines will soon be on the same level: the latter will move onto the eighth floor of 4 Times Square just after Labor Day. Both magazines will occupy the floor that formerly housed Lucky, before the shopping title was bumped down to six. According to a Condé Nast spokeswoman, the Cookie move is simply the result of the space becoming available.
Can you imagine the staff baby showers that will take place on floor eight? It will be like a real life-sized doll house full of bassinets and lampshades. Until, of course, they ask across-the-tracks bad girl Jane to come baby-sit, and suddenly the GQ boys are bringing over bottles of Don Julio and they find Ariel Foxman passed out on the AstroTurf lawn.
Domino's New Neighbor [Fashion Week Daily]
When we first saw this cover, we thought maybe Dylan Stableford was fucking with us. Black kids on the cover of a magazine? We didn't know that was even allowed. Maybe because Conde Nast's Cookie is the only other kids magazine we're familiar with (and by familiar we of course mean "obsessed) and they only put snowflake babies and white breats on the front of their perfect-child-alogs.
So, what's the deal with Black Boy magazine? Well, Feona Sharhran Huff is the founder and publisher, and her mission with this magazine is to empower Black boys and help them build the tools necessary to succeed in life.
As a result of me being the Education Field Reporter for Our Time Press Newspaper where I wrote a Three-Part Series on “Black Boys and Education,” coupled with the fact I'm raising a Black boy, I was compelled to start a magazine for Black boys, ages 2 to 17. Black boys don't have anything on an editorial level to empower them, show them love, or give them direction as well as an opportunity to develop the tools necessary to succeed in life. That's what Black Boy Magazine will do.
We, for one, think it's pretty awesome. Especially because we were afraid that Britney Spears and Kevin Federline were going to start a magazine before anyone else had the chance.
Black Boy Magazine: The Fall Cover [Fishbowl NY]
Black Boy Magazine
• The party crew at Reuters really knows how to shake things up with liquor and ivy league humor. Cheney joke: "duck is not just a bird, it's a verb, too." Har, har. [Wonkette]
• It's tough to tell the difference between sound bites from Cookie and Playboy because (most) Playboy models are retarded and new moms have huge boobs. And with all these new hot moms posing for the nudie mag, things only get more complicated. [NYO]
• Nothing says "Happy 10th Anniversary" like shaking down those liberal cable and satellite operators for more money. Right Fox? [WSJ]
• Who knew the Belgians were really at the top of the journalism profession? So shocking that it isn't the Times. [E&P]
• Oh, Simon Dumenco. He sure does love bringing up that masturbating cat. [Ad Age]
• Forbes is bleeding staffers by the gallon. Lloyd Grove, we hope you're keeping your eyes peeled for all these job openings you'd be so perfect for. [Gawker]
If Cookie is the guide on how to shove a silver spoon so far down your kid's throat she'll start pooping Tiffany's bracelets, then Wonder time is a guide for boring your family into a coma.
Based on "childhood development" (yawn) former Child publisher Dave Mevorah launches the family values mag with an opening rate base of 300,000. The mag will start quarterly with plans to go bimonthly in 2007 and 10 times yearly in 2008.
Ok, you can pick your head up off your computer now and wipe the drool off your face. Even though there were no Wonder time fashion shows full of celebuspawn, 20 rockin "get-acquainted" events featured goody bags overflowing with iPods and Cindy Lauper music.
The one thing we would like to request from Mevorah, even though she really can't read very well, is to consider sending a few copies of the mag over to Britney Spears, with a note explaining why getting your baby thrown out of the front windshield is a no-no in the mommy book.
2005 was a pretty boring year for magazines. A few folds, a few launches, a few EIC departees and scandals…nothing too mind-blowing. Or, maybe it was just that the shame shadows cast by the New York Times are large enough to cloud over an entire industry. TV News had its moments, as did blogs! It was tough competition, but the categories and their nominees for Best Media Moments are here:
(and don't forget the winners after the jump!)
• 'Twas the year for founding magazine EICs to abandon their babies, and we sure were sad to see them go. Sarah Gray Miller broke a few hearts when she left Budget Living's pockets empty. And of course there was Jane Pratt's confusing departure from Jane, which led Brandon Holley to say c'ya to ELLEgirl. It's hard enough to keep track, let alone choose our fave EIC flee.
• Ah, the scandals of journalism. If only there was a tabloid for media freaks to follow each other's wrong-doings. Nominees for 2005's biggest newsmedia mishaps go to Judith Miller for her NYT/Scooter Libby/Valerie Plame protection/revelation debacle. And recently, there was that whole NYT wiretap/PR disguised as service journalism fiasco. And of course, who could forget good old Graydon Carter's Deep Throat discovery? (Not to mention all the press leaks it inspired.)
• Sometimes, newscasters can get a little whacky, but that's why we love them. Television news needs its moment in the spotlight too, so we have nominated a couple in the category of TV travesties: Al Roker for his Hurricane Wilma wipe-out or Matt Lauer for holding his own when attacked with Tom Cruise's particular brand of cruisaziness. (Ok, we realize these are both Today Show incidents, but all the nerds already covered the real news.)
• When unoriginal mags launch, nobody wins. Yet, they just keep on launchin'. Our favorite new mags of the year? David will kill us all if we don't list Cookie, everyone's fave billionaire baby book. And then there was Weekend, another richie rich mag for people who have like seven houses and a cabin, and overcrowding the tabloid market from abroad is the very celeboring OK!. We hate them all, but which is truly the most unnecessary new mag of the year? After the jump, guys!
• The worst things to happen to media this year? Its a sad category, but someone's gotta do it. We don't what was more heartbreaking, the death of Peter Jennings or the death of Radar. And Judy behind bars was kind of a blow to the industry (yes, she can be nominated twice). Hmm, what else…? Oh, yeah, Peter Braunstein on the loose was pretty f'd up.
CONTINUED »
Well, since everyone is guaranteed to go into a panic tomorrow and get all their shopping done before they become stranded in their apartments (without Mister Softee or wine, mind you) may we suggest printing out Slate's very handy shopping round-up immediately. (We'd be doing this ourselves, but we bargain shop online. Plus, the thought of you running around midtown after work brings a smile to our faces).
In the extensive round-up, you will find gifts for your husband, mother-in-law, baby, and what few friends you might have left. Slate even answered the question "What will Cookie staffers be giving their advertisers this year?": "a rather lavish outlay for a set of six Moss table knives"
Obviously! Why didn't we guess murder weapons?
The Gift of Mags [Slate]
Related SELF is sending cookies?
At one point in our lives, we cared about how we looked, and only because we were sometimes seen in public. During that time, we often read Self Magazine, the Conde Nast guide to looking like a tightrope walker.
And it's funny. We don't really remember them promoting eating anything, let alone, cookies. They have like 400 calories each! Conde's can't eat that stuff, they won't fit into their Sevens. Oh, wait. Is giving this 'gift' to their advertisers sort of like how anorexics are always trying to feed people and stuff? And what's Cookie gonna send now?
HOLIDAY SWAG WATCH: DAY ONE [Ad Age]
.. and induce mommies and daddies to spend $800 on a stroller that'll look just darling with that new Cartier bracelet.
A Magazine for Moms Trying to Stay Stylish After the Baby [NYT]
Earlier: Cookie crumbles next week
Related: All of Jossip's Cookie magazine coverage
Stop your presses: Cookie has gone to press!
The luxe parenting title that shows moms and dads how to excelerate their bankruptcy filing while raising children hits newsstands next Tuesday, Nov. 15.
And with Connie Anne Phillips-style pinache, publishers convinced the likes of Land Rover and Lexus – which have never advertised in a "parenting" title – to pick up ad pages alongside staples like Burberry and Target.
But since you buy magazines from Conde Nast's stable for the editorial and not the ads, what exactly can readers expect when the non-fat, no-sugar-added organic Cookie drops?
Cookie will service 25-to-45-year-old parents with upscale fashionista sensibilities. For example, the magazine features a little girl swathed in a $1,500 fur wrap, and elsewhere a $1,275 Balenciaga tote is touted.
“That’s Condé Nast for you,†said Carol Pais, print buying director for Fallon Minneapolis. “Their titles will always be an aspirational read, just like Vogue.â€
Oh sweetie, Vogue isn't aspirational. It's aspirating.
C is for Cookie: Fairchild Rolls Out Parenting Title [Mediaweek]
Cookie Goes to Press [WWD]
Born to be fat? Shh, don't tell anyone at Cookie.
Early eye on obesity [Newsday]
Related: Disney's Wondertime: Definitely not a fat-free Cookie
• Some have the audacity to call the Peter Jackson's upcoming King Kong – at three-hours long and costing $207 million — bloated. [NYT]
• What's worse than reading the live-blog of Patrick Fitzgerald's Valerie Plame-related indictments? Reading the live-blog of Patrick Fitzgerald's Valerie Plame-related indictments when there, uh, aren't any indictments. [E&P]
• For a newspaper that's supposed to represent freedom of information, Boston Metro sure makes it difficult to get interviews with their staff. But perhaps that's because their "staff" is composed of wire report copy and pasters. [Boston Phoenix]
• Both Spin and Vibe magazines are on the sale block, but don't tell anyone about it. We're also pretty sure this is where Nick Denton issues an announcement that Gawker Media is not for sale. [Radar]
• Cookie magazine may look a little too similar to Child magazine with its fur-wearing fat baby on the cover, but rest assured that when the new Conde Nast baby title debuts next month, the baby will have had some liposculpting. [WWD]
• Jann Wenner isn't just a magazine publisher, he's also an interior decorator. And, like everything else he gets his hands in, he's quite the anal interior decorator. [Lowdown]
• Will & Grace's top act Megan Mullally has secured distribution for her upcoming talk show in the country's top four markets. Unfortunately for viewers, her whiny, high-pitched Karen voice is not actually how she speaks. [AP
• Sean McManus will not eat, sleep or breathe until he pulls CBS News out of third place. [AP]
Now that they're getting rid of Discover, courtesy of Bob Guccione Jr., Disney has a little bit of cash to play with — and they're dumping it into the black hole that is children.
The same folks that bring you Magic Kingdom and FamilyFun (that's a magazine, not a NAMBLA offshoot) are fronting Wondertime, a new magazine for moms with children "who are keen to nurture their offspring's love of learning."
But just because it's Disney footing the bill doesn't mean you should be expecting Goofy and Donald to wow mother and child with learning games available at The Disney Store.
"We didn't want people to think this is a Disney magazine," Mevorah said. "It doesn't have Disney characters. We're looking to build non-Disney-branded properties. When you say Disney, you get different connotations from moms and different connotations from advertisers. It's just a magazine targeted at moms, but it's not Disney-branded. It's Disney-backed."
Which can't be said for Conde Nast's upcoming Cookie, which will tout its Conde Nast pedigree from the diaper changing station to the breast milk storage container. But at least fatter babies will have a chance at a magazine cover.
• Penthouse founder Bob Guccione is facing a $4 million lawsuit from the company he used to run, which is looking for unrecovered cash, art and furniture.
• If it's not Natalee Holloway, Fox News is seeing ratings climb thanks to Hurricae Katrina. The news network nabbed an average 2.8 million viewers on Monday, it's largest of the year.
• Fairchild's Cookie is accompanying its baby mag November launch with a stroller shopping event on Madison Avenue next month. And by the way he's going, Brad Pitt might show.
• With Cargo's publisher Alan Katz jumping ship to head Vanity Fair in the business group shuffleboard, Conde Nast is bringing in American Media Inc. prez Lance Ford (of Maxim, Stuff and Blender launch fame) to run its men's shopping title.
• Google is trying its hand at print advertising, quietly buying up ad pages in tech titles like PC Magazine and reselling the space as cut-up units to marketers already a part of its AdWords program.
• First Wal-Mart secured exclusive distribution for Time Inc.'s All You, now they're securing exclusive rights to sell BET's DVDs.
• Congrats to Niche Media overlord Jason Binn and wife Haley on the birth of Penny Olivia, who will likely get her own mail slot on Park Ave South.
Editorial Director
