The Knox and Vivienne Jolie-Pitt issue of People supposedly moved "only" 2.5 million newsstand copies, considered a disappointment for its share of a $14 million investment. The September issues of fashion glossies like Vogue and W have been dieting; they're hitting newsstands with fewer ad pages, when this month's editions are supposed to communicate heft.
Need more evidence the magazine industry should just throw in the towel?
Jann Wenner is taking Rolling Stone for a dip in the pool, and letting shrinkage kick in — he's cutting the book's signature size by 25.5 square inches. When the new Village Voice hit, we mistook it for an insert. What to think of the new Rolling Stone when its itsy-bitsy form hits newsstands in October? CONTINUED »
Not only is Hamptons Cottages & Gardens not going to be sold this summer — Jason Binn's Niche Media and Sandow Media looked, but were like, "ehhhh, no" — but neither is Us Weekly. As quietly as he began shopping around the tabloid, Jann Wenner supposedly took the celebrity rag, which earned $75 million last year, off the market, finding no bidders at the $750 million price level. The short list of potential acquirers, of course, included Conde Nast. No longer, since Si Newhouse & Co. are busy figuring out just how much cash Portfolio is going to bleed from their coffers. So what's the future of Us, now that it's staying at home? CONTINUED »
Because he still does not understand the power of Us Weekly, just its profit potential, Jann Wenner is willing to unload the tabloid, and Men's Journal, but reportedly wants to hang on to Rolling Stone, an ailing music title with declining circulation and ad pages. Nevermind that trying to sell Us for a rumored $750 million might be a little difficult in the middle of this credit crunch. And the fact that purported buyers, like the oh-so-reputable Conde Nast, would also find itself defending its sometimes-invented cover stories each week. [WWD]
It was not Rolling Stone that Conde Nast was after, but another of Jann Wenner's publications: the tabloid Us Weekly.
That's what Keith Kelly hopes to clarify in today's column, where he names a price tag of $750 million that Si Newhouse would have to cough up to get his hands on the well-performing celeb weekly in what's already a crowded market.
Except news of a potential deal brings more questions than it does answers. Officially, Wenner media says, "There are no talks. Wenner Media and its properties are not for sale." As for Conde Nast, they're word is, "It is a company policy to never comment on potential acquisitions." But what would upscale Conde want with a tabloid that, no matter how much revenue and how glossy, is still viewed as downmarket? CONTINUED »
If Graydon Carter's nervous laughter is to be believed, Conde Nast might be buying Rolling Stone, if only to prevent another Barack Obama cover that pulls from a non-exclusive photo shoot instead of an over-styled production that puts him in a Zegna suit — with style credit. [Folio]
When Details publisher Chris Mitchell moved over to take the spot at Wired, it opened up the gig at Dan Peres' magazine. Filling the spot is Steve DeLuca, currently the associate publisher at Condé Nast Traveler. But remember when he was the publisher of Rolling Stone, and then ousted in 2006? Let's take a trip down memory lane, which includes more than a little job-costing spat with Jann Wenner. It involves Asian women, a small organ, and a tattoo. CONTINUED »
All that speculation that Us Weekly was going overboard in its support for Barack Obama … turned out to be entirely on target. Publisher Jann Wenner clearly has a soft spot for the senator; he's donated $3,150 to his campaign. But now he's going one step further.
For the first time in its 30-year history, Rolling Stone will endorse a candidate for president while the primary season is still going on. The magazine has endorsed White House hopefuls before (it started doing so in 1972), and regularly chooses Democrats, but only after the parties choose their nominees.
Now, RS is giving Barack Obama its stamp of approval, even though the battle between him and Hillary Clinton wages on.
"The reason for the early choice is twofold," write the editors in "Barack Obama: A New Hope." "Undoing the damage of the disastrous Bush years will take a leader who can unite a deeply divided nation, and politicians with gifts like Obama's are so rare that it's imperative for each of us to do our part."
So far, Rolling Stone has virtually ignored Hillary. But perhaps if she puts out an album, Clinton could at least score a blurb.
Is Us Weekly using its seven-figure circulation to launch a war against Hillary Clinton? That's the charge the New York Times is alleging given all the fawning Janice Min's tab has been doing over Barack Obama.
(The story comes two days after the Times admitted it got beat by another gossip charge, Matt Drudge, about the Prince Harry story, which the paper of record was completely in the dark about.)
Nevermind that Obama wouldn't answer an Us reporter's "Boxers or briefs?" question — Min & Co. totally have it in the bag for Barack, just like the rest of the media. How else to explain the tabloid's "Just like us" treatment with the presidential hopeful; here he is buying groceries, here he is playing with babies, here he is restoring America's good name abroad and providing health care for all Americans.
The Times' Richard Perez-Pena points to corporate cousin Rolling Stone, which ran an Obama feature last year but hasn't yet covered Clinton, as evidence of potential bias.
There's also some, uh, more concrete evidence, which Michael Calderone points to, like identifying the campaign Jann Wenner is donating to.
STONES, ROLLING After losing Rolling Stone executive editor Joe Levy to old foe Kent Brownridge and Alpha Media, Jann Wenner ups Eric Bates and Jason Fine to executive editor slots. [WWD]
ROLLING PEBBLES Congrats to Jann Wenner and Matt Nye, who welcomed twins (via surrogate) into the world, joining their 1-year-old son Noah. They also just plunked down $5.8 million for the 65-acre Teviot estate in the Catskills, so expect to be sending over two gifts this month.
STABBING BACK The war between Kent Brownridge and Jann Wenner rages on! Like a writers strike! Brownridge, the current Maxim and Blender guru and former Wenner No. 2, poached Rolling Stone exec editor Joe Levy, who will be installed atop Blender next month. Watch now as Kent starts a celebrity weekly just so he can send love letters to Janice Min. [AdAge]
Think Jann Wenner's got a bum rep? Think again. This "highlight" (taken from an interview with Norman Pearlstine) reminds us why the narcissistic publishing maven was our favorite Halloween costume of 2007.
Speaking about the pool of young talent: [Wenner] didn't see an "Internet brain drain" because young people apparently face the choice between working for either "Salon or Slate, or for a magazine with a major and meaningful audience."
Either that or they just get pigeonholed into working for Rolling Stone.
This just in from Jon Fine: "Jann Wenner: Still Incredibly Ornery and Idiosyncratic After All These Years." Really? Weird! After all those years of hiring and firing people, refusing to share any of the credit for Rolling Stone and rumors that he's miserly, erratic and not averse to kissing Neal Boulton, we figured he was pretty well-adjusted. Albeit somewhat scary.
Although we can’t always shake the nasty habit of writing in the royal we, occasionally one of our editors decides to shake off the cloak of anonymity to write a short, pithy statement long, rambling diatribe about a topic of their choice. Today, Debbie Newman is that editor.
With Halloween just around the corner, it's time to start thinking about last-minute costume ideas. And this year, instead of frantically hunting through the on-sale rack at Ricky's for that elusive half-priced garment that says "Slutty, yet sophisticated," why not be creative? There are plenty of do-it-yourself costumes* that require minimal effort on your part and are guaranteed to please potentially capable of suiting your needs.
Moderately intrigued? Read on, anyway! After the jump, a complete rundown of the scariest media personalities around with useful tips on how to capture their "essence" without breaking the bank or sacrificing your unique rebelliousness.
Neal Boulton wants a nonsexual cameo in Michael Lucas' next pornography flick, presumably to go with his nonsexual relationship with Jann Wenner. [Queerty]
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