Magazines

Time Publishing, former parent company of CQ, will unload Governing magazine, its website and related properties to e.Republic, publisher of Government Technology magazine for an undisclosed price.

FOLIO's Jason Fell says the deal is expected to close before Thanksgiving. Governing was the last of the Florida-based publisher's Washington D.C. media properties.

Washington Life's November issue is all about the "creatives." So, what better month to introduce their new art director, Kris Apodaca? FishbowlDC was able to pull her way from Photoshop for a few minutes to talk design, visual changes to Washington Life and the artistic side of editorial.

What's your background? I moved to DC last year from Denver, looking for a different opportunity in print editorial design. My experience is mainly with home design and lifestyle magazines. I was ready to expand my portfolio and the Washington Life opportunity presented itself at the right time.

From an artistic standpoint, how does editorial content look the best? Content should be easy to navigate and digest. Don't make the reader work too hard to get the information, but don't insult them by over-simplifying. And of course it should always be beautiful.

How is design of a society mag different from home/garden? The home design magazines where I've worked are about quiet elegance - creating an indulgent mood, something to aspire to. My Washington Life experience so far calls for a more vibrant sophistication. The writing reflects the rich history behind and current state of Washington D.C. society, the bright and beautiful galas and parties, the shopping, fashion and homes... All of this combines to create very engaging content. It's exciting to jump into each issue as part of such a focused editorial team.

What changes should we expect to see under your artistic guidance? Still clean and stylish but with a little more color, a little more energy. Although Washington Life is considered a regional publication, we are competing against national magazines, and distributed nationally as well, so the design has to be on par with national newsstand titles. That's what our readers can expect to see moving forward.

As an art director, what are your favorite magazines and why? There are so many. I'm such a magazine junkie. Right now I love Wired. It grabs me by the shoulders, gives me a good shake and leaves me with useful stuff in my head. And I will always love Australian Vogue Living - decadent and never stuffy.

"We chose the most interesting image available to us to illustrate the theme of the cover, which is what we always try to do," Newsweek's Jon Meacham told the Huffington Post in response to attacks on the mag's "sexist" cover featuring Sarah Palin.

See HuffPo for the full story.

According to an office email, U.S. News and World Report is subleasing a whopping 5000 square feet of their 4th floor office to Communications Development, Inc.

The space will be under construction until Jan 31, 2010 when the new roomies move in.

The next time you catch the Acela up to New York, check out NBC's David Gregory on the cover of Arrive. The "Meet the Press" anchor gets a six-page spread in the mag.

First Lady Michelle Obama graces the December cover of Glamour magazine, the "Women of the Year" issue. This interview is also the debut of CBS' Katie Couric as a Glamour columnist. The First Lady is just one of five "Women of the Year," each with their own cover, and they'll all be honored at Carnegie Hall in Novemeber.

The mag hits newsstands next week, but you can get a preview here.

This month, Washington Monthly toasts to forty years since they published their first issue. To celebrate, the mag is releasing a special anniversary issue, "The Best of Washington Monthly." Happy birthday!

In an interesting role reversal, WaPo's Howard Kurtz talks with former FishbowlDC editor Garrett Graff about his new gig as editor of Washingtonian Magazine.

Graff, whose first assignment as a freelancer for Washingtonian was to profile Kurtz, addresses the magazine's lack of cutting-edge reporting, whether a self-described liberal can be a fair and balanced editor and if an under-30 editor has something to prove...

"I have traditionally done pretty well proving to people I'm capable of that which I've been given, or earned, depending on how one looks at it," Graff tells Kurtz.

Check out the article on Wapo.com and PRNewser's post on Graff's move from PR to editorial.

According to BusinessWeek, the winning bidder in the sale of their publication will be named this week.

This summer, McGraw-Hill officially announced its desire to entertain offers after Bloomberg reported their intention to sell earlier that day. Among the remaining bidders are a few groups that were also named in initial reports of CQ suitors earlier this year - Bloomberg LP, Thomson Reuters and investment firm ZelnickMedia.

BW's Tom Lowry claims that Bloomberg is the front-runner and that McGraw-Hill's intention is to have the deal closed by year-end. Check out his article for more details.

Check out First Lady Michelle Obama on the cover of November's Prevention and the mag's exclusive interview.

(h/t FishbowlNY)