Archives: March 2010

Today we delve deeper, courtesy the New York Observer, into the life of the fallen Cond&eacute Nast big shot.

Thanks to The New York Times, the second half of March has provided a solid documentation of the post-Cond&eacute life. Former Jane editor Brandon Holley got profiled two weeks ago, and last week former House & Garden editor Dominique Browning wrote about the loss of her job for the Times Magazine.

And now, as this rainiest of Marches draws to a close, the Observer’s John Koblin wraps up the ex-Cond&eacute coverage wraps up (hopefully) with with a look at a few more editors:

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FishbowlNY sister site WebNewser has the latest on C-Change Media, ex-BusinessWeek editor in chief John Byrne‘s forthcoming Internet portal for business professionals.

Speaking at a panel last night in San Francisco, Byrne said C-Change would function like a “HuffPo for business,” with a full-time editor in chief and freelance and contract writers. It will have several satellite sites focusing on specific business interests, he said, along with a more broadly focused “mother ship.” Reports WebNewser:

“The business category [online] is less developed than general news, gossip, entertainment, sports, food, women’s service, health,” Byrne told WebNewser. “So there’s a real open road to make something happen here. Smart people can make it happen very easily. The technology costs are low, so the barrier to entry is very low.”

For more on C-Change, check out WebNewser’s report.

Yesterday, the Drudge Report posted an article stating that several unidentified sources had claimed the Washington Times was up for sale.

The paper’s publisher, Jonathan Slevin, is now trying to set the record straight, putting out a statement that, despite recent financial troubles and a 17 percent drop in daily circulation, the newspaper currently has no plans to sell:

The Washington Times has been approached throughout its history with expressions of interest by parties interested in purchasing all or part of the company. Contrary to online reports, however, the Washington Times is not currently negotiating with any party for sale of all or part of the company.

And there you have it.

The Magazine Publishers of America, the chief lobbying group for consumer magazines, has quite a bit to celebrate this week as it gets a crop of new (old) members, as well as a long-time holdout.

American Media, the owner of the National Enquirer, Muscle & Fitness, Star and Shape, has returned to the MPA following a two year absence and New York Media returns after a year away. Additionally, Wenner Media, which owns Rolling Stone, Men’s Journal and Us Weekly, joins the MPA after 20 years being a non-member.

Jenn Wenner, who was said to have needed more than a little convincing before deciding to take the plunge and join, will join other magazine CEOs in a TV PSA about magazines.

Soon, deep-pocketed financiers will get the latest dishy goss alongside the latest fluctuations in interbank interest rates, reports the New York Observer. The forthcoming New York section of The Wall Street Journal already promised a marked departure from the financial daily’s traditional tone, but gossip? Rupert Murdoch really is throwing everything he can at this initiative.

A week after reporting that the Journal was readying a New York sports section, now the Observer‘s John Koblin says the paper has hired former W employee Marshall Heyman to work the party beat.

The entire New York Metro section is a fairly open attempt to steal ad contracts and readers from The New York Times. In light of that (and the Journal‘s staid reputation), Heyman’s hiring is a little odd — the Times doesn’t do gossip reporting.

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• Naked Apartments: A New York startup focused on local real estate is making funny videos of people doing things I may possibly also sometimes do in the privacy of my apartment. Be sure to check out our interview with them later this week!

• Washington Post: Peeps act out your most tolerated movies, TV shows, icons, books, events, and memes with adorable and diabetic results.

• New York Times: Evidently there is but one photograph of Sandra Bullock that can effectively convey the heartache of being cheated on multiple times by an alleged white supremacist.

• AgencySpy: I liked this post because it was about butts.

Starting May 1st, Devin Gordon will be senior editor of GQ. Gordon formerly edited Newsweek‘s Periscope and had been working on the relaunch of Newsweek.com.

The digital division of Univision Communications Inc. — “Univision Interactive Media, Inc.” — has partnered with impreMedia Digital, LLC to exchange content geared towards a Latino audience across multiple platforms. The companies are already in the process of sharing content online and in print, with plans for “full deployment” later this year.

As part of the arrangement, impreMedia will be provided with a feed from “Lo Ultimo,” Univision.com’s music channel. ImpreMedia can then use info from the feed to display as articles and video clips on its national and local music sites. Univision Interactive Media’s “Noticias” site (that means “news,” compay) will, in turn, feature headlines from impreMedia’s La Opinión news publication.

Arturo Duran, CEO of impreMedia Digital, explained why the company decided to enter this arrangement with Univision:

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Ed Ventimiglia will step down as publisher of Departures magazine in June.

The luxury travel magazine — which is given out free to free to American Express Platinum or Centurion cards holders who eat truffle-infused narwhal babies whilst riding on golden yachts — has suffered a 44.9 percent in ad pages throughout 2009.

Ventimiglia, who has worked for American Express Corp. for some 30 years, is also the publisher of Black Ink, which is mailed out exclusively to those with Centurion cards. He announced his departure [Ed. note: Ugh.] during a sales meeting this morning.