Bono - FishbowlNY

Joe Torre, Joan Collins and a Mogul Mashup

Diane Clehane — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 17:30:27 +0000

— DIANE CLEHANE

I knew I was in for an interesting afternoon when I saw ’80s icon Joan Collins and former Yankee skipper Joe Torre arrive at Michael’s within minutes of each other. Where else would you possibly expect to run into two icons at the opposite ends of the pop cultural spectrum at lunch in Manhattan? The funny thing was barely anyone noticed. The crowd was much too busy trying to figure out what all the media moguls were discussing at their tables. Sorry to disappoint, but I can’t read lips so I’m not much help on that front. However, I can report these captains of industry barely took a breath between bites and there were a lot of points being made with forks in the air.

Here’s the rundown on today’s crowd:

1. Discovery ID’s head honcho Henry Schleiff, holding court with four important-looking folks

2. Joan Collins, husband Percy Gibson and an unidentified preppie. The Dynasty star was in full diva mode as she sauntered to her table peering out at the crowd from beneath the brim of her gray cowboy hat. Alexis Carrington lives!

3. For a minute we thought Bono might be stopping by when we heard manager Paul McGuinness had reserved the table, but it turned out his guests were two folks who definitely were not members of U2.

4. Mike Ovitz, talking a blue streak while his lunch date spent much of the time listening with his arms crossed. Whatever could that body language mean?

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

More Cuts To Come At Forbes?

Amanda Ernst — Fri, 15 May 2009 11:47:00 +0000

It’s been a tough year at Forbes. The media company, which owns Forbes magazine, Forbes.com and a handful of other magazines like Forbes Woman, has already gone through two rounds of layoffs across the business and editorial staffs and more bad news might be on the way.

The New York Post‘s Keith Kelly reported today that Elevation Partners’ co-founder Roger McNamee has stepped down from Forbes’ board and will be replaced by Bre Pearlman, who has “a reputation as an aggressive cost-cutter.”

McNamee (left) was the main driver behind Elevation’s purchase of a 40 percent stake in the Forbes family-owned company two and half years ago but, as Kelly pointed out, his departure from the board may show that the company’s chance for growth is slim.

We’re hearing that the mood within the Forbes editorial offices — which recently completed a merger between the online and magazine staffs — is nervous, which former Forbes staffer Peter Kafka has also reported.

Update: A Forbes publicist sent us the memo that went out to staff today from Steve Forbes.

“We fully understand the concerns that the present difficult environment causes,” the memo said. “We want to thank everyone for their hard work. We profoundly believe that the steps being taken, not only short-term painful ones, but also new growth initiatives, will make Forbes stronger than ever when economic recovery comes.”

The full memo after the jump

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Gazing Into the Kristol Ball: NYT Op-ed Page Guessing Game Continues

Glynnis — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 13:39:04 +0000

The guessing game continues as to who will replace Bill Kristol on the Times op-d page. NYMag.com thinks Stephen Colbert would be a great idea: “If the paper is smart, it’ll capitulate to its destiny and hire the ultimate nonconservative conservative, Stephen Colbert.” We’re not holding our breaths on that one, though Colbert is more appealing than, say, Bono.

Meanwhile it looks like National Review‘s Byron York, whose name had been bandied around as a possible replacement, is out of the running. FishbowlDC reports that York has accepted a position as chief political correspondent at the Washington Examiner where he will pen a twice-weekly column.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Metro Wants to be Beautiful for a Day

Glynnis — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:08:18 +0000

Maybe this is what it takes to save newspapers! A while back we told you how the New York Times is bringing Bono on as a regular contributor to their op-ed pages next year. And now comes word that the daily paper Metro (the one we all get on the way into the subway), which is actually published in 20 countries and more than 150 cities, will be guest-edited on Nov. 17 by James Blunt. Seriously. According to the release:

Alongside editing the paper and commenting on news affecting readers around the world, James will be involved in a feature on Medecins Sans Frontieres, an international medical humanitarian organization James supports and which Metro Newspapers have worked closely with for a number of years.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

The NYT Tightens Its Belt, Adds Bono to the Masthead

Glynnis — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:26:02 +0000

Lots of New York Times news to discuss today! You may recall, way back in the early days of August before Sarah Palin was even a glimmer in John McCain‘s eye, that we told you how the NYT Co. was under increases pressure to cut its dividends (simply put: “it has to stop paying its shareholders so much money and use some of its finite cash to pay off its bonds”). Bloomberg is now reporting the company is considering doing just that, or perhaps even dropping dividends altogether(!) after “reporting a loss on severance costs and a steeper drop in advertising sales.” Keep in mind that the NYT Co. has a $1.1 billion debt and pays the controlling Ochs-Sulzberger family a $25.1 million a year dividend. Time for some belt-tightening we thinks!

But that is not all, by a long shot. Because if you were the national paper of record, as well as (by far), the best example of how a newspaper should go about transitioning to the online world, and you found yourself struggling, what would you do? Hire a celebrity for your op-ed pages, of course!

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Leibovitz Explains Bono’s Vanity Fair Africa Covers

Dylan — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 06:00:34 +0000

Annie explains the “monumental task” of pulling together 20 covers:

“The covers are a kind of visual chain letter, spreading the message from person to person to person. These are incredible people of our time who all have a passion for and a connection to Africa. It was important to me to really show the humanity in their faces. In a couple of cases people are actually together, like Condoleezza Rice and George W. Bush and Alicia Keys and Iman, but the reality is that with people’s schedules and availability it was not possible to shoot everyone together. So, these are more photo illustrations than photographs, but the point was to unite people for a common purpose.”

We were wondering how Condoleeza managed to block out Bono‘s death stare.

EARLIER:

Vanity Fair Unveils Bono’s Africa Covers

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Vanity Fair Unveils Bono’s Africa Covers

Dylan — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 09:28:27 +0000

And, yes, there are, as rumored, 20 Annie Leibovitz-shot covers for the Bono-edited issue, including one of featuring Bono himself.

Slideshow [Vanity Fair]

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Primedia Sells Gun Dog, Enthusiast Mags For $1.2B To Ron Burkle-Owned Co.

Dylan — Mon, 14 May 2007 11:02:35 +0000

Breaking: Primedia, the once-powerful niche magazine publisher on Fifth Avenue, has agreed to sell its 70-plus enthusiast magazines — with names like Hot Rod Bike-Works, Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords and Practical Horseman — to Source Interlink for about $1.2 billion in an all-cash deal. It would appear to end well for Primedia, which had been reportedly seeking $1 billion for the group from a handful of bidders, including Bono‘s Elevation Partners.

Source Interlink is owned by Yucaipa Cos., a supermarket-holding company owned by billionaire businessman-cum-Jared Paul Stern lawsuit target Ron Burkle.

EARLIER:

Primedia’s Price Tag: $1 Billion?

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Primedia’s Price Tag: $1 Billion?

Dylan — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 07:02:28 +0000

Primedia, the once-powerful niche magazine publisher on Fifth Avenue, may still command a hefty price tag for its enthusiast unit‘s 70-plus magazines — with names like Hot Rod Bike-Works, Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords and Practical Horseman — but Folio: reports the bidders, reportedly including Bono‘s Elevation Partners, are beginning to drop below the magical billion-dollar mark:

A source with knowledge of the process said that while the requirement for getting into the second round was a bid of over a billion dollars, prospective offers are now dropping below that mark as bidders review the specifics of the business.

The sale may not garner as much industry ink as Time Inc.’s shedding of 18 titles, but it could quietly become the year’s biggest media sell-off this side of Winter Park, Florida.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

ScarJo | K-Fed | Bono | Times‘ Iraq War Coverage

Noah Davis — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 11:59:09 +0000

K-Fed: Starts a search engine. [Radar]
Conrad Black Trial: Postponed until today. [NYT]
Times Still Covering Iraq: Fewer reporters willing to go. [E&P]
Men’s Health: Readying online video. [Folio:]
ScarJo: Bestselling cover for Esquire. Lindsay Lohan‘s sis worst for CosmoGirl!. [MIN]
Bono, Murdoch: Could buy Grand Theft Auto maker. [CNN/Money]

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

(RED)Faced: AdAge ‘Sucks Hard’

Dylan — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 14:59:03 +0000

On Monday, Ad Age blasted Bono and his highly visible (RED) campaign, now a year old, which has spent $100 million on marketing for its relatively “meager” $18 million worldwide bounty:

You’d expect the money raised to be, well, big, right? Maybe $50 million, or even $100 million. Try again: The tally raised worldwide is $18 million.

Bobbi Shriver, head of (RED), dropped UnBeige a note before sending a long one onto AdAge:

The article is based on many inaccuracies. The (RED) initiative has raised more than $25M for the Global Fund to date. And, more importantly, (RED) has not spent a dime on advertising. The money spent on advertising has been through (RED) convincing companies to divert already planned marketing dollars to promote products that send up to 50% of their profits to the Global Fund. This advertising money was not part of the company philanthropic arm or part of the (RED) initiative and, if not put behind these products, would’ve been used to promote other products that don’t contribute anything.

That prompted the London Independent to publish an in-depth story on (RED) that declares the campaign a success while bashing AdAge:

Buy Less Crap? The only people who seem to need to take that advice are the editorial staff of an American trade magazine called AdAge.

Not surprising, considering the source: the Independent let Bono guest edit an edition of its paper last year. They’re Bono’s buds, essentially.

Graydon Carter, Vanity Fair Enable Bono’s ‘Editor’ Addiction

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Carter On Bono Editing Vanity Fair: ‘It Won’t Be Preachy’

Dylan — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 16:02:57 +0000

An update on Graydon Carter and Vanity Fair‘s enabling of Bono‘s guest-editing addiction:

Bono will be the magazine’s first-ever guest editor. Did not know that.

Carter: “It won’t be preachy. The articles won’t be policy papers. It will be a very nuanced look at Africa.”

EARLIER:

Leibovitz Shoots Sopranos For April Vanity Fair Cover

Graydon Carter, Vanity Fair Enable Bono’s ‘Editor’ Addiction

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Leibovitz Shoots Sopranos For April Vanity Fair Cover

Dylan — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 13:00:24 +0000

It’s gonna be hard for Bono to follow Tony.

The April cover of Vanity Fair is a cool one: Sopranos‘ star James Gandolfini, creator David Chase and a red-heeled “friend” shot by — naturally — Annie Leibovitz at Industria Superstudio in New York.

Leibovitz has shot the Sopranos cast for HBO marketing materials and DVD covers the past few years.

EARLIER:

Graydon Carter, Vanity Fair Enable Bono’s ‘Editor’ Addiction

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Graydon Carter, Vanity Fair Enable Bono’s ‘Editor’ Addiction

Dylan — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 14:40:21 +0000

A few notes from today’s piece by David Carr on Vanity Fair and its enabling of Bono‘s burgeoning career as a high-profile guest editor. (Bono guest-edited the London Independent last fall, was the first-ever guest editor of Libération and owns a minority stake in Forbes.)

Annie Leibovitz appears to have shot the Bono meeting in Carter’s office for the Times.
Carter on Bono: “I think there isn’t one editor in the world who would not pay attention if Bono pulled up and said he wanted to edit a magazine.”
Bono wants to make Vanity Fair a hit record. Or the best-selling issue of Vanity Fair.
Finally, what we’d imagine is an increasingly common Bono segue, deftly changing the subject from Forbes to African poverty: “I don’t want to talk about Forbes right now, but I will say this: One of the things that I have learned of in Africa is the crucial role that commerce will play in taking its people out of extreme poverty. Everyone talks about China being the next big thing, but if you spend any time in the bars or hotels in Africa, you see a lot of Chinese doing deals there. There is tremendous opportunity there.”

Citizen Bono Brings Africa to Idle Rich [NYT]

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Brian Williams: ‘A Reporter, Not A Cowboy’

Dylan — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 10:33:11 +0000

Brian Williams is in Iraq. “The decision to come here was mine.” Bono is apparently not with him.

Good line from NBC News president Steve Capus, lifted from his exchange with “Howie” Kurtz on CNN’s Reliable Sources over the weekend:

KURTZ: Steve, did you have any reservations about sending your anchor into a dangerous war zone?

STEVE CAPUS, NBC NEWS PRESIDENT: Well, of course you have reservations about it. And we talked about this for months and months and went back and forth about whether this was a good idea. And Brian felt very strongly that he wanted to go and be back in Iraq before the anniversary of the start of the war.

This is his third trip since that time. And we thought the timing was right. And, as Brian just said on your — on that clip there from “Meet the Press,” you know, we’re going to take every security precaution that we can.

You know, I’ve known Brian, Howie, as you know, for probably 26 years now. First and foremost, he’s a reporter, and he’s not a cowboy. This is a guy who wants to get the story, but he’s going to — he’s going to do it the right way and take every precaution that he needs to.

Now, Anderson Cooper — he’s a cowboy.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.