New York Fashion Week: Any tricks to staying fresh through what much of the fashion media experiences as an eight-day all-nighter?
Four hours sleep [nightly], obscene amounts of junk food and the only trick to staying fresh is being completely in love with what you do, which I am. In fact, during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, work is like being with a bunch of kids at camp. We love it!
Describe the different niches filled by The Daily and the monthly Fashion Mini version.
The Daily is the insider treat for the fashion show guests — the media, designers, models, photographers and buyers. Our consumer magazine, Fashion Mini, with its newsstand distribution and subscriber base, also invites bona fide fashion lovers to experience the fashion insiders’ world. Now we have a fast-growing readership base in cities like LA, Dallas, Houston, Miami, places where there is a passionate fashion reader and consumer. Ever since 2004 we also deliver fashion news every day to about 200,000 faithful readers, via our Web site FashionWeekDaily.com. In September we introduced Daily video on our site, which we update constantly, and we launched a new blog, Chic Report — very visual, cheeky, scoopy, and full of surprises.
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You grew up in Romania — what spurred you to come to the United States?
Growing up in Romania during the communist years in the 70s, the greatest possible dream a young person could have was to come to the USA, since this country symbolized freedom and opportunity. It’s a privilege for me to be living in the USA — I still feel this very poignantly, even after more than 20 years here. A lot of my friends and colleagues who came here from Romania took jobs in the press, like I did, because freedom of speech and freedom of expression, and a free press were — and always will be — the most important things in the world to us.
Former employees have characterized you as “fiery” — how does that serve your work?
I am passionately, head-over-heels in love with what I do. I consider myself very fortunate to be going to work every day thinking, “isn’t this something, another day in our newsroom!”
In 2000, you told New York you didn’t consider WWD a competitor — what distinguishes the publications these days?
WWD is the leading trade newspaper, covering all the minutiae of business. The Daily and Fashion Mini are glossy magazines for the fashion elite and for fashion-loving readers. Together with up-to-the-second fashion news, we deliver a highly entertaining experience, full of photos, color, lots of quotes, lots of reporting, original stories and a great sense of fun.
| “Have you ever seen a house organ be this funny, cheeky, and cover shows from outside the tents?” |
How does The Daily‘s online output differ during high fashion season? Also, how does content shake out between print edition and online edition — are stories repurposed?
Every day on average we run about 20 or so items online, with about 100 pictures and several new videos each week, year-round. Naturally during the Fashion Week season (New York, London, Milan, Paris) we ramp up our coverage — we usually have about 100 new videos that month [February or September]), then, literally, thousands of photos, runway, front row, parties, etc. We have 50 people on staff nowadays for all of our publications, so we are able to cover all this — print and online — pretty much without repurposing content. Some of the print features will be repurposed, not out of necessity but because there is a lot of demand for the Dailies during fashion week from readers who are not able to access the magazine, and the Mini also sells out pretty fast, and so we offer some of those stories online after they run in print.
A recent New York Times article reported that you aim to grow the Mini‘s guaranteed circulation from 25,000 to 75,000 this year — how do you plan to do that?
We’ve already increased the circulation of the Mini to 50,000 and we aim to hit 75,000 in ’09 as planned. We have increased our newsstand draw and our controlled distribution.
You also said a weekly TV show inspired by Fashion Mini is “likely to happen this year.” Would it be a reality show?
Yes, it is likely. As of now [mid-January, when this interview was conducted] it is not going to be a reality show, but we are actively working on it and are not allowed to announce details yet.
The Daily‘s parent company IMG also produces Fashion Week events and has a modeling agency arm. Back in ’03, when US made a play for The Daily‘s place with Fashion Week readers, then-editor of that offshoot Joe Dolce accused The Daily of being “the house organ” of show producer/IMG division 7th on 6th. What’s your response to those who still wonder to what extent The Daily can report on its sister divisions during Fashion Week?
Have you ever seen a house organ be this funny, cheeky, cover shows from outside the tents, put models on their covers that aren’t from IMG? We are completely and proudly an independent publication. We are fortunate to be a part of a company that respects our editorial independence and I believe that this is obvious to everyone who reads our publications and Web site.
What do you seek in a fashion reporter? What must he or she know how to do/be capable of in order to excel at The Daily?
We expect a lot of our writers, reporters, editors: a passion for the subject, more than anything; great competitive spirit; great writing talent; huge sense of humor; the ability to ask smart and funny questions even from the people who stare them down forbiddingly; fighting the good fight against publications who try to steal our exclusives, yet always being collegial, friendly and remaining through all this a quality person, a person of integrity. I know it’s a lot, but that’s what we expect, and we get this from our staffers. We don’t like mean people and we are good to each other around here. Our coverage reflects that.
What’s your take on the surge in online fashion content?
I love that there is so much fashion content online — it inspires us and also inspires the readers and young generation. It makes fashion as important as it should be. Also, for someone who fled a communist country, like me, the internet is the perfect expression of freedom, it defies censorship, it gives everyone the ability to speak up and be heard, and as such I consider it the most important invention of humanity since the wheel.
IMG recently acquired Tennis Week, which now more closely resembles The Daily in layout, format, and voice — what are IMG’s objectives with it?
In one year since we’ve acquired Tennis Week we increased both the readership and advertiser base enormously, and we’ve re-launched an accompanying Web site that is now the hottest magazine site in the sport. With live video, live scores, live audio, constant stream of news, scoops, on and off court reports, it’s incredible fun to watch and even more fun to produce. We’ve adapted our unique voice and style and look to tennis, and it’s worked very well for the magazine as well as the site.
Ways to keep the fashion scoops coming
Strike a different tone from others on the same beat
WWD is the leading trade newspaper, covering all the minutiae of business. The Daily and Fashion Mini are glossy magazines for the fashion elite and for fashion-loving readers,” Niro points out. “Together with up-to-the-second fashion news, we deliver a highly entertaining experience, full of photos, color, lots of quotes, lots of reporting, original stories and a great sense of fun.”
Give readers all the info they crave
“Naturally, during the Fashion Week season — New York, London, Milan, Paris — we ramp up our coverage,” Niro explains. “We usually have about 100 new videos that month [February or September]), then, literally, thousands of photos, runway, front row, parties, etc. We have 50 people on staff nowadays for all of our publications, so we are able to cover all this — print and online — pretty much without repurposing content.”
News is news, no matter who it’s about
“Have you ever seen a house organ be this funny, cheeky, cover shows from outside the tents, put models on their covers that aren’t from IMG?,” Niro asks rhetorically to disabuse notions of skewing favorable for a parent company. “We are completely and proudly an independent publication. We are fortunate to be a part of a company that respects our editorial independence and I believe that this is obvious to everyone who reads our publications and Web site.”
Stare down intimidators and imitators
As Niro tells it, Daily reporters need “the ability to ask smart and funny questions even from the people who stare them down forbiddingly; fighting the good fight against publications who try to steal our exclusives, yet always being collegial, friendly and remaining through all this a quality person, a person of integrity. I know it’s a lot, but that’s what we expect, and we get this from our staffers.”
Rebecca L. Fox is mediabistro.com’s managing editor.
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