Nielsen swatting employees like flies in its business media division

This comes days after the company announced it will pay $225 to acquire IAG Research, Inc By SDH Nielsen is rolling heads at its media business unit with a concentration in the company’s digital and conference and expo groups. The company just days ago announced that it was buying IAG Research, a privately held company based in New York that measures consumer engagement with television programs, national commercials and product placements for $225 million. Can you imagine what the heads being rolled are saying? This is probably Nielsen’s way of trying to offset that cost? At the end of the day, Nielsen is clearly more interested in tracking how much we watch TV and surf the web than the publications in their Business Media Unit. Their growth avenue is consumer behavior, so why not sell the Business Media Unit, pay down some debt and call it a day.

As it turns out, everyone at Reader’s Digest Association is alive and well and busy

By SDH So after our post about the odd silence from Reader’s Digest Association we got an email from RDA’s Director of Public Relations Ellen Morgenstern basically telling us that all is well at RDA and the company has been hard at work on some projects. The company is currently upgrading their corporate websites which explains the lack of news updates. They are working on new launches and other business expansions. Just like we thought, they are just busy being busy. Can’t wait to see the finished products.

Its either silent time at Reader’s Digest Association or they all died of carbon monoxide poisoning

By SDH We're almost two weeks into the second quarter of 2008 and we haven't heard a peep from Reader's Digest Association which could mean many things. RDA CEO Mary Berner either has the troops sticking to a new policy the says all under her rule must remain quiet for the first quarter of every New Year, there may be nothing exciting going on at RDA to share with the rest of the media world, or Berner has her team in place and they are hard at work. We can go on but we would just be wasting our time because it's probably one of the reasons we mentioned above! We were just looking around for the hot topics of the morning and Mary Berner just happened to pop into our heads, so we checked the RDA corporate website for any news release we may have missed but the 2008 section of the site's press release page is empty, the link isn't even live. Anyway, we're waiting Mary, please share some news fast.

Entrepreneur magazine on the block for a sweet $200 million, Mansueto Ventures not interested

By SDH Entrepreneur Media the parent company of Entrepreneur Magazine says that the title is on sale for $200 million, even though last week Entrepreneur Media Prexy Lou Pearlman denied the magazine was on sale, saying instead that he was looking for some cash to grow the business. Yeah! Bids are already reportedly pouring in but no word on who the bidders are. What some say would be the ideal new owner for Entrepreneur, Mansueto Ventures, say they are not interested in buying the magazine because they are already working on their own magazine geared towards Entrepreneurs. Well we think it would be a little easier to just buy Entrepreneur at a lower price of course and just slap a new name on it, no? Advertising revenue for Entrepreneur was $94.5 million in 2007—flat (down 0.1 percent) over the previous year, according to the most recent Publishers Information Bureau figures. Ad pages dropped 6.6 percent (to 1,238.74) last year. Entrepreneur’s total paid circulation average—609,765—was flat for the second half of 2007, according to the latest Audit Bureau of Circulations FAS-FAX. Its single copy sales average, which make up a fraction of the magazine’s circ, increased 13.1 percent to 48,238. Perlman, however, said the company is “bucking the trend in a down market,” citing growing online revenues. Entrepreneur Goes on the Block [Folio]

Folio Magazine releases their annual stroke job list of magazine industry influencers and innovators

By SDH Folio Magazine the magazine about magazines and the people who markets them does it again with their popular Folio 40 list where magazine industry execs get to see their names in print and read all the nice things Folio, whose subscribers are said execs, has to say about them. Each magazine industry professional listed on the Folio 40 will no doubt continue the stroke job via an internal press release to their employees shoving the accomplishments in their faces as if it benefits anyone but themselves. We bet they will also update their resumes mentioning this listing as well. The list hi-lites those making bold and smart moves in the industry via the following categories: the Visionaries, the doers, the influencers, those under the radar and of course the ones to watch. Our good old buddy (in our heads of course) Jeff Bewkes made the list under the “Ones to watch” category because according to Folio: All eyes have been on Jeff Bewkes since he took the helm of the mega media company January 1. Even before Bewkes' appointment was announced, speculation about Time Inc.'s future ran rampant. Bewkes has since downplayed the possible sale of the publishing division, but the industry will have to wait and see. Wow!! He made the list for this? We think David Pecker would have been better in Bewkes’s place with a merger still possible for AMI and all the other shit that Pecker has all over his hands. At this point to include Bewkes on the list seems like a quick space filler. If not Bewkes or Pecker, then Time Inc CEO Ann Moore, because whatever decision Bewkes makes regarding the future of Time Inc, wouldn’t it be based on what Moore can squeeze out before her contract runs out of steam?

No major media company made the Businessweek 50, is this a good thing or a bad thing, and do big media CEOs even care?

By SDH This week’s issue of Businessweek is all about the Businessweek 50 (BW 50). It’s a list of the 50 best performing companies in their respective industries. It is no surprise to see companies like Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon on the list. It’s also no surprise that there are no major media companies on the list. Why? Well with the exception of maybe Disney, media companies haven’t really been performing well at all. Companies like News Corp dropping cash left and right for other companies doesn’t mean all is well. The BW 50 is dominated by companies in tech, energy, beverages and science. So should big media CEOs take this as a sign that they need to ramp up their businesses or do they take lists like the BW50 as just that, a list? We’re sure most of them wouldn’t have mind having their company listed as one of the best performing. Guess they just didn’t meet the requirements.

Latina Magazine Editor Mimi Valdes has an eye for fashion

By SDH Under new Editrix Mimi Valdés Ryan, Latina Magazine is getting snazzier with a heavier focus on fashion. Editors before her never attended fashion week but Valdez ended that when she attended New York Fashion Week. Under Valdez the magazine also revamped its logo we guess to look fashionier, and the rate base was upped to 500,000. Wonder how Circulation Director Raymond Dryden will utilize some of these changes to bring in new business. With a stronger focus on fashion, this opens the door to more prospects. Advertisers are beginning to take notice, but they want to wait a few issues to see the response to the redesign (which began with the March issue). Latin Media Ventures president Cynthia Lewis said the September issue will probably introduce four or five more high-end fashion ads. Prior to joining Latin Media Ventures, she was the founding publisher of Hearst Magazines' Shop Etc. She also worked as publisher of Harper's Bazaar and Marie Claire.

Are Time4 Media turned Bonnier Corp employees just naïve?

By SDH When two companies with different cultures come together, what you will get is a culture clash. When the company that is buying the company you’re currently working for says that nothing will change, that’s just to stroke you while they close the deal because there is no way a company is going to drop over $200 million to acquire another company and not put their mark on it. One would be naïve to believe otherwise. This seems to be the current situation at Bonnier Corp which bought Time Inc’s Time4 Media group. Editors are quitting left and right because they don’t agree with the direction the new owners want the magazines to go in. The latest to leave the Bonnier nest is longtime editorial director of the Parenting Group Janet Chan due to what some think is her clashing with publisher Greg Schulman who is the middle man put in charge of enforcing the Bonnier doctrine. Chan has since been doing editorial consulting. Come on people. Did you really think that everything would have remained the same when you rolled under your new masters? How naïve of you!! Either roll with it, or roll out. Luckily for people like Janet Chan, she can probably afford to roll out, which she did.

Extreme Makeover: Time Inc Edition

By SDH There is no doubt that changes are needed at Time Warner’s magazine publishing unit Time Inc. This is the division that has gone mostly untouched for sometime now. Under current CEO Ann Moore, the company unloaded its enthusiast titles to Bonnier Corp, launched and folded the well hyped OfficePirates.com, re-launched and folded Life (which is supposed to re-launch again as Getty Images type web destination), killed Business 2.0 and pink slipped dozens of staffers. OK so all this is business as usual in the magazine industry and not attributed to Moore’s management style. We all know It’s no secret that when a company is looking to cut costs they look to layoff staffers first to fluff up the bottom line. But is that all the shuffling we will see at Time Inc? The company is legendary and publishes 125 titles, and has a slew of businesses in fulfillment, content solutions, retail sales and marketing, customer acquisition and the list goes on. We are not sure how these businesses are doing for the company but some serious streamlining needs to take place in these areas in order to establish a more focused objective. CONTINUED... MAKING AN EFFORT The company has been slowly but surely making a push on the digital side. This was one of the reasons why new Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes decided to wait and see what will become of this digital push before making any decisions. Fair enough we guess, but even before Bewkes took over, Time Inc was badly in need of a makeover. The company needs to be refreshed with new ideas, objectives and a new structure to better meet the current challenges that publishing companies face. Time Inc for the most part is still stuck in analog while other companies remake themselves to handle the changing climate. If the suits at parent Time Warner want to see some changes, they need to make the first move. For starters, we think a fresh face at the top would kick things off right. Not to discredit Ann Moore, but a change at the top would signal a new beginning and would be a strong statement. Following a change at the top, the company needs to be spun off so it feeds off of itself, officially weaned off mommy’s tit. By doing this, investors and the Time Warner board will see the true value of the company and will probably get a clear idea of the value of each product the company publishes, online, print and the different businesses which sit underneath it. DECISION TIME Following a spin off, Time Warner should then take a long hard look at all Time Inc’s products and businesses and decide which ones are no longer worth keeping in the stable and look to unload them via an auction to raise cash to invest in the company’s digital business via strategic acquisitions or R&D. From these auctions, the current roster of 125 magazines should be reduced to about 70-90, and businesses should be streamlined where it makes sense. Hopefully with these reductions the company will see savings on paper, printing and of course salaries following an obvious layoff of staffers. These auctions should only include low performing or none core domestic and overseas titles and businesses. A successful sell off and streamlining of businesses will leave the once bloated Time Inc with some cash and a more lean and mean physique to move swiftly and aggressively towards growing its digital business and strengthening already established brands. Earlier we mentioned a change at the top. A TRIMMED STRUCTURE A new Time Inc under a new leader should have a more clear and streamlined structure. For example the magazine groups are currently broken out into 6 areas, Entertainment, Home/Living, Life/Style, Luxury, News/Business & Finance and Sports. Right off the bat both the Entertainment and Sports groups should be merged as one. The Life/Style and Home/Living groups should be merged as one cutting the 6 groups to 4. Such a restructuring would result in instant cost savings. For International, everything needs to fall under the Time Inc brand further pushing the one brand one focus objective. IN JEFF BEWKES’S SHOES Standing in Jeff Bewkes’s shoes the two names that would be at the top of our list would be Reader’s Digest Association (RDA) CEO Mary Berner, and outgoing Ebay CEO Meg Whitman. It’s obvious why we would have Mary Berner’s name on the list but you may be wondering why Meg Whitman? Well Meg Whitman has a strong consumer background and understands their behavior on and off the web. These experiences come from her being CEO of Ebay of course, and her being a top executive in Disney’s consumer products division which we think would come in handy at Time Inc. As far as t Mary Berner, since being named CEO of RDA, Berner has wasted no time putting her stamp on the company. She re-lined the corporate suite with people she knows and trusts and is putting some spark back into the company’s flagship publication Reader’s Digest by green lighting a total re-design in print and online under new Editor Peggy Northrop. Any one of these two women would be a good choice to take the reigns at Time Inc. We have no doubt that there are some good male candidates out there but for some reason since Don Logan passed the baton to Moore, we only see another woman after the Moore era ends. CAN’T ANN MOORE DO THE JOB? When someone has been in a company as long as Ann Moore has been at Time Inc, they sometimes are blind to certain things. They are sometimes immune to the fact that changes are needed. In cases like this, a fresh mind is needed because Moore may have hit a glass roof with her ideas which sometimes causes a recycling effect. In today’s magazine industry climate, size doesn’t matter, and it’s the size of Time Inc that is preventing it from reaching its full potential.

Businessweek got game

By SDH Get bored during the afternoons at work, tired of reading about the fall of Bear Stearns, tired of reading about the economy, tired of reading about Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke? Well Businessweek can help you get past it all. Businessweek.com has launched Businessweek Arcade, a compilation of 20 free, independently developed Web-based games which reflect the best in indie game design. Helen Waters, editor for Businessweek.com’s innovation and design channel explains it all: We explore how the gaming landscape is changing. A new generation of game designers that grew up immersed in the medium has come of age and is now working to make its mark, altering what is played and how it is played (and where). We report from the cutting edge where designers, influenced by a wide range of new technologies from the social Web to motion-sensing, are altering the gaming industry's contours, bending and breaking old rules, and transforming a once-solitary activity into a model of rich, social interaction.

Jeff Bewkes is a green CEO + The Wall Street Journal changing one section at a time and more.....

By SDH Jeff Bewkes was already making CEO money before becoming CEO of Time Warner. He made a sexy $19.4 million in 2007 [AP] For those of you who care, Emmis Communications is unloading Country Sampler magazine. Something about it not fitting with the current image or something like that. [FolioMag] Another Murdoch looks to make a mark in the media business. Elisabeth Murdoch’s company, Shine bought Reveille Productions, which produces “Ugly Betty,” and “The Office.” She may have already bought her mark. [NYT] The Wall Street Journal is revamping it’s “Market Place” section and this has some newsroom employees wondering what their roll will be [NYT] Fox Newser Chris Wallace calls out colleagues who he says Took Obama’s comments about race out of context. OK so how long until Wallace is booted? Doesn’t he know that Fox News is dedicated to pushing the republican agenda? [Media Talk]

Porn IPO: Penthouse looks to arouse Wall Street with a piece of the action

"We put the magazine back to its roots, where it used to be, we made it a young man's magazine, slightly edgier pictorially than Playboy" - Marc Bell, CEO Penthouse Media Group BY SDH Penthouse Media Group, the parent company of Penthouse magazine says that it will do an Initial Public Offering (IPO) later on this year to raise $250 million to help pay down debt so they can focus on building up the companies web offerings and merchandise busines in an effort to chip away at leader Playboy. The mag has been losing it's lads to magazines like Maxim, but according to Penthouse Media CEO Marc Bell who we're sure has an endless supply of female friends, the magazine has now been repositioned to hold court.

None Shocker: Glen Giles' killer Jorge Ernesto Villalobos, pleads not guilty

BY SDH The scum bag who killed Hallmark Data Systems executive Glen Giles and is being held on $1 million bail, has pled not guilty to murder charges, which as you all know is the usual plea in these cases. Giles' family should be prepared for the long haul on this one as it can drag on for a year or two before it goes to trial which itself can take months. To cut a long story short, it may be a long time before Glen Giles rests in peace and justice is served, not necessarily in that order. Who was this woman that drove one man to kill another man? Where are you? We want to see if you are even worth all this!

Primedia and it's guides earn some money

BY SDH Primedia, a one time consumer magazine giant which has since slimmed down to Apartment and car guides posted a quarterly profit on the strength of the apartment segment. Is this an indication the more and more people are looking for apartments instead of houses due to the current mortgage crisis? Primedia was the mother ship for dozens of titles which have since been sold off in groups and have since been turned into companies. Primedia's outdoor group was sold to InterMedia Partners which spun the group of outdoor titles like Hunting, Game & Fish, Guns & Ammo and others into a company called InterMedia Outdoors. Primedia's enthusiast media titles like Slam, Motor Trend, Soap Opera Digest and about 67 other titles were sold off to Ron Burkle's Source Interlink Companies. Primedia said the apartments segment, which made up about 80 percent of its advertising revenue in the fourth quarter, would gain in 2008 from improving conditions in the apartment-leasing sector with occupancy rates falling slightly to more normalized levels in some markets. Primedia posts quarterly profit from cont ops [Reuters]

Hearst Magazines to pimp retail chain Sears

BY SDH Hearst Magazines has entered yet another deal this month. Probably the first of its kind, we don't know but the magazine giant has entered a deal with luggy retail chain Sears to help the chain get back on its feet because the only sales they are probably getting are from Midwesterners for who going to Sears, is a planned Saturday event. Hearst Magazines will create a new print and internet promotional campaign which will include ads that you are sure to see in some Hearst titles. Sears will make a "significant digital buy" on Hearst owned web sites like O Magazine, Redbookmag.com, Popular Mechanics and others. Promo booklets produced by Hearst will be distributed in some Sunday editions of Hearst newspapers. So basically Hearst will splatter their print and internet offerings with Sears related verbiage in an effort to ramp up awareness that Sears still exists. Will this work, some think it will others don't. The only thing that is clear is that Hearst will come out the winner whether or not this "Save Sears" campaign sails or sinks.

All hail King Uphoff, Kinda!

BY SDH Our main man (in our heads of course) Tony Uphoff may not have gotten the BIG CEO gig at CMP, because his rulers at United Business Media came up with the brilliant idea to break up the company into four separate businesses. But based on 2007 proforma revenues ($178 million) for TechWeb, formerly CMP’s Business Technology Group, Uphoff has been running the biggest group which now means he will run the biggest of the four. So at the end of the day Uphoff still carries more weight than his 3 counterparts which is not necessarily a good thing. Wonder how many employees each company has? And will each company have its own CFO? Damn it this is so confusing!

Glen Giles’s suspicious murder could be linked back to a secret life

"He'd be the kind of guy who would swat someone (who attacked him) away pretty quick. I just don't understand it, and none of us can get over that part of it. How someone could do something like that is beyond me." - Jim Kuchinsky, CEO of Hallmark Data Systems BY ZOE S. When a single man is murdered near or in his home, more questions will come up that many may want to avoid, other than the who, the what, the when, the why. We are not going to rule out that the suspect who was arrested isn’t a magazine exec who was pissed at Giles. But there are the obvious that raises other questions as well. At 47 Giles was single and lived alone. Was he living a secret life that he kept from family, friends and colleagues? Was he murdered by someone who was part of this secret life, or was this someone he met online, and this was the first meet up gone terribly wrong? Trust, we aren’t trying to dog the fact that a man who was clearly well liked was murdered. But, these are things we are sure ran across the minds of investigators. Giles was a 6-foot-4 former varsity basketball player and looked to have weighed over 200 pounds which is puzzling to people who knew him, wondering how someone was able to get the drop on him. It is due to these facts, that no one should be surprised if the person who committed this sick act of violence is someone he knew and the attack was a total surprise. But we will leave that part for when investigators start to release details about their findings. One of Giles’s final proud moments was giving back to his community by organizing a youth basketball competition.

Hearst Magazines enters popularity contest, Kills some websites to tighten the focus, Featured on last night’s The Apprentice

BY SDH Hearst Magazines digital chief Chuck "Chuck Digital" Cordray is really pushing the company's content out there. Over the past months, deal after deal has been announced. The latest push is with Yahoo Buzz. Yahoo Buzz allows readers to vote on the popularity of online stories. Yahoo then posts the winners on its homepage. Hearst has signed on ten of its titles, including Esquire, Cosmopolitan and Redbook, as Buzz content partners. Chuck is working hard to get those page views growing isn't he! In other Hearst Magazines Digital Media (HMDM) news, the company says it is killing the stand alone websites of 13 titles including Good Housekeeping and Country Living and will roll up their content into one huge frigging portal called Allaboutyou.com. Speaking of Hearst did you see The Apprentice last night? The task was for the teams to create a Dial Soap ad for Redbook.

Nielsen forms new entertainment group and puts former Variety publisher Gerry Byrne in charge

BY SDH As rumors continue to escalate about the possible appointment of Tony Uphoff as CEO of CMP Media, things at his old stomping grounds over at Nielsen are being shuffled around. When Uphoff left his gig as Publisher of The Hollywood Reporter & President of the Film & Performing Arts Group, John Kilcullen was put in charge. Well John Kilcullen is now out and former Variety publisher and media and marketing consultant Gerry Byrne will run the new entertainment group which consists of Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Back Stage, Kirkus Reviews, The Bookseller, Film Journal International, and the film industry expositions ShoWest, ShowEast, Cinema Expo International and CineAsia Exposition. Previously these brands were housed under two separate groups, Film & Performing Arts and Music & Literary. Clearly Nielsen is trying to cut some costs by throwing all these brands under one group and one leader.

Time Out's web expansion plan

BY SDH Time Out New York is about to expand across more big cities via the web, kinda taking on the same formula as the popular Gothamist.com which has websites targeting major cities here in the US and overseas. Time Out’s Tony Elliot wants to stretch his brand to the following U.S. cities: Los Angeles, Dallas, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle and Miami. He is looking to sell a small piece of his empire in an effort to raise $40-$60 million to get the job done. But will the web only expansion work for the Time Out brand? Sure why not? With the rising cost of ink and paper, this could be Tony Elliot’s way around those expenses. However it sounds like at some point, print editions will be launched. What will help the folks at Time Out decide when the time is right to launch print editions? If the websites end up generating respectable traffic and ad revenue would print versions still be part of the plan? One thing is certain, the new Time Out websites will have company from Gothamist LLC's websites like Laist.com, Miamist.com, Austinist.com, Sfist.com, Bostonist.com, Houstonist.com and others. Wonder how many new bodies Tony Elliot plans to hire?

Is it true? Will CMP Technology honor our choice for CEO?

BY SDH When Steve Weitzner was strategically demoted at CMP, we got over the shock really quick and began our predictions as to who would be named CEO. For a while we've said we believed the person would be from within the company. Ok so we threw around the idea of an outsider as well but our hearts remained with an internal candidate. We put together a short list of who we thought would be possible candidates for the CEO gig and some were OK choices and some were just not right for the job. But one candidate stuck out based on what the suits at United Business Media, CMP's parent company said they were looking for. The individual we decided would be the perfect choice to lead CMP was Tony Upoff currently CMP’s Business Technology Group president. Now we get word via Foliomag.com that a new CEO could be named before the end of this week and guess whose name is being thrown around as the possible choice? Yup Mr. Uphoff. It's a no brainer. Uphoff brings exactly what United Business Media CEO David Levine says he wants in the next CEO. So did, United Business Media listen to us? Who knows but we know you're reading!! If this information from Foliomag.com is indeed true, then all Hail King Uphoff!!!

Hearst's Chuck "Chuck Digital" Cordray is at it again

BY SDH A while back Hearst Magazines CEO Cathie Black insisted she had no web regrets. But based on the deal after deal announcements from Hearst Magazines Digital Media (HMDM), one can only assume that she is playing a fast game of catch up. Under the leadership of the desired Chuck Cordray, Hearst's digital business has been joining forces with the who is who on the web. Chuck's latest join up is with AOL and Youtube. The Youtube deal calls for HMDM to do what the majority of Youtube deals calls for. HMDM will create branded channels with video content being syndicated from 15 print and online publications. In addition to providing lifestyle content, such as the latest on fashion and beauty from the Harper’s Bazaar editorial team or how-to cooking videos from Good Housekeeping, participating publications will develop contests asking readers to upload personalized videos in response to an editorial feature or other awareness programs. The AOL deal calls for HMDM to provide content for AOL's new domestic hub AOL Home. Working in partnership with Hearst Magazines Digital Media, CondeNet web sites and publications, This Old House and Real Simple, AOL Home will offer a comprehensive array of features on a monthly basis. Other content partners will be added in the coming months. Chuck is making sure HMDM has at least a pinky finger in any and everything that will allow them to spread Hearst’s content via the web.

Holy shit! There is good news out of American Media Inc

BY SDH No, David Pecker didn't answer the prayers of his employees, shareholders and even some underlings and quit. The good news out of American Media Inc is that, the company has reported strong earnings for third quarter of fiscal year 2008. This comes as talks of a merger with the Ron Burkle controlled Source Interlink have cooled and the arrival of a new CFO Dean Durbin, under the incompetent leadership of David Pecker. Revenue for the third quarter of fiscal year 2008 was $115 million, as compared to $107 for the same period in 2007—a seven percent increase. The publisher of Star, National Enquirer, Shape and Men’s Fitness attributed the boost to increases in advertising and newsstand revenue. According to Publishers Information Bureau (PIB) figures, Shape’s ad pages increased by 13 percent in 2007, Star and Men’s Fitness by 25 percent. Waiting for AMI CEO Dave Pecker to resign or step aside is like the Cubans waiting for Cuban ruler Fidel Castro to step down or die. Well Castro did step down. Your move Pecker!

Magazine Publisher's of America gives publishers false hope

BY SDH Earlier this week the Magazine Publishers of America told us that more brown people are reading magazines. Now the MPA shares with us the news that traffic has seen a spike on some consumer magazine websites. According to the MPA the spike happened in the 4th quarter of 2007 and it was an 8.1% spike at that. But what the MPA failed to mention is that, if the report were to be broken out individually for all the 320 magazine websites they collected information on, the traffic increases would be pretty much next to nothing. Guess it all just sounds and looks better combined. The MPA commissioned Nielsen Online to analyze the data of 320 magazinebrands with Web sites according to MPA president and CEO Nina Link. TheMPA only included Web sites “branded with the name of a consumermagazine or a former hard copy consumer magazine” or aggregate sitesrepresenting a number of titles, such as Epicurious.com andCNNMoney.com. Report: Traffic to Magazine Web Sites Grows 8.1 Percent in Fourth Quarter [FOLIO]

More brown people are reading magazines.....

How did they get to this conclusion? We have no idea but according to Magazine Publishers of America (MPA) more and more black people are reading magazines, in fact they are reading more per month than the general market. No word on what kind of magazines they're reading but. [Folio] Magazines are taking a hit on Newsstands. While the celebrity titles didn't suffer a precipitous decline in single copy sales, their former dominance has been tainted with readers continuing to go to the web [Folio] Us weekly on the other hand is saw it's circ jump 10%. [NYT]

Time Warner Chairman Dick Parsons covers the left side of Black Enterprise Magazine

"My new job is to make sure that Jeff Bewkes is effectively communicating his vision and direction to the board, and that board input is being effectively received by Jeff" -TIME WARNER CHAIRMAN DICK PARSONS ON HIS CURRENT ROLL WITHIN THE COMPANY BY SDH Time Warner Chairman Dick Parsons now out of the bright lights of managing the day to day of the mega machine that is Time Warner, now has even more time on his hands to not only tend to his vineyard in Italy but to sit with Black Enterprise magazine to discuss what his roll is as Chairman of Time Warner and his legacy as the company's CEO after it's near collapse after his predecessor Geri Levine sold his soul to then AOL CEO Steve Case in a merger that was over hyped and entered with blind folds on.

The Spin Magazine, Myspace deal happened quietly because It’s all a bunch of nothing

BY SDH So Spin Magazine is spinning the hell out of the fact that they launched a digital edition and is playing it up like its some groundbreaking deal they got into with Myspace. To be honest we don’t even know if it’s even a deal. We took it up on ourselves to browse, Spin’s new digital edition and it’s just your typical digital edition of a print magazine, just an interactive replica of the print version, complete with links etc. All Spin did was launched a digital version and linked it from their Myspace page making it available to their friend’s list and other potential visitors who may visit their page. So what’s with all the hype? Any music magazine publisher could’ve linked their digital version from their Myspace page in hopes of landing more views right? The, magazine is offering its digital edition free for 12 months to land some attention from all the youngins who hang out on Myspace Music. Is the ultimate goal to land new subscribers for the digital or print edition of Spin? Maybe Spin isn’t even doing this to land subscribers. This is just one big stage for advertisers, and record labels to pimp their products and artists on. If this is the case, then kudos to Spin because the ad revenue from this should be sweet.

Spin magazine partners with Myspace, acts as if deal is so ground breaking

-BY SDH Like the industry it cover's, music magazine SPIN in an attempt to stay above the rough waters has teamed up with Myspace (who isn’t teaming up with a social networking site these days?) to launch a free digital version of its magazine. The magazine claims that since it quietly launched the digital edition on myspace via digital magazine producer Texterity a week ago, page views has jumped, that’s good and dandy, but we just hate when people speak of these little cliché deals as if it's so ground breaking. The only thing that is different about this deal is that Spin decided to launch their digital edition on Myspace while FADER went with iTunes. What would have been ground breaking is if SPIN launched their digital edition on MTV.com or something, ok that wouldn't be a big deal either. Good move though kids, don’t be too cocky.

The quote that bought Time Inc CEO Ann, Moore Time

"We're good at publishing. We're a leader in the industry. It's a good business we think. As it expands out beyond print into digital we think it can turn into a growth business," Bewkes said, adding that keeping Time Inc. intact “depend[s] on our being able to demonstrate that to ourselves and our investors.” -Jeff Bewkes, CEO TimeWarner

John Malone now has an additional 369 reasons to throw Barry Diller out on his ass, and more in this Afternoon's round up

-SDH For IAC/Interactive Corp CEO Barry Diller, news that the company lost $369.9 million in the fourth quarter, on a big write-down at its mortgage referral business couldn't have come at a worst time. Reports like this will just give Diller's indirect boss John Malone more ammunition in his quest to re-gain Liberty's 62% voting shares from Diller and use them to show him the door. [AP] So Time Warner says they are working to split AOL's outdated dial business from it's newly rolled out ad driven business. But if Time Warner is looking to sell the dial up business, who in the world would want to by a declining business? [CNNmoney] Businessweek announced today that it has named Jessica Sibley in a new roll as Senior Vice President and Worldwide Publisher [PRNW]

Magazine News Aggregated: NewMoon's $40 subscription. Barcodes for Mobile Phones. You have to pay for Vice's prettiness?

-SDH Ok so we have to admit that we've never heard of NewMoon, a magazine geared towards teenage girls. Then again maybe we shouldn't know about a magazine for teen girls. The magazine is shifting it's focus like many other mags in the business, from print to web which it says is it's biggest area of growth and will charge an annual subscription fee of $40 for online subscriptions. Save up your allowance girls. Then again it works out to about $3.33 a month. More... Publishers are doing everything they can to see if you're reading their magazines. First we heard about some kind of chip that would be placed in the pages of waiting room issues that would record page turns and give publishers an idea of how many people are reading their magazines (dumb shit), now comes word that popular magazines like Billboard, Wired and Car and Driver are quietly testing cell phone readable barcodes which link back to content on the magazine's website. You know what's next right? They are going to have interns walking through trains and recording how many people are actually reading their magazines. more...We all know the saying "Free is Free". Well for Vice Magazine, free is free unless you fill out one of their insert subscription cards and send it in to have the magazine delivered to you. But then again if it saves you time from going to the select locations where you can pick up the mag for free, why not pay to have it delivered to your house? But what’s up with the sub off from the same magazine that asked you not to subscribe? Why now? "Vice says the magazine is so pretty, readers take stacks of free copies from these boutiques, subverting the key part of their distribution model" [More...]

Quick Item: Working Mother Magazine, probably cut some working mothers yesterday

According to Fishbowlny Working Mother Magazine pinked slipped some employees yesterday. A source tells FBNY that at least 6 people were canned and cuts rolled across all departments. The order came down from investor MCG Capital who wanted the 2008 budget slashed and told WMM founder and CEO Carol Evans to make it happen. Wonder if Ms. Evans would be cool with taking a salary cut to help save some of her working other employees?

Philadelphia Style in the Binn! -UPDATE

-SDH Our friends at Fishbowlny.com get a little deeper into the Niche Media Philadelphia Style deal. Philadelphia Style which is/was owned by Dana Spain-Smith the heir to the 99 cent store fortune, not sure which one because there are so many. Anyway according to FBNY via Philadelphia Inquirer Spain-Smith is selling the magazine to spend more time focusing on her pet charity, Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society. It’s good to be an heir to something. Niche Media ruled by Jason Binn, will reportedly take over Philadelphia Style. This ads to Binn's stable of other titles like Hamptons Magazine, Gotham and others. Now of course with every acquisition comes the question, will heads roll? The bi-monthly magazine with a circulation of 70,000 is the first acquisition since November, when Jason Binn, founder of 15-year-old Niche, sold his company to Las Vegas-based Greenspun Media and merged it with Jerry Powers at Ocean Drive Media in Miami and became CEO of the combined entity. Niche publishes Gotham magazine and LA Confidential. BINN FINDS NEW NICHE IN PHILLY [NYP]

After calling it quits back in 2001 The Industry Standard is back via the web and on the cheap with one full-time editorial employee

-SDH The one time Bible of the Internet Economy, The Industry Standard which met the same fate as many of the dotcom’s it covered back in 2001, is now back as a dotcom about dotcoms. The site is backed by International Data Group which is keeping a tight grip on costs by only having one full-time editorial employee. The site will look to freelancers (50 of them) to keep the content flowing. Will this lead the folks at Time Warner to re-launch Business 2.0 as a web only magazine as well? Then again, Time Inc may still be trying to get over the shit stain that was OfficePirates.com. Good concept, shitty execution.

And now this morning's worthy media business news...

We totally forgot that Vivendi even existed. After dropping the Universal from the corporate name we pretty much forgot about them. Anyway they are trying to invade Bertelsmann's turf by trying to land a stake in Germany's largest pay-tv broadcaster Premiere. [Reuters] The bids are in for U.S. government owned airwaves. So far the FCC has received $2.78 billion in bids. Companies that are expected to be in on the bids include AT&T and Google. [Reuters] Don Imus in hot water again [AP] We knew Rupert Murdoch couldn't say no to money. Why kill something that has been generating revenue for years. Or is this Rupe's way of showing he won't have a hand in the WSJ [NYT] Interview Magazine, Interviewed and hired [NYT]

Businessweek.com getting all Aggregaty and Videowy, Editor John Byrne and his hair tells us how

-SDH OK first things first. What's up with Businessweek Editor John Byrne's shag? We hope he falls on a clipper real soon. Anyway, with a new design in print, Businessweek.com is stepping up it's game as well. In an interview with PBS/Mediashift Byrne tells us the whats, whens, whys and hows. Did we mention John Byrne's hair? Byrne believes that if Rupert Murdoch opens up the Wall Street Journal Online and makes the content free of charge, it will be “checkmate” against Yahoo Finance, the current leader in traffic for financial sites. But Byrne is more mysterious about BusinessWeek’s chances of catching the portals, telling me BusinessWeek has “a strategy to significantly scale and we’ll soon be able to talk about exactly how that will happen.”

Heath-O-Rama: Time Warner may have gold in Heath Ledger's death but they will never admit it

-SDH With the untimely death of movie star Heath Ledger, Time Warner will benefit even if it's wrong for them to admit it. Not only did People Magazine (published by Time Inc) beat competitors to a cover story, another Time Warner division, Warner Bros. will release "The Dark Knight" this summer with Ledger playing the Joker. Time Warner totally owns Ledger's death and they will indirectly promote anything Heath related to ensure that no one forgets about the actor at least not until after the release of "The Dark Knight". Fans of the actor will no doubt flock to movie theaters to see their idol in what may be his last movie. With People Magazine's cover win, Time Inc will see the results in their spreadsheets.

Men’s Health Living still doesn't have blogs and/or videos on their website but they can help you nail her

-SDH From time to time we shoot on over to the website of Rodale's latest venture, Mens Health Living to check out how things are going and to check out new offerings if any. In this case the site is still where we left it about a month or two ago. We hope there are blogs and videos in the works because come on, whats a website geared towards men that doesn't have a blog with at the minute man news and pictures and/or videos of hot chicks? What we did find though, is a step by step break down of how your semi messy apartment can get you in bed with that hot chick. I’m coming back to your place, so I’ve already decided I want to make out with you. Or, at the very least, I maybe want to make out with you. What’s absolutely clear is this: I definitely don’t not want to make out with you. Why else would I have accepted your invitation to watch kung fu movies back at your apartment? I hate kung fu.So here I am, at your front door, at least a little into you. But that may change as soon as I step inside. That’s the moment I start seriously considering, Is this a man I want to get naked with? I can tell more about a guy and what kind of boyfriend he’d be in * minutes at his place than I could in three dates. Whether I ultimately decide to stay the night, stay forever, or somewhere in between has a lot to do with your stuff. The balance may hang in your towel selection. SEDUCE HER WITH YOUR SPACE [MHL]

The recent Brownridge Carlin hitching may already be doomed

-SDH Alpha Media's Kent Brownridge put it all on the table and got hitched to Alexandra Carlin, the head of publicity at Hearst magazines. But the two kids didn't do what regular newlyweds do and head for an exotic island for fun in the sun sans blackberries, lap tops and any other device that keeps them plugged into the office, they went right back to work the Monday following their nuptials. If you've been together for 5 years, at this point the only thing marriage changes is that she can take you for more and you will both get on each others nerves knowing that you no longer can just up and walk out the door. Marriage usually ruins relationships like these. Anyway congrats to them both. Wonder if Hearst Magazine ruler Cathie Black was in attendance?

Reader's Digest Editrix Peggy Northrop brings a cock into the hen house

-SDH In her first major move as Editor in Chief of Reader's Digest, Peggy Northrop dipped into Martha's house and hired Tom Prince, the dude who created the now defunct Blueprint to come in as her new executive editor replacing Marcia Rockwood. Prince's background seems to be heavy on the women side of the magazine business. The position he is now holding at RD is the same position he held in the past at titles like Allure, and Real Simple.

A new business magazine for entrepreneurs, ground breaking!

-SDH Mansueto Ventures is about to gamble big when it launches a new business magazine currently titled UPSTART sometime this year. This will be the second business magazine launch behind Conde Nast's Portfolio, at least that we know of. So are the kids at Mansueto off their rockers or do they have a shot at pulling up a chair for themselves at an already crowded table. How will Upstart differ from other magazines geared towards entrepreneurs? Should Mansueto just focus on building their digital business like Fastcompany.TV and perhaps roll out some web only products. Launching a new magazine in these times is kinda crazy unless you have Si Newhouse money behind it to keep it afloat long enough for it to pick up steam. It's only been about two years since Mansueto bought Inc. and FastCompany from the now defunct G&J Publishing. Taking on a new launch may take away critical resources needed to further build on the Inc and FastCompany brands. Lets see where this new title ends up a few months to a year after it launches. However, If the Mansueto offices are any indication, we don't think money is an issue at all.

TheAtlantic.com to knock down its paid wall in hopes of hitting the ad lottery

BY SDH The folks at The Atlantic are really showing their internet balls. Come this Tuesday, the paid wall will be demolished on their website, courtesy of Goldman Sachs, which is buying all the ad space for this week, to make sure that the current surge in traffic sticks around and grows. Executives have been slowly but surely seeing the light. First they finally had the website brought into the current swing of things by adding blogs and online only content, and now they are ready to turn it into an ad revenue machine. It makes us wonder how many dudes it took sitting in a conference room being all excited about the online possibilities to come up with the grand plan we all see being rolled out for an old bloke like the Atlantic? They were all there with pen and pads shooting ideas at one another and talking about what their competitors are doing and how great this internet thing is. It must have been a real experience. Innovative ideas spat back and forth over coffee and pastry. It took them a while, and yes they are late bloomers but it’s a beautiful thing to see people try new things.

The guy who won't put a noose on the cover of Golfweek

BY SDH With the dust now settling around the whole noose on the cover of Golfweek goof, the parent company of Golfweek Turnstile Publishing, announced a new EIC to further showcase their outrage. In a statement published on the magazine's website the President of Turnstile Publishing blames the whole company for the slip up but only one body was sacrificed. Anyway, the dude pictured right is the new man in charge who will make sure that in the future, Golfweek makes it's point via words and not offensive pictures. We guess a picture of a noose and the word "Noose" is more offensive than when the word "Noose" is used by itself. Canned Editor Dave Seanor just wanted to sell some magazines, poor bastard.

And now this morning's worth mentioning media business news...

New CNNmoney.com jam-packed with videos of over paid CEOs and the usual business news run down, too bad they lack embedding capabilities, at least we didn't see the option [PC] Disgraced New York Times newsroom king Howell Raines, will join Portfolio Magazine as a media columnist [NYT] Ticketmaster drops $265 million for ticketsnow, just in time for it's spin off as a stand alone operation [PC]

611 dead at Businessweek publisher McGraw-Hill

-SDH The publisher of Businessweek, McGraw-Hill says it plans to shit can 611 people or 3% of it's work force apparently to make things look a little pretty on paper when they report full-year earnings for 2007 in 2 weeks. We feel a long cold slog on the way don't you? Where will all those poor bastards go? The greatest number of job cuts are at McGraw-Hill Education, whose products include course work materials. The unit is eliminating 304 jobs and will take a pretax restructuring charge of $16.3 million. Standard & Poor’s is losing 172 jobs, or slightly less than 2 percent of its work force. The announcement came a day after the Moody’s Corporation, a top competitor, said it would cut 275 jobs and take pretax charges of $47 million to $52 million in the fourth quarter, citing similar external circumstances. Job Cuts at McGraw-Hill Will Eliminate 3% of Staff [NYT]

After 26 years of calling the shots, Essence Magazine's Susan Taylor departs

-YOSH Susan Taylor, the Editor in Chief turned Editorial Director at Essence Magazine, after getting in one more vacation on her employer, is packing it in after 37 years with the magazine to focus on her passion of mentoring children. From her vacation in South Africa via email (possibly a blackberry) Ms. Taylor informed her colleagues of her plan to leave when she gets back to the states in mid January. After 37 years, with the publication, we're sure Ms. Taylor has all the vacation time in the world, and will even have to be paid for left-overs she may have. “I am taking a break in South Africa and will have little access to e-mail,” she wrote in an automated out-of-office message this month. “When I come back to the states in mid-January, I will be leaving Essence to do what at this juncture in my life has become a larger work for me — building the National Cares Mentoring Movement, which I founded as Essence Cares and today is my deepest passion.” Essence Editor Is Leaving Magazine [NYT] Image via: Zulu Rose

And now this morning's worthy media business news...

Conde Nast's former CEO Steve Florio has checked out due to complications from an earlier heart attack. Maybe Conde will name their famous cafeteria after him or something. R.I.P Steve. [NYP] Is anyone shocked that Time Warner had the worst performing stock in big media? This just puts even more pressure on incoming CEO Jeff Bewkes [NYP] Americans are wired, you think? [Reuters]

Vogue undergoes light nip and tuck, unlike the models and fashion figures it covers

-ZOE S. CondeNast's iconic Vogue magazine is said to have gone under the knife but you wouldn't know by looking at the cover. Most if not all the changes happened inside the magazine. According to Women's Wear Daily, a new column and new font is what took place to refresh what is known as the bible. After all, there is still a buzz surrounding Elle's redesign and Harper's Bazaar created news out of its 140th anniversary issue in November. The Vogue spokesman said editors are always taking a "fresh look" at the magazine, but did not comment definitively as to whether more changes are on the way. One thing we know won't be getting touched on Vogue and thats the logo, because it would just be a huge America going into Iraq type mistake Memo Pad: News Flash.. Stern Surfaces... Bye to BG... [WWD]

Bertelsmann Aggregated: Bertie and News Corp | Bertie to sell G&J; | Bertie flip flops on RTL buyout plan | Mohn family still controlling

-YOSH German media giant Bertelsmann continues to prove us right when it comes to their flip flopping ways. They had this huge plan to buy the remaining 10% of RTL it doesn't already own, and what do they do? They scrap it. These fuckers just can stick to a plan can they? [Guardian] Is Bertelsmann in some kind of back door deal with News Corp to take over News Corp's Harper Collins? If this is the case, the book business must be really big for Bertie and Rupert Murdoch must be looking to offset the cash he dropped on Dow Jones. A sale of Harper Collins by News Corp would probably be good for News Corp as HC is responsible for a small chunk of News Corp's annual revenue. [Reuters] Is Bertie planning to get out of the magazine business by seeking a sale for G&J? They sold the U.S. business of G&J a while back so it wouldn't be a surprise. Selling off the magazine and buying into more books, does indicate that books is king at Bertie [Bloomberg] The Mohn family which controls Bertelsmann are nothing like the Bancrofts. There is probably no money in the world that would make them hand over their personal piggy bank that is Bertie. They continue to tighten their grip on Germany's biggest media company. The latest grip tightening comes with the appointment of Brigitte Mohn to its supervisory board. [Bloomberg]

Hey Peggy Northrop, you're wanted!

So about to two weeks ago we did a poll on Reader's Digest Editrix Peggy Northrop asking if you would hit it, and man do you want to hit it. 73% of participating voters would love to have one on one relations with you. Peggy, take this as a compliment, you're a hot in our eyes. Whoever has you in his life is one lucky bastard. Stay sexy baby girl.

Fortune wants you to match "Nappy Headed hos" with the Neanderthal

-YOSH We love lists, we just have a thing for lists, and Fortune via CNNmoney.com continues to feed the beast that is our love for lists. The magazine lists "The 101 Dumbest Moments in Business, 2007" and of course you couldn't have a list like this without a couple of media idiots on it. Some media mentions include, Former HBO head Chris Albrecht and and his little domestic dust up. Fortune gets fun with the list and Initiates a game of "Match up" asking you to match the deed with the individual.

Chuck Cordray is probably OK in the sack

Ladies, the boys can't have all the fun right? Hearst Digital Media head Chuck Cordray has been in the news a lot lately. He must have some kind of statement deal with Mediaweek or something because he has been saying quite a bit. Chuck is a pretty good looking guy, his teeth look good and he looks like he knows how to put an outfit together, and he needs a tan. With that said, today's poll: CHUCK CORDRAY: WOULD YOU HIT IT? YES NO I DID ALREADY

Digital editions aren't for every magazine

-YOSH .Mediaweek reports that more and more consumer magazine publishers are finding out that the web is the way to the heart of potential subscribers, not the once lauded digital editions which sometimes require subscribers to download software onto their PCs. Unless digital editions are generating respectable revenue, some publishers should just kill it and put all their time and money into their websites. for others, use it as a teaser for special issues. For Hearst's Chuck Cordray the web is the way to go. We just don't agree with him when he said "print has some pretty hard-to-duplicate advertising.” Is he kidding? Wazzup Chucky! Chuck Cordray, vp and general manager, Hearst Magazines Digital Media, said that Hearst found its Web sites are a better way to interact with readers than digital editions are, and so digital editions have dropped in priority. “The experiments we’ve had did not have the same legs as the Web sites,” Cordray said. “For us, we’ve seen most of our growth on highly interactive formats that work best in an online format.” As for attracting ads, he said, “We’re strong believers that print has some pretty hard-to-duplicate advertising.” Mags Web Sites Still More Effective Than Digital Editions [Mediaweek]

Fader Magazine loses editor to George Clooney and Brad Pitt

-YOSH Star struck Fader Magazine Editrix Alex Wagner has traded in music to go work for George Clooney and Brad Pitt among others who are part of Not On Our Watch, an anti-genocide non-profit led by the actors. It won't be too long till she returns to run another music magazine though. In times of trouble and looming deadlines and annoying requests from precious editors or writers, my refrain tends to be, 'We are a magazine, on sale for $5.95 at Barnes & Noble' as if somehow that reality will demystify the process and return our egos to planet Earth," Wagner writes in her 50th issue editor's note. "As far as our distributor tells me, that statement is still factually correct, but as everyone who has ever worked here knows quite well, the Fader is much more than that: it’s an unending science project and a completely dysfunctional family that people quit and get excommunicated from and marry into but never really leave." Alex Wagner Leaves The Fader [Folio

80 of the old people that read "Reader's Digest" don't like the re-design

-YOSH With the dramatic re-design of a magazine that has been around waaaay before we were born, comes drama. Apparently about 80 or so long time RD subscribers wrote in to say that they are not happy about the re-design and blah blah blah. However what these 80 or so people fail to understand is that, they are out, and young people are in, which is what the all new RD is all about. That said, Reader's Digest president and group publisher Eva Dillon isn't worried about it. We love it Eva, and we're young people so it's working so far. Now regarding FishbowlNY's post on the subject, don't be fooled. Including audio of an interview and allowing visitors to test their body mass index with some simple HTML, does not make the RD site all “interactive”, at least not in today's web game. But kudos on the re-design anyway.

A new device to track if people are reading magazines in waiting rooms? Who cares?

-THE RECRUITER A company called Mediamark Research and Intelligence is feeling good about a new device it says can track if magazines are being read in waiting rooms. They call it the Passive Print Measuring System and how it works is, a tag inserted into a plastic cover that uses radio frequency identification (RFID), measures magazine readership. Call us non believers and haters, but this has to be a joke? A device that measures magazine readership? Electronically tracking readership of a print product? Is this what the magazine publishing industry has come to? We wouldn't be surprised if this research is secretly being funded by non believers of the Internet who refuse to believe that they're dinosaurs. First of all there will never be a real and accurate way to measure readership of a print publication. It's like the Nielsen system that tracks how many people are watching TV. That shit isn't accurate and never will be. My dog could have sat on the remote and hit the power button at the same time "The Office" was starting on NBC, but we digress. Mediamark claims that in-house tests garnered positive results with 90 percent accuracy in detecting openings and closings of entire magazines and 80 to 85 percent accuracy for individual marked pages. With the exception of active subscribers, unless you install micro cameras inside magazines, you will never know if people are reading them. Then again you don’t know if your subscribers are reading the magazines they are paying for, but why should you care, they bought it right? Sure while waiting to see the doctor or the dentist, you are likely to pick up a magazine and browse through it to pass the time. But we don't see this going any further than testing. The majority of magazine publishers are cutting costs to invest those savings on the digital side. For them to take money and dump into a device that measures whether or not someone in a waiting room is reading their print magazine, we don't think it would fly. We thought the future was the web for most publishers. Futuristic measurement of magazines gets closer to reality [Folio]

Hearst's Chuck Cordray is all psyched about a digital deal that may not make sense for a magazine publisher

-YOSH In yet another deal where a magazine publisher throws all it's cards in the air to see where they land, Hearst Magazine has signed on with soon to be launched Next.tv to distribute content from it’s magazines like Cosmo Girl and others via HP notebooks and it looks like some Hearsties couldn't be more happier with the possibilities, especially Chuck Cordray, vp and general manager, Hearst Magazines Digital Media. “This relationship not only offers us an innovative way to syndicate original video content to millions of potential viewers, but it will also help to extend the readers’ overall brand experience beyond the pages of magazines and Web sites directly onto their computers and television screens,” Sounds good Chucky baby, but what makes you so sure consumers who may buy the HP notebook, will give a hoot about your content? What makes Hearst's content stick out compared to the dozens of other content providers who are also part of this new service? Did HP provide you with some demo info that shows that the people who will buy their new notebooks are mostly teenage girls and/or young women? We give you an "A" for effort but for now a huge question mark hangs over this deal. Hearst Magazines Inks Web Content Deal With Next.TV [Mediaweek]

QUICK NOTE: Foliocareers.com launches, but chances are you already applied to some of the jobs listed elsewhere

Folio Magazine, the magazine about the magazine industry has launched Foliocareers.com providing another way for you to apply to that job you probably applied to earlier on Circjobs.com. Some featured jobs include: Associate Director/Director, Human Resources- Reader's Digest Freelancer- Rodale Promotion Director- Meredith Sounds like this is up your alley? Then shoot over to Foliocareers.com if you haven't already applied via Circjobs.com. With yet another outlet, there is no way HR reps can say they never got your resume.

Shocker! Martha Stewart kills Blueprint, next up, Rodale kills Men’s Health Living by end of 2008

-YOSH Fishbowlny is reporting that Martha Stewart Living Omni Media is doing away with Blueprint magazine, which it launched under two years ago. This could be taken as more evidence that magazine publishers no longer have the stomach to give a new launch years to pick up steam. They want a hit right out the gate. Then again that would be wishful thinking in today’s industry. Staffers were told that the reason behind the decision is due to the fact that they "misjudged the market" in other words, the magazine was a total failure. Blueprint, meaning its subscribers will be folded back into Martha Stewart Weddings, minus the dupes. MSO is said to be looking into placing some of the staff in new rolls within the company. Those who aren't placed, well you know how that goes. On another note, wonder what the life span looks like that Rodale Inc gave to Men's Health Living? Our guess, about a year. EARLIER: Martha Stewart gives birth to Blueprint

Businessweek outsider, admits guilt in dishing inside information to two Wall Street scum bags, protects a possible third scum bag

-ZOE S. Juan Renteria, a young dumb and naive former Quad Graphics employee who apparently worked on the Businessweek printing line, is in hot water for browsing the "Inside Wall Street column" and then tipping off two sleeze balls at Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs on stocks mentioned favorably in the column. Renteria, 22, who during questioning did not identify what sounds like third individual, plead guilty, and is facing 25 years in prison. Could it be that the third person is a Businessweek insider who had plenty to gain? Who is this person Juan Renteria is protecting and how much are they paying him if at all? Luck for Juan he may not have to worry about dropping the soap where he is going. Juan Renteria, who worked at Quad Graphics Inc. in Sussex, Wis., told a Manhattan federal judge that he supplied another person, whom he didn't identify, with the names of stocks mentioned favorably in BusinessWeek's Inside Wall Street column. BW INSIDER ADMITS GUILT [NYP]

Menshealthliving.com now live and kicking

-ZOE S. QUICK NOTE: The magazine dubbed the world's first home magazine for men, Men's Health Living, has launched it's website and its looking pretty,pretty good. It seems to be missing a few must have features though like videos and even a blog or two. But lets give it some time. We're sure they are still working on it. Hopefully this brand extension works though.

Ava Seave and Anne Kinard of Quantum Media are kinda naive in their surveying

-THE RECRUITER Over at magazine industry magazine Circ Manager, Ava Seave and Anne Kinard of Quantum Media discloses the result of a small survey they did on the difference between their generation and the younger generation, and some of the responses was even mind boggling to us. They came to the conclusion that twenty-somethings in circulation departments as well as in other publishing departments and in other businesses, work as hard as someone twice their age. WOW! what country did they run this survey? Yeah they work hard alright, but not on work related stuff as you will see in some of the survey responses below. Perhaps they should do a survey on these alleged young hard workers and asking them what they spend their time at the office doing. We think they would be shocked at the responses. More than half the managers who took our survey agree that gen Yers generally work as hard as or harder than older generations—they just work differently. “For the most part I think they work about the same, but their motivation is far less team/group focused and more ‘me focused.’ ” “It seems that they spend about the same amount of time in the office as their older peers, but more of that time is spent checking personal email and updating Facebook pages. But when they are dedicated to a project, it gets their intense full attention—albeit in short bursts. It seems to balance out.” Now the response from the other half: But the 40 percent, who disagree that twenty to thirty-somethings work as hard, really disagree: “They seem to lack a sense of urgency.” “Twenty-somethings are less prone to put their time in and work hard, more likely to feel entitled.” “Twenty-somethings are less inclined to let work obligations take priority over their personal lives. While this may be a healthier approach to building a career, it tends to cause resentment among older workers who (and this is a generalization) believe that they worked harder and longer and sacrificed their personal lives in the name of careerism.” Now that's more like it. Working with Twenty-Somethings [CircMan]

All work and no play: Is the circulation, consumer marketing, department the sweatshop of the magazine industry?

On top of shitty pay and duties up to their necks, the people who do the real work at consumer magazine titles, you know the circulation people who bring in and maintain subscribers almost never get invited to the fancy parties the magazines they slave for put on. The folks at these magazine who are almost always present at these parties are the editors & publishers (that's a given) and anyone one else that is worthy in the front office. What’s up with that? Are the circulation departments at consumer magazines not worthy? Are they the sweatshops of the industry where as long as they keep the business coming that's all that matters? We want to hear from you. Do you work in circulation at consumer magazine publisher? Tell us if this is true based on your experience and we will publish them here on Mediawiredaily.com. Remember if you're going to send us something via email, do so discreetly. Otherwise just leave something in comments.

Maxim's grossly underpaid former Editor Jimmy Jellinek, joins former stuff publisher at the high paying Heavy.com

-MARTY Anyone who is anyone pushing paper in the print magazine business, dreams of one day working in a paperless environment where they dictate to web programmers and designers, how, what, when and where. For former Maxim editor Jimmy Jellinek he now joins his former and now future colleague former Stuff publisher John Lumpkin at Heavy.com, and both men couldn't be happier, especially with their new salaries. Jellinek and Lumpkin both said their take home pay was better than what they were were hauling in when they toiled for Dennis. "I don't want to ruffle anyone's feathers, but it's more," said Jellinek. Lumpkin said, "I don't want to bite the hand that fed me, but it's kind of nice to be working in a place that doesn't have a tug of war for resources with print." THEY'RE OUT OF PRINT [NYP]

Why is the magazine industry choking itself to death? We put our thoughts with Jon Friedman's

From time to time, Marketwatch columnist Jon Friedman hits a familiar tone in his writing. Due to this, we've become Jon Friedman fans echoing his thoughts while adding our own here on Media Wire Daily, because we think it and he says it before we do, sometimes. In his latest, Jon shares his experience during his recent visit to the American Magazine Conference in Boca Raton, Fla and what he came up on, in our terms was a bunch of clueless shit talkers spewing cliches to give the illusion that they know what they're talking about. Though Jon calls magazine people good company he sees them as the embodiment of Kevin Bacon's character in "Animal House," who, as he is being trampled to dust, continues to shriek, "All ... is ... well!". However we see them as James Franco's character in "Annapolis"who thinks he knows it all and can survive on his own only to finally realize otherwise. Why Are some magazine publishers in denial? Giving your website a face lift with the same old content and features doesn't insert you into the digital game. This is you trying to cover up your short comings and failure to give your readers what they want. The biggest weakness of most magazines' Web sites (and those of newspapers, too) has been their insistence on hiring longtime colleagues or other mainstream-publishing folks to edit them. That has been changing, which is an encouraging sign. Now the publications are leaning more heavily on established Internet pros. Of course, why put a traditional editorial guy in charge of your website? Jon gave what we think were some great tips to clueless magazine publishers & editors, but our favorite is: Keep the staff nonbelievers as far away from the Web as possible. If editors or reporters are ambivalent about or hostile to the Web (like many have been at Time Inc., and you can't fire them all), don't let them corrupt your site with their lethargy or disapproval. Listen, the Web is the most exciting part of a modern journalism enterprise for ambitious writers and editors. If they haven't figured it out by now, to hell with them. R.I.P., the American magazine, 1923-20__ [Jon Friedman]

Reader's Digest goes under the knife, New Editor wants to redesign the redesign, rate base to be chopped

-MARTY Hey! Everyone is doing it to keep with the tone of things. Time magazine did it, Newsweek did it, Businessweek did. But now its Reader's Digest' turn. They pulled the curtains back on their newly nip and tucked print edition and website and it pains us to say this, but its a good step in the right direction . The new logo is current and soft. Gone is the outdated 1970s-esque logo which was a huge yawn fest! However the website still has some traces of the old RD. The subscription page still carries the old logo and magazine cover (note to RD's web design team: don't launch until you erase traces of the old days). The print make over according to Mediaweek included the usual, a bold new logo duh!, updated fonts and column names, as well as an ad on the back cover... WoW! they pulled out all the stops huh? New EIC Peggy Northrop, had no choice but to welcome the changes being that it was implemented before she arrived. But of course the woman wants to put her stamp on the redesign, can you blame her. She wants some credit too if the redesign is a hit. The magazine will also see it's rate base chopped down by 20% to 8 million. Peggy Northrop, who took over from Jackie Leo as editor last week, is planning to put her own stamp on the book as early as April. Northrop, late of Meredith Corp.’s More, where she helped create buzz around women over 40, was complimentary of the forthcoming redesign, which was done before she arrived. “I really like it, but naturally I’m going to take a fresh look at everything,” she said.Her plans include more concept covers like that of January, which features the iPhone; polls and stories that leverage RD’s global presence; and more election-related content. Northrop acknowledged the need to change RD’s dated perception, which she admitted even she shared. “There’s a lot of growth left here,” she said. “This is an iconic magazine brand, and it’s really exciting to reach out and take it to people who have not taken it as seriously.” Hmmm, Iconic, but people have not taken it seriously? RD Strikes Back-Cover Pact With [MW]

So if The Week fails to become a huge global brand, will Felix Dennis kill himself or something like that?

-YOSH Many of you out there, if you were Felix Dennis probably wouldn't have sold off the raunchy male targeting titles like Maxim and Stuff, you would have sold off the boring weekly that is The Week. But not for the man himself. See Felix Dennis has a plan for his weekly publication and we hope a re-design, even though he didn't mention plans for one, is part of the plan he has to build The Week into a billion dollar business. He is so focused on building the magazine that he has crossed his heart and hope to die if he doesn't. Sure he could have sold it off and ran with the hundreds of millions of dollars he said he turned down, but he is sticking it out and betting his life on it. At the same time he is dishing out some critical advice as well. “The American magazine industry has been massively overstaffed for years and years. It is one of the most inefficient businesses in the history of the world. And you know what? The chickens are coming home to roost,” Mr. Dennis said. “They can sit around the campfire listening to the scary noises out in the dark, wondering where it all went, but what I would suggest is that they take some of the chickens, skin ’em, and stick ’em on the campfire and start eating.” A Magazine Challenges the Big Boys [NYT]

Would you pay $140 to break bread with Cathie Black?

-ZOE S. ASME is sponsoring a lunch with Hearst Magazines prexy Cathie Black on Decemeber 4th and you're invited, just as long as you don't mind paying the non-member fee of $140. You can sit way across the room and look at Cathie and Hearst editorial director Ellen Levine for 2 hours at San Domenico restaurant on Central Park South. Ellen Levine will have a one on one interview with her boss who will share her thoughts on everything from the definition of success and her personal experience rubbing elbows with big wigs like Rupert Murdoch and Oprah Winfrey. This is such hog wash if you ask us. Why not have someone who doesn't have to brown nose Cathie interview her? Tuesday: Lunch With Cathie Black [FBNY]

Who is Allison Arden doing at Ad Age?

-ZOE S. Allison Arden was named associate publisher at Adage just back in February of this year. Now she has been bumped up again this time to Publisher. Is Ms. Arden that good at her job or is she being fast tracked due to other talents she may have? Not to say anything is wrong with hidden talents, but we're sure there are people at Adage who have been busting their asses for years who haven't even gotten a bag of ships for a job well done. Anyway, congrats to the fast tracked, Ms. Allison Arden. EARLIER: Adage names their Internet head as associate publisher

Charlie Rose talks up Jann Wenner

Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner took time out to sit and chat with Charlie Rose. In this clip of a more lengthy conversation, Jann talks politics and expects change when the 2008 elections are over, don't we all.

CondeNet's Sarah Chubb is making it work

-YOSH We always said it and we will continue to say it. Conde Nast has the most clear cut web strategy compared to other major magazine publishers. They built a separate business with Conde Net and so far it's paying off well enough to make Conde Net Prexy Sarah Chubb keep her job for about 7 years now. Now the company will announce a deal to distribute videos from its various Web sites, which cover topics such as food and travel, via YouTube. In other words they are launching a Youtube channel. But with almost all parts oiled and running together, Chubb still has some hurdles to hop over. In a Q&A with the Wall Street Journal Chubb explains how she managed to grow revenue by 81% and how the new Youtube deal will work. By some measures, CondéNet's partnerships appear to be paying off. Traffic to its Web sites increased 16% in October to 9.4 million unique U.S. visitors from the same period last year, according to comScore Media Metrix. Year to date, revenue at CondéNet is up 81.8% versus the same period last year. (That number includes revenue from Wired.com and Flip.com -- neither of which figured in last year's figures. Stripping out those two sites, CondéNet revenue is up about 49% year to date versus the same period last year.) That comes amid a strong year for Web advertising in general -- online ad revenues for the first nine months of 2007 were up about 26%, to $15.2 billion, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Oh yeah Sarah, assuming you're currently wearing your hair long, just an FYI, we like you with shorter hair. Is CondéNet's Web Approach Paying Off? [WSJ.com]

Folio, the magazine about magazines revamps it's website, ugly, but an improvement

-MARTY Folio Magazine, reports on magazines getting makeovers in print and online. But today it's Folio's turn to be talked about. The mag about mags launched off its newly designed website which is split into 7 departments: Careers, Blogs, Resources, Magazine, Suppliers, Webinars and Events. All the more easier for real magazine heads to have useful info right at their finger tips. But we will let the Folio folks tell you about all the new and exciting things on their new website. Some of you may be more interested in their " A totally upgraded Career Center". You know, we always wondered what's taking Red 7 media (publisher of Folio) to grab up Circjobs.com. We thought former FishbowlNY Editor Dylan Stableford would have at least gotten his own blog within the new site. Nope. Dylan still shares posting space with other Folio-ites. FOLIO: magazine is pleased to present the beta launch of our completely revamped, upgraded and retooled Web site at http://www.foliomag.com/. FOLIOMag.com is full service destination for the publishing industry, offering highly targeted content, features and services ... and we're just getting started. Among the upgraded or new site features: FOLIOMAG.COM

The new Fortune.com kinda makes us think of Portfolio.com...kinda

-YOSH In an attempt to remain relevant due to the launch of Conde Nast's heavy business glossy, Portfolio, the folks at Fortune Magazine finally pulled the curtains back on a newly redesigned Fortune.com. One thing struck us when we headed over to the Fortune website though. For a quick second, and we mean a quick second, we swear we were on Portfolio.com. We guess its due to the white logo on a dark charcoal grey background and the layout of the site. Then again the layout seems to be standard for business and current events magazines. We can understand why Fortune felt the need to redesign their website and even the magazine. But we think it falls short in the originality department. We were thinking more of a big blue Fortune logo with grey hi-lites or something on a white background and a font other than Arial or Georgia. But at the end of the day, the new design is a major improvement from the previous design. This comes as Fortune magazine is readying to launch its big print redesign in December or Jan. Some parts of bringing-the-big-brands-back strategy were hinted by Ann Moore, CEO of Time Inc. "What happened is we took the emphasis off the brands...it seemed crazy not to re-establish the power of these brands. We put in a new management team in place now." Also, since Fortune absorbed a lot of Business 2.0 journalists, it now has expanded online daily coverage on Fortune site. Fortune.com Redesigns; Magazine Relaunch Imminent [PaidContent]

Does anyone want to run CMP Media?

-MARTY It’s been almost a month now since Steve Weitzner stepped away from the CEO gig at Long Island based media firm CMP Media. We thought by now a new CEO would have been announced but nothing, not even a blip, at least as far as we know. This can mean several things, but we will only mention a few. -perhaps no one wants the gig. -Maybe they have someone but they put a low ball offer on the table leaving that deal up in the air. -United Business Media doesn't think that any of the executives still in office are capable of leading the company. Or one of them would have at least been named acting CEO or Weitzner’s duties would have been split between two individuals until a new CEO is named. You know the usual media industry way. We can go on and on but we won't, because sooner or later UBM Chief David Levin will pull a new CEO out of the hat, perhaps someone from the past. Or maybe Levin likes to see his picture on the management page of CMP's website. We already named possible internal candidates mainly one, we think can take the wheel based on his background, but we won't be shocked if UBM forces someone from corporate to take over. And where is Steve Weitzner? Is he in India or something working on his first deal in his new demoted roll? Wonder what’s Weitzner's predecessor Gary Marshall’s take on this? We smell another shake up on the Horizon and it doesn’t smell good, especially if an outsider comes in. He/she will want to bring in their own team.

Time Out Chicago editor fired for probably spending too much time on Myspace or something

-MARTY Time Out Chicago editor Joel Reese got the boot for violating a company policy. Shit we didn't know companies were really serious about policies. The folks at Time Out won't say which policy the editor violated, but his spot has already been filled for now by Time Out's North American editorial director Elizabeth Barr. Reese, the magazine’s former features editor, took the helm as editor five months ago, replacing founding editor Chad Schlegel. Reese joined the magazine when it launched in March 2005 as a senior editor. Wow five months and he fucked up already! He was barely out of that probationary period. Ok so how Long until he announces some kind of online venture? Isn't that where all canned Editor's end up? Time Out Chicago Editor Fired [Folio]

Are we the only ones who can see through the Maybelline on Atoosa Rubenstein's face?

-ZOE S. We are having some posting issues, but I hope this one gets through Since she left her gig as EIC at girly mag Seventeen, Atoosa Rubenstein has been talking about how she wants to create a platform for young girls and why she left Seventeen and why it was the right thing for her to do. But to this day Atoosa has not been clear on exactly what her move after Seventeen magazine will be. OK she launched a youtube Channel, but where is the new gig/venture? Sure Atoosa.com is under construction but I am starting to get the impression that Atoosa isn't sure what the hell her next real move will be. Is she speaking to people with deep pockets to back a new venture? Perhaps Atoosa is working hard on a magazine that will be written totally by teenage girls and boys who think they're girls much like the way these magazine's are done. All I am trying to say is can we have a comeback now please?

Web and print working together in harmony, at least for one publisher

-YOSH CNet founder, Halsey Minor was all for doing away with print media, predicting its demise due to the Internet. But as it turns out, Halsey Minor ate his words and ended up dumping some money into a sort of new/old media company called 8020 Publishing that publishes two heavy print titles with content generated online by it's subscribers. User generated content for print? Hmmm, we smell a catch on here. “I spent my time at CNet talking about how print was going to be challenged by the Internet and specifically how we were going to make magazines go away,” he said. “But two years ago I realized I was still reading over 100 magazines a month. I like holding them and turning the pages. And the images are better than on the Internet.” Online readers vote on their favorite submissions appearing at JPGmag.com. Then a tiny staff of 10 designs a layout for the winners and about 50,000 high-quality slick-looking magazines are printed six times a year. They are sold through $25 annual subscriptions and on newsstands for $6 each. Publisher Gets Web Readers to Fill the Pages of Its Magazines [NYT]

Why isn't anyone interested in the circulation marketing spot on your team?

-THE RECRUITER For the last couple of years, magazine circ directors have been having a bit of a hard time filling open positions on their team. They have tried everything to make the job appealing to young energetic individuals. Some directors have re-edited the job description so many times and paid for a feature posting that they end up running out of things to do to attract that perfect someone. Then again there is no such thing as the perfect employee. One of the reasons circulation gigs are sometimes hard to fill these days is because of the way job postings are written and the directors themselves. Some of you take yourself too seriously and try too hard to be professional. Don't forget that you too are being interviewed because the person sitting in front of you wants to make sure that you're not a douche bag who is too high strung. So for you Consumer Marketing, Circulation, and Audience Development Directors, here are some tips (in no specific order) that you should consider when looking for and/or interviewing a prospect. Continue... Take your expectations and qualifications down a notch. It's just marketing, to beg subscribers to stay, or to beg subscribers to sign up, not science. Most of you in your job postings ask for the minimum 2-3 years experience for a manager spot, but then list Director level like duties. Don't mention too much about budget reforcasting, or other financial duties that may come with the gig in the job posting, because even though an individual may have the experience working numbers, they still can get turned off because of your emphasis on this in the job posting. Save that part for during the interview process. Don't make the job sound more important than it is, and try to limit your use of the word "Must". Be honest. Don't list a coordinator level job, as an assistant manager, because whoever gets the gig, will realize that all they're doing is pushing paper, being swamped with administrative stuff and will end up leaving for another job, sending you back to the drawing board. Don't think that all circulation departments use the same lingo. Speak English to the prospect during the interview. When you call a prospect to come in for an interview and you ask them their current salary and what they're looking for, make sure you write it down and pay attention to it. So in other words, if David tells you he is currently making $55k, don't bother with the interview if you can't top that. In these times, no one will take a pay cut. Tell the prospect coming in for an interview to come casual, because chances are you're casual in a button down and khakis. This creates an instant relaxed environment, making the prospect comfortable. What's the purpose of the choked up suit and tie? Aren't you hiring based on experience? During the interview, keep it short, fun and to the point. Don't get into how you got into the business and the school you went to. Who cares. The prospect wants to be in and out because chances are they have another interview lined up in the same building or up the street. You are on their time. Don't spring a surprise test on a prospect so they can proof to you that they know how to create a spreadsheet because you're a paranoid mess. This is in a way very unprofessional and rude. Remember the individual already has a manager gig at another company. They are just looking to leave because they need more money. Don't be fooled. While you're checking references on a prospect, they may be doing the same thing on you. After all, they may end up working for you right. The magazine publishing circle is a small one, so chances are the prospect knows a few people who worked for you in the past. Hopefully for you, you weren't the boss from hell. When first meeting the prospect and you're introducing yourself, give a firm genuine hand shake, not a soft, limpy, oh my god germs, handshake. This will give the prospect some idea what kind of boss you are.

Time Inc's John Squires has that kinda successor tone in his statements

-MARTY Time Inc continues to firm up it's digital offerings in the never ending campaign for magazine publisher's to remain relevant, and rumored potential Ann Moore successor John Squires is talking up the company's Internet efforts in a very CEOish way. John Squires, executive vp, Time Inc., said that while he’d like the company’s sites to “crawl up in terms of scale,” he’s happy with their rank in engagement and revenue per user. Speaking today at a Time Inc. Digital Showcase, he noted that according to Time Inc.’s own ranking, the company’s sites come in 15th among media companies in terms of time spent per visitor. At the same time, Squires emphasized the push to get people to stay on the sites longer. “Everything we’re doing, we’re trying to put through this lens [of] how long can we hold people for.” Time Inc. Bolsters Digital Brands [Mediaweek]

If you work in marketing for a magazine or newspaper, and you don't know the Internet, you may be Prehistoric

-SDH For years magazines and newspapers alike have done their marketing via those pain in the ass direct mail pieces you get in the mail trying to convince you to buy their magazines. Some even go as far as offering a cheesy gift if you jump on the offer the moment you get it, as if they would know when you actually got the damn thing right. These marketing tactics are still very much in play, but it is now in the shadow of the Internet, for the most part. A huge percentage of consumer & B2B publishers have turned to the web to reach their audience in an effort to retain them, get them to tell their friends to subscribe or land new subscribers. So what does this mean for the sorry bastard who is in the market for a circ job with no Internet marketing experience, which is now a major plus at publishing companies? Well it simply means he/she may have the marketing experience but that experience doesn't include Internet and this fact will probably result in no call backs. But don't feel bad because chances are the person who would have conducted the interview knows nothing about the web other than logging on to his/her favorite social networking site. There are people in marketing positions at publishing companies who are scared shitless that they could fall victim to their Internet illiteracy, and they probably will. So what do we tell these dinosaurs? We say, get out while you can or if you're smart, bring in someone who can make you look like you know what the hell a digital edition is. Not to say that there is no longer a spot for direct mail people, but you may have to scoot over to make room for the Internet marketer. There are still publications out there, where for them, direct mail is still the way to go due to their audience. But even they are kicking the tires on how they can join the Internet marketing club.

and now this morning's worthy media business news mentions

-YOSH No one should be surprised if Robert Greenwald turns up missing without a trace The one man army who has been taking on the mighty Fox News is hat it again, this time with the launch of Foxnewsporn.com. None of the content is actually explicit, but it does include bikini-clad women and blurred nudity. Hell! that's good enough for us. 45 to die at USA today The Internet continues to run up the body count at newspapers and magazines. This time the victims will be at the country's biggest newspaper USA Today. The paper plans to cut 45 newsroom jobs, specifically those poor bastards who know nothing about the Internet. Apparently the Germans are big on celebrity trash news as well OK! Magazine is about to launch it's 14th international edition in just three years. Holy hell. This mag is like a gremlin that ate after midnight or something.

the radiohead pricing model continues to spread among the magazine industry's known unknowns

-YOSH Who will be next to follow? Will some more well known magazines do a 'Radiohead". The latest magazine that will let subscribers set their price for a year is Premier Guitar. Radiohead should be named Circulation Stars for 2008 if you ask us. Wonder which major consumer magazine titles will hop on this road? Then again its the smaller lesser known titles who will benefit more from promotions schemes like this. Currently, Premier offers its print content free online—both on its Web site and in a recently-launched digital edition. An annual subscription costs $14.95. “What we’re looking to do is create exposure for a relatively new magazine,” says Peter Sprague, president of Premier parent Gearhead Communications. Concurrently, Sprague hopes to increase paid subscriptions and build its combined and print and Web audience. Guitar Magazine to Follow Radiohead-Pricing Model [CircMan]

Just in time for a possible merger, David Pecker thanks his advertisers for not making him look bad

-By MARTY American Media CEO David Pecker who may end up running Source Interlink if they swallow his company (what a nightmare) thanked AMI's advertisers for making he and his equally incompetent CFO Jack Craven look like they're doing something right after results for Second Quarter of Fiscal Year 2008 were made public. Revenues for the second quarter of fiscal year 2008 were $131.9 million, as compared to $124.8 million in the prior-year period, representing a 5.7% increase. In the first six months of fiscal year 2008, revenues were $253.0 million, as compared to $239.3 million in the prior-year period, representing a 5.7% increase. The increase in revenue is primarily related to increased advertising in the Company's Shape, Men's Fitness and Star magazines. "Our health and celebrity publications serve vibrant markets. It was gratifying to experience an increase in advertising revenue during the second quarter of fiscal 2008, and we thank our advertisers for their support." American Media Operations, Inc. Files Form 10-Q for Second Quarter of Fiscal Year 2008 [PRN]

Time Inc CEO Ann moore speaks

In this video Time Inc Chairwoman Ann Moore speaks on everything from Business 2.o to the restructuring of the Fortune Money Group and Time Inc possibly being an independent company.

Lucky for entertainment weekly the strike was still on

-BY ZOE S. All they are asking for is their cut of the money movie and TV studios are making from their material. Is that so fucking hard to ask for? Just pay them already so "24" and all our favorite TV shows can get back on schedule, and so we don't have to watch fucking publicity craving celebs acting like they really care about the writers not getting paid more than making an appearance for the eyes of the papoz. Mike Eisner, you're still a dick head for this. Anyway Entertainment Weekly went out of their way to put the writer's strike on their cover this week where we will probably get the same story we already got the week before across the web. Perhaps they can tell us all something we don't already know, like the Bush Administration is behind the strike to take attention off of Iraq or something. Who knows! EW Covers the Writer’s Strike [Folio]

maxim gets sophisticated as young lads have discovered that they can now get off on free porn on the web

-BY MARTY Maxim, once known for its raunchy covers and skin lined pages has turned down the heat a bit with the December issue. Having exhausted the whole skin craze in the late 90's Maxim wanted to show a little class by going back to its roots under its new owners at Alpha Media, or so says Editorial Director Jim Kaminsky. If you ask us, its now a straight version of GQ and Details. The new look graces the December issue, whose cover features a La Perla-clad Sarah Michelle Gellar. “The 25- to 26-year-old is a whole lot smarter than he was 10 years ago. The magazine has to be a little more sophisticated than it was when I was here,” said Kaminsky, who was executive editor of Maxim during its glory years of 1999 to 2002.The classier update (December’s style how-to advises on formal wear) hopes Rob Gregory, Maxim group publisher, will help the magazine with high-end fashion and auto advertisers. Ad pages are flat for ’07 owing to advertiser pullback related to the title’s sale, along with softness in automotive, although Gregory said clients are coming back. New clients in December include Diesel and Zune. Maxim Unveils a New Look [MediaWeek]

New magazine from presidential son

-BY ZOE S. Jack Ford son of the late President Gerald Ford, is said to be launching a bi-weekly glossy lifestyle magazine called Mountain Time, that will be inserted into about 20 small daily newspapers in affluent ski resort towns across the West. The first issue will land just in time for stocking stuffing right before Christmas. Can't wait to see how long this one lasts. They plan to produce a bi-weekly glossy lifestyle magazine, Mountain Time, that will be inserted into about 20 small daily newspapers in affluent ski resort towns across the West, with the first issue hitting right before Christmas. The rich gets everything don't they? FORD SON IN START-UP [NYP]

note to ron burkle: noooooooo!

-BY MARTY It looks like billionaire supermarket god Ron Burkle is about to add the embattled tabloid publisher, American Media Inc (AMI) to his collection of companies. If the deal does indeed reach a close, AMI will merge with Source Interlink's media unit. But that's not the kicker. Rumor has it that AMI's incompetent CEO David Pecker will become head of the new company in a management shake up many say is pending at Source Interlink, and to that we say Holy Shit! David Peck in charge of a much bigger operation? If this is true, who slipped something in Ron Burkle's drink during the discussions? Perhaps Pecker himself. Putting the man in charge who religiously misses financial reporting deadlines and puts the blame elsewhere is just beyond comprehension for us. We thought a deal would have been the end of Pecker as we know it. If and when this deal closes, look for heads to roll (that's a given) along with a mass exodus in senior management. Oh God save the underlings. Sources close to the deal expect Pecker to become head of the new company, despite a very rough patch over the last few years that included falling rate bases and restated financials at AMI. Burkle's Coup [Slate]

Hearst's Cathy Black was and probably still is a workaholic who remembered to have kids after she was 40 years old

-BY ZOE S. Hearst Magazines CEO Cathy Black is a woman that has it all, the powerful job, the pay check to go with it, the celebrity friends and no doubt the nice house and cars. But don't you dare say that to her unless you know her definition of having it all. In her recent blog posting on Huffpost.com Cathy tells us about how she was a workaholic in her twenties and that she started to have kids after she was 40 yrs old, but it still worked well for her. Cathy goes on to explain that, every woman has, or should have their own definition of success. For some, success is being home with the kids pulling your hair out. For others like herself it's sitting in the corner office calling the shots. As someone who is often perceived as "having it all," let me just say this outright: I hate that phrase. The implication is that every person wants exactly the same thing, which is completely untrue. You don't have to marry the lawyer or doctor, win the U.S. Open in tennis, and become a CEO all in the same year in order to find success and happiness. Blindly striving to have it all is not the answer. Having what I call a 360° Life isn't about reaching the top in everything you do, it's about achieving balance. It means creating a fully rounded existence, one that encompasses deep satisfaction with your personal life, work, and family. Cathy should really be a regular on Oprah. Seriously I would watch. Basic Black [Huffpost]

Hearst Digital’s TheDailyGreen.com in full bloom

-BY ZOE S. Another magazine publishing company that was slow to hop on the digital media wagon, but is not slow to hop on the "green" bandwagon, Hearst, has launched TheDailyGreen.com, a comprehensive one-stop eco-resource for environmental news, tips and information. As if Al Gore isn't spreading all that already. Never the less Hearst is doing their part. After all their new tower is eco friendly you know! “Hearst is committed to raising environmental awareness and we’re very proud to use our editorial and digital expertise to launch TheDailyGreen.com,” said John Loughlin, executive vice president, general manager, Hearst Magazines. “Led by Deborah Barrow, its founder, and the digital team assembled by Chuck Cordray, vice president of Hearst Magazines Digital Media, we’ve established a powerful new online brand that will enable more people to understand the importance of — and foster participation in — the green revolution.” One-Stop Eco-Resource to Lead a Greener Life for a Better Planet; "The Consumer's Guide to the Green Revolution" [BW]

Following up Jon Friedman's suggestion on Time Inc: If not a sale, how about a diet plan?

-BY SDH We will skip the whole part about how Jeff Bewkes is the new CEO of TimeWarner and the whole story of old media's past. What we will do is chime in on one of our favorite media columnists, Jon Friedman's suggestion that Jeff Bewkes should shake up Time Inc, which we think is right on the money. But perhaps the fact that Time Inc boasts about its size due to the 125 titles it publishes is the very reason the division sucks. Yes there is no excitement; it’s an old media staple that jumped on the digital media wagon a little too late. For this Ann Moore should have been kicked to the curb but her superiors at TimeWarner clearly missed that boat as well. They just launched a corporate website, we're still shocked that this just happened. One of the first things that need to happen at Time Inc is a change at the top. Sure Ann Moore's contract has some time left on it, but pay her to leave and bring in new meat. At the same time, Bewkes should implement a diet plan for the unit, by selling off its less glitzy and, low performing titles trimming the company down to a publisher of about 75-85 publications. Perhaps one of the reasons they held on to so many titles was to keep their status as the biggest. But these days, size doesn't matter. The company needs to also make some strategic acquisitions, scooping up sites they can actually make money from. With all their millions of readers it would make sense to jump into the social networking pool by launching a site for paid magazine subscriber’s only, where they can discuss articles they read in Time Inc's magazines among other things. If Time Inc's senior management is confused about how their digital operation should look, they should look no further than Conde Nast’s CondeNet. Sure Conde has its downs with the whole digital operation allegedly being totally separate from the print operation, but they have a very usable template that Time Inc can use as a foundation to build on. A slimmed down Time Inc with a new leader with the digital DNA, is key to it's future growth. Now the question is whether or not they know that. Related: Why Time Inc. may top Jeff Bewkes' hit list [MarketWatch]

holy shit! Time Inc finally has a corporate website, still no digital ad czar

Wow we cannot believe that after all these years Time Inc finally launched a corporate website and with no fanfare. There is a executive management page featuring not so flattering pictures of the company's senior management team, which by the way only includes one black person. It even includes some individuals who are on their way out the door like Executive VP Mike Klingensmith. Finally we are allowed inside the biggest magazine publisher. Hopefully Conde Nast will add a management page to their site so we can see the people pulling the strings in Si's house. Waytogo Ann and company waytogo. -MARTY Earlier: Time Inc hunts for a digital ad czar. Still has no corporate website

can we get our businessweek cover now please?

It happened, so will Jeff Bewkes cover Businessweek? We think he is worthy of a cover story, especially now.... no? Earlier: We had to do it: We present to you the Businessweek cover that will be

Mary Berner LALLI gagging at RDA

-YOSH RDA queen Mary Berner, according to the New York Post has never made any major editorial moves since taking over as CEO until now. The pretty little lady has tapped Frank Lalli to replace RDA lifer Conrad Kiechel who knew all along he was about to get Berned. This Lalli guy seems to have what Mary needs right now. Lalli was a longtime editor of Money when it was a money mint for Time Inc. in the 1990s, and later served as editor of the late John F. Kennedy Jr.'s George magazine at its demise. He has been a vice president of development at Reader's Digest Association since 2002 and was one of the behind-the-scenes backers of the magazine Every Day with Rachael Ray, which ranks as the second-most successful launch of a new magazine behind Hearst's 2000 launch of O, the Oprah Magazine. BERNER SEES LALLI POP FOR READER'S DIGEST [NYP]

Who said only rock bands have all the fun? Paste Magazine does a Radiohead

Inspired by the experimental rock band Radiohead—which asked fans to pay what they wanted for a digital download of its latest album—Paste magazine announced today it will allow subscribers for the next two weeks to name their own price for an 11-issue, year-long subscription to the magazine. Wow! This will no doubt catch on through out the industry as magazine publishers seek new business and new ways to convince subscribers to stay on. Our verdict on the whole thing, not that it matters, but we think its good stunt, risky, but good. Following Radiohead, Paste to Let Subscribers Name Their Own Price [Folio]

At Time Inc, forced retirements and a new potential Ann Moore successor

TimeWarner is making it clear that current CEO Dick Parsons is staying put until the board says so. However over at Time Inc, a new layout is already taking shape as long time exec Michael Klingensmith has agreed to walk on Time Inc's request. He was one of four underlings reporting directly to CEO Ann Moore who is also scheduled to depart in early 2009 or 2010. This won't be the first or last requested departures as Ann Moore and her bosses at TimeWarner clear the path for her successor. EVP John Squires's name is now being thrown around as a possible replacement for Moore. Klingensmith will retire shortly after the first of the year, leaving just three executive vice presidents reporting to CEO Ann Moore. "They approached me and I sort of jumped at the chance," said Klingensmith. TIME EXEC SAYS HE'LL RETIRE [NYP]

David Pecker seeks to hide his shame

American Media CEO Dave Pecker is said to be looking to hook up with Ron Burkle's Source Interlink companies to save his ass. If you haven't heard of David Pecker then look up the word "Incompetent" and you will see a nice picture of the one time tabloid king. Under his leadership American Media has missed financial deadlines and is in the red. Pecker is no doubt praying for a deal to happen with Source Interlink to help hide some of his fuck ups. We only hope a deal doesn't include him still running the show. According to a person with knowledge of the talks, Burkle and American Media CEO David Pecker are discussing a merger that would combine American Media's titles, which include Star, the National Enquirer and Men's Fitness, with Source Interlink's magazine titles, which range from Motor Trend to Soap Opera Digest. This source said both Burkle and Pecker "believe a deal can be done." For Pecker's sake we hope so. No forget that, for the sake of AMI's employees, we hope so. PECKER AIMS FOR A MERGER [NYP]

Magazine Execs, Editors Say Print Isn't Dead. Of course they are going to stick to saying that. If they admit otherwise, they will lose their jobs

It may have passed over our heads, but did Time Inc find the digital czar they fired people to create a salary for?

Last month we posted about Time Inc's search for a digital czar to come in and grab online advertising by the balls. However we are not sure if they did find their dream guy/girl, or they are still looking? Earlier: Time Inc hunts for a digital ad czar. Still has no corporate website

Businessweek's Young Entrepreneurs list: A mixture of sexy, a touch of creepy and some what the f__k

Businessweek published their (we've lost count) Young Entrepreneurs list and we can't believe some of the ideas these youngsters came up with and are actually making money doing it, but then again this is America. You can sell dirt to a ditch digger and make enough money to summer in the Hamptons, if anyone still does that anyway. The individual that creeps us out this list, is a guy by the name of Amit Nar, who says that he can help you sleep. Now based on how this guy looks, we wouldn't even think of closing our eyes with him standing over us for a half a second. There are are two friends Max Durovic and Michael Kenny who got the bright idea to launch a advertising company that incorporates some clown like behavior by juggling ad signs to get the public's attention or some shit like that. There is another dude by the name of Ashutosh Gupta, a 19 year old who offers financial consulting, yeah like we need some kid to tell us which bill collector to put off paying until next pay period. All in all though the list is further proof that, there is money to be made in this great old country, and that the next generation is already in place to take the baton and run with it. Hell they already got it. At lease no one creeped us out as much as this guy. 2007 Finalists: Best Young Entrepreneurs [BW]