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.

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.

Mary Berner spent her first year as RDA CEO building her team, with it now in place, what’s next for the Berner Administration?

-SDH It seems like it was just yesterday that Mary Berner was strategically demoted at Conde Nast, seeing her roll as CEO of Fairchild Publications chopped down. It seems like just yesterday that it was announced that she would take over as Reader's Digest Association CEO. Time really does fly. Come March 2nd of this year, Mary Berner will be in her current roll for a year. What has she accomplished in this short time? In our opinion, quite a bit as far as changes go. She wasted no time bringing in familiar faces from her Fairchild days and elsewhere to make RDA feel like home. Under her watch Reader's Digest got a long overdue makeover in print and online. Sure there were some long time subscribers who weren't pleased with the changes but the magazine had to be brought into the current times and Berner green lighted that. What's down the road for the Berner lead RDA? New launches, foldings, layoffs, merger, Internet acquisitions? All of the above? Most of this depends on the economy and how well RDA is doing. Here are some hi-lites of Mary Berner's first year in office. March 2, 2007: Ripplewood Holdings completes RDA acquisition, names Mary CEO March 13, 2007: Mary Begins her raid on Si's house, brings in Eva Dillon to serve as President and Group Publisher of Reader's Digest Magazine March 15, 2007: Continues the raid on Si's house and brings in Suzanne Grimes as President, Food and Entertaining for RDA March 19, 2007: Mary retains old RDA regime member William Adler to Head Communications at RDA March 20, 2007: Retains another old RDA regime member Michael S. Geltzeiler in the newly created roll of President, Consumer Business Services November 7, 2007: Joins forces with Discovery Networks Asia to launch Discovery Channel Magazine in Asia which should be happening next month by the way. Novemeber 9, 2007: Berner brings in the hottish Peggy Northrop as Editor-In-Chief of Reader’s Digest Magazine , our redears say they would hit it. How well is this administration working together? Only time will tell.

Is it just us, or does Reader's Digest Association have some of the hottest women in the magazine game?

The folks at Reader's Digest Association are all about making sure that the females on their editorial and/or executive team are looking their best if and when they are ever the subject of an article or blog posting. Case in point, we just got an email from RDA's Director of Public Relations, Ellen Morgenstern instructing us to use the picture (right) with future mentions of Eva Dillon and we have to say..........Huba Huba!!!! RDA ruler Mary Berner is outfitting that whole operation with some nice looking ladies and you know, Media Wire Daily loooooooves the ladies. It would be nice to have recent pics of Mary, Peggy and others as well….. hint hint!! With that said today’s poll: EVA DILLON: WOULD YOU HIT IT? HELL TO THE YES MAYBE NOT EVEN ON A COLD WINTER NIGHT

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]

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]

Morning Wire: CMP Media tries to see into the future | Berner and Co.go digital

Our favorite girl in the magazine game, Mary Berner is whipping Reader's Digest into digital shape via underling Jackie Leo, editor-in-chief of Reader’s Digest. The magazine will make available, never before seen and/or read content for Sony's new e-book store, Connect. Not ground breaking, but its a good move in the right direction we think. As far as Ms. Leo not expecting any kind of revenue from the arrangement, makes clear that the goal is to promote the brand, or is it because Ms. Leo knows that most people wont shell out $6.36 or $9.56. Hell we would rather spend that over at iTunes or something, but that's just us. [Folio] In other News, Long Island based CMP Media is already spending the money they saved after their recent mega layoff, and why not, that was the plan right? The company is taking a psychic route with their latest launch called Internet Evolution which the company says will help them “investigate the future of the Internet.” The site is made up of the usual smusual. [Folio]

What happened to Mary Berner?

Is it just us, or has former Fairchild boss turned Reader's Digest ruler Mary Berner gained some weight since her Conde days? We didn't notice it at first but when we finally! got our copy of Folio magazine last week with Berner on the cover we noticed something different. Gone were the semi sharp features and perfectly groomed hair. Now Berner, at least on her Folio cover looks like the typical suburban stay at home mommy who doesn't have the time to spruce up. We are big Berner fans no doubt, but her recent Folio Magazine cover shocked us. Berner's hair looks finger combed, what looks like a double chin is now present and her smile seems to be hiding stress. Who at RD if anyone allowed this photo to be used for the cover? You should be canned for not making sure they caught our Mary on her good side, on a good day. Oh well, it is what it is! We love you Mary.

Mary Berner and company on the hunt for new meat at Reader's Digest

Reader's Digest CEO Mary Berner is still trying to fill some open slots. Clearly Berner's team is still in the process of building the team. For an industry which saw the closings of many print and online publications this year, there sure are a lot of job openings. Circjobs.com

Berner getting her footing at Reader's Digest!

-SDH When former Fairchild Publications shot caller Mary Berner took over as CEO of Reader's Digest Association, naturally she felt like an outsider among company lifers. So she did what any new dictator would do when they come into power, out with the old and in with people loyal to them. Its no secret that Berner raided her old nest for talent and now the dust seems to be settling. But with the dust almost settled, many can now see clearly if Berner will deliver new and refreshing results. Berner had a chat with Folio Magazine and explained why she did what she did and what she plans to do next so she can have another sit down with Folio sibling magazine Circulation Manager to tell them why she did what she did after she told Folio her plans to do what she is now telling Circulation Manager. Did we lose you? Yeah. Happens all the time. Tough Love [Folio]

Morning Wire: And now this morning's worthy media news...

NBC Universal's Bravo snatches TelevisionWithoutPity.com because they aint got no pitty [Reuters] Don't forget. Lawyers also go on to become bloggers too you know [Reuters] Sony-BMG may have decided to leave the marketing of kids music to the kid kings at Disney [Reuters] New Readers Digest CEO Mary Berner is serving up a dish of revenge to her former boss Conde Nast CEO Chuck Townsend for shifting her out of her old gig. However we think Chuck will swallow it without chewing. [NYP] Don't fuck with or go against former Disney dictator Mike Eisner when he makes an offer for the company you're a board member of [NYP]

We bet you don't remember Strauss "I'm Mr. Zelnick" Zelnick?

-Shomari Hines Speaking of Reader's Digest. Mary Berner isn't the only one who came out on top after Ripplewood Holdings' $2.4 billion purchase of Reader's Digest Association. Remember that cool cat who most recently was the head of BMG Music? The dude that forced then Arista Records CEO Clive Davis to step off? Yeah Strauss Zelnick? Well apparently his firm ZelnickMedia pocketed a sweet $90 million after the Readers Digest deal closed last week. Lost in the media coverage of private equity firm Ripplewood Holdings' purchase of Reader's Digest Association was the company's simultaneous purchase of Time-Life, which resulted in a roughly $90 million profit for media mogul Strauss Zelnick's investment firm. See what taking Time Warner's stepchild business of their hand can do? ZELNICK NETS $90M [NYP]