Historic: Time has published its 15th Barack Obama cover. Gazing upon this outpouring of unadulterated Baracknophilia, one can only wonder if there are any new ways left of showing this man on a magazine cover.
Anna Wintour has given filmmaker R.J. Cutler an extraordinary gift: Not only did she allow his cameras into the Vogue offices and her family, the editor also revealed her (remaining) human side.
Kurt Andersen is, at long last, giving up his column in New York, the magazine he edited 12 years ago. Now he has time for things that are, somehow, even less important.
In your grim Wednesday media column: Mandatory "furloughs," flagging magazines, canceled parties, and no more fancy office plants:
• Bad news: Magazine ad pages were down 11% in 2008 and 17% in the fourth quarter. Good news: They now take up less room in your bag. [AdAge]
• New York magazine is cutting editors' salaries. [ATD]
• Both OK! and the Star are laying off staff. [Jossip]
• Obama is expected to tap Julius Genachowski as FCC chair. [B&C]
• MSNBC plans to broadcast the inauguration at Starbucks locations. [NYT]
• Literary agent David Vigliano has filed suit against Lenny Dykstra. [NYP]
• John Mayer is taping a new pilot for CBS. [People]
• American Idol's debut roped in more than 30 million viewers last night, but that's down 10 percent compared to last year's premiere. [Reuters]
In today's media column: Time Inc still firing people, Plenty folds, a new FCC chief, a crazy media idea that won't work, and more!
Monday is a great day for a media column! Today: The good news is more international reporting; the bad news is black people (and bloggers!) are still fighting the power, in the US of A:
• NBC's Lauren Zalaznick is forming a "panel" to help marketers target women. Just a few who have joined the program: Maria Bartiromo, Meredith Vieira, Candace Bushnell, Shelly Lazarus, and Tori Spelling. [AdAge]
• Hearst's Cathie Black is expected to sign a new 3-year contract. [NYP]
• The FT has let 80 people go. [Guardian]
• The first Madoff-related book, Catastrophe: The Story of Bernard L. Madoff, The Man Who Swindled the World, will be out in March. [NYP]
• ABC is thinking about bringing back Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. [TVW]
• Magazines like O, Glamour, W, Marie Claire and Teen Vogue all posted sharp declines in sales during the last few months of 2008. [WWD]
• The networks that went home winners at the Golden Globes. [Variety, NYT]
Your Friday media column is here! Today, possible newspaper death, sort-of magazine rebirth, news anchor lateral movement, and more chomping action:
Can Wenner Media go three weeks without another spurt of layoffs? Probably not, judging by its recent history. The latest seemingly whimsical cuts came earlier today.
It turns out Plenty was paying attention to the wrong climate change: A tipster tells us the environmental magazine laid off almost the entire staff today after a funding round fell through.
