When Si takes on Fairchild.

Crain's New York Business, November, 1999 by Brady, James

As I see it, the most significant fact in all those Conde Nast shifts last week is that the execs who now will be running recently absorbed Fairchild Publications will report directly to the boss, Si Newhouse. Mary Berner, who's been one of Conde Nast's hottest tickets, becomes prez and CEO of Fairchild, while Chairman and Edit Director Patrick McCarthy stays in those roles.

For all the glitz (and revenues) of Fairchild's W and the energy of Jane, the company's real power still derives from its excellent trade journalism: specifically, WWD, or Women's Wear Daily. The fashion biz is worldwide, huge, complicated and often absurd, and the single most authoritative source for accurate fashion news and information is that little daily newspaper, WWD. And it...