Roberta Garfinkle - senior vice president director of print media at Universal McCann

Brandweek, Dec 6, 1999 by Lisa Granatstein

What hasn't changed in the media buying process is the well-worn path that leads to Garfinkle's office. Over the years, Garfinkle has taught the industry's top publishers a thing or two about the business. "I remember Roberta was very understanding of my position--that I knew absolutely nothing and she explained her clients' business to me," recalls Berner, who first called on Garfinkle in 1982 when she was a sales rep for Working Woman, now owned by MacDonald Communications. "I always remembered her because she was very honest and she was very understanding."

Ask her for opinion and you're sure to get it. "Regardless of what magazine I was representing," says Cynthia Lewis, vp/publisher of Hearst Magazines' Marie Claire, "she was probably the strongest directional voice in terms of ensuring that I was calling on the right people, and I was delivering the service that was expected."

Equally important, Garfinkle is connected. She seems to know everybody in the industry. "Boy, is she in the know," says Berner, laughing. "When I went from TV Guide to Glamour I told [Conde Nast president/CEO] Steve Florio that I would accept. I swear, not two hours later I got a phone call from Roberta. She tracked me down in L.A."

"She's always there for a good salient comment on deadline and has an encyclopedic knowledge of the entire industry past, present and going forward," says The New York Post's Keith Kelly. "For a reporter, she's an invaluable resource."

And maybe that's one reason why she is called on by the publishing industry so often. Garfinkle insists that it comes down to a very simple reason. "I answer my phone," she says.

In fact, being quoted in the press was part of Garfinkle's job description at McCann-Erickson. It was her responsibility to get the agency's name in print when a magazine story dealt with one of its clients. At first, Garfinkle admits she was terrified. "I used to think that I'm going to make some kind of statement and 42,000 people are going to read it and they're all going to be sitting there thinking, 'That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.'"

So far, there's been no sign of foot-in-mouth disease. By all accounts, the publishing industry expects Garfinkle to continue dispensing advice and analysis for a long time to come.

So, Roberta, what future awaits magazines? Will the Internet kill the publishing star? Garfinkle dismisses that notion outright. "I don't think by any stretch of the imagination anyone is going to be wringing their hands any time soon," says Garfinkle in her characteristically shoot-from-the-hip style. "You're not going to curl up in bed with a computer. You're not going to take the computer to the beach. Magazines are here to stay.

"Let's hope so, at least until I decide to get out of the business."