The Mail

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Nov 1, 2002

REVIEWS

The magazine looks great! Who knew our boring industry could be so interesting and lively? A.J. Jacobs Senior Editor Esquire New York, New York

Just got the new issue [September 2002], and it looks and reads great. I don't think I have ever seen a publication turn so quickly with a forceful sense of editorial energy. Great cover, cover lines, compelling-to-read FOB, nice piece by Golson [My Internet Life and Death, page 26], timely and lively cover story, and a superb ender. Clearly FOLIO: is being run by someone who loves magazines. John Brady Brady & Paul Communications Newburyport, Massachusetts

Congrats on the ever-improving FOLIO:! You are putting some badly needed guts back into reinvigorating the [magazine], and the result is a better and more essential read. Christopher Meigher Quest New York, New York

Really enjoyed FOLIO: [September 2002]. I was surprised. It's a really good read. And it looks great. Dana Kennedy Entertainment Editor MSNBC Secaucus, New Jersey

I am a relatively new subscriber to FOLIO:, but I can see in the progression of three issues the impact that [the new editor] has had at the magazine. It is punchier, funnier, [with] lots of zip. Lisa Watts Editor Wooster Magazine Wooster, Ohio

The new look, feel, and content of FOLIO: has vastly improved. Congratulations. Unsolicited, our managing directors have spontaneously made very positive comments about the value that FOLIO: now brings to the reader. And don't forget they are all highly experienced publishing executives who are generally cynical about magazine changes because they have seen so many that are only superficial, but not in this case.

We thought the Jill Fraser's article "Where's the Money Now?" [October, page 36] was an excellent overview of the M&A marketplace that should help get back that all-important senior publishing executive readership as much of your other content is doing. Roland A. DeSilva Managing Partner DeSilva & Phillips New York, New York

THE UN-MEDIUM

Simon Dumenco's assessment of the new magazines' "non-magazine" status was dead-on [The Un-Magazines, September 2002, page 9]. I've always said we're among the first using magazines as a medium, without the obligatory baggage of journalistic legacy. A magazine is a couple hundred blank pages, and with today's design tools, printing processes, and supercharged brains, literally anything's possible. There's still a lot of institutional handwringing at the kind of broad changes afoot now, but I suppose the first step in forging any new cultural movement is to make absolutely certain the previous generation don't get it. Dumenco is the first to state the rules of the game correctly, I think. Keith Blanchard Editor-in-Chief Maxim New York, New York

Thanks to Simon Dumenco for his kind words about Men's Health [The Un-magazines]. And more important, thanks for "getting it." Much of the rest of the industry doesn't, which is why winning a National Magazine Award is the kiss of death: You can win one only if you're publishing 12,000-word stories, and if you're publishing those, you're probably hemorrhaging readers, too. Dave Zinczenko Editor-in-Chief Men's Health New York, New York

THE TRUTH ABOUT TRANSLATIONS

As the consumer marketing director for People en Espanol, I'm writing to point out that our title is not a "translated" version of People as claimed in FOLIO: [April, What Hispanic Women Want, page 65]. While on occasion our editors pick up stories that appear in the English language magazine, these stories represent less than 5 percent of our editorial content. In other words, 95 percent of our editorial is written expressly for Spanish-language readers - a key factor in our continued success among Hispanic readers in the U.S. Jose Raul Perez Aguilera Consumer Marketing Director People en Espanol New York, New York

FOLIO: welcomes your letters.

Please send them to foliomail@mediacentral.com or The Mail, FOLIO: Magazine, 470 Park Avenue South, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10016. Please be sure to include your name, title, address, and daytime phone number. Letters may be edited for clarity and length.