Fast Times plans an Eastern European crusade

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, May 1, 1991 by Lisa I. Fried

SANTA MONICA, CALIF.- Steve Posner is a current events crusader. His newsmagazine, Fast Times, helps 580,000 American high school students digest world events. Now Eastern European teachers want it too.

Last fall, Posner sent copies of his eight-year-old magazine to high school teachers in Romania, Poland and Hungary, with an eye toward a new launch. About 650 high school teachers, largely from Romania, told him they want Fast Times for their classes, but not in their native tongues. "They want the same exact issues we get in the United States, in English, covering the news," says Posner, obviously surprised. "The ads are for some products not even distributed there."

The information void in Eastern Europe is so great, young people often rely on Western media to keep them current, says international publishing consultant Lee Hall. Democracies may be emerging, but you would never know it from reading the history books. Enter Fast Times, which Posner hopes will become a print version of Voice of America.

Fast Times covers breaking news and is supported by questions designed to spur classroom discussion. Posner says it aims to combat "political stupidity in the classroom."

By September, he hopes to start sending the magazine free of charge to Eastern European schools. First he needs to line up hinding, since the venture will not produce revenue. (Posner and publisher Jeffrey Lederman are not ready to tackle Eastern Europe ad sales.)

He knows it will be expensive. In the United States, shipping his magazines to high schools accounts for half his monthly production costs. The U.S. Information Agency has agreed to help him orchestrate the transportation quagmire that awaits him in Eastern Europe.

Meanwhile, Posner is seeking corporate sponsorship at home. One of his advertisers, Cliffs Notes, plans to donate copies of their study aids to the Eastern European schools that will get Fast Times.

Profit is certainly not driving Posner into Eastern Europe. "I probably won't make money on this. But it's truly important. What you can discuss in a high school classroom without being labeled unpatriotic is a litmus test for a healthy democracy. Fast Times provides the opportunity for those discussions, and I would like to export that. "