Rehm: editorial must come first

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, June, 1990 by Diane Cyr

Publishers must end erosion of editorial integrity, says Meredith CEO in keynote

NEW YORK CITY-Editorial integrity is the one thing that will steer publishers through today's muddle of alternative media, foreign competition and discounted rate cards, maintained Jack Rehm, president and CEO of Meredith Corporation.

Delivering the keynote address at Magazine Publishing Conference/Spring, Rehm emphasized that editorial excellence is the groundwork for success.

"I can't think of any successful magazine that started without an editor's vision, " he said, adding that "the editor is the key link to the readers. If editor is the key link to t that link is compromised in any way, or if the reader even senses editorial compromise, it could mean the magazine's undoing."

And more and more, he said, compromise is eroding editorial. "Too often, we read or hear about editors being pressured to do something for the benefit of advertisers," he declared, quoting a Folio: Survey in which 41 percent of consumer magazine editors said editorial had been "seriously compromised" by a request from an ad director or publisher. See FOLIO:, December 1989, Ad vs. edit: The pressure mounts, page 92.)

"Editorial vitality is our livelihood," he said. "It's what we have to sell. In reality, it's the only thing we have to sell." Don't cut ad rates

For that reason, Rehm took to task publishers who discount ad rates, thereby encouraging advertisers "to think of magazines as mere commodities."

By cutting rates, "we're cutting our own throats. it undermines our editorial efforts. our willingness to discount rates only makes one publication seem like all the rest."

Instead, he suggested, publishers can put unique editorial to work by creating custom marketing programs for advertisers-much as Meredith created custom programs for Kraft and Sherwin-Williams.

Furthermore, he said, despite doomsaying about the industry, the "love affair" between readers and magazines has helped print grow, even as consumers are flooded with cable, video and other electronic media. And smart publishers, he added, will extend that "love affair" overseas, particularly as foreign publishers stake their claims here.

"The commerce department says global expansion will be essential for U.S. publishers seeking growth for mature special interest magazines," Rehm stated. "The rate of growth in worldwide ad expenditures will likely favor overseas markets. And astute U. S. publishers will not ignore it. "

Pursuing foreign ventures "will take knowledge, courage, hard work and money. But, most of all, it will take editorial excellence. "