No trouble empathizing with readers: editor Kate White was seven months pregnant when she left Child to take on Working Woman

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Sept 1, 1990 by Lisa I. Fried

NEW YORK CITY-A new editorial section-The Busy Life-makes its debut in working Woman this month. If editor in chief Kate White needs anecdotes, she can certainly draw on her own work/family stresses. After all, when she assumed her current post last October, she was seven months pregnant.

Even then, she knew all too well the challenges of balancing career and family-she'd documented them while at Child.

"I had felt very happy in my job, she says of her year-and-a-half stint as editor in chief of Child. But the opportunity to direct Working Woman was too good for her to pass up-even with her baby on the way. "Even though it might be crazy, I knew I wouldn't have the opportunity again."

While she says all the pieces came together for her, she wouldn't necessarily recommend such a move to other pregnant women, unless they're "really passionate" about it.

You begin to understand why, as White describes her work life during this past year. "Wild and crazy," she says, is an accurate summary. Staff support helped her get through it, and hiring former co-worker Lee Lusardi as her executive editor proved "a salvation. " White also has a savior on the home front: Her husband, television anchor Brad Holbrook, has worked at night for some time, leaving him available for trips to the pediatrician and grocery store during the day. No pregnant pauses

Lang Communications president Dale Lang never mentioned White's pregnancy while considering her for the job. And when she broached the subject, he told her to work out the situation however she liked. Lang, whose company also publishes Working Mother and Ms., is used to seeing women juggle work and family responsibilities. "There was a point when four editors [at the company] were pregnant at once," says Lang spokesperson Andrea Kaplan.

Still, it's hard to imagine many companies hiring a pregnant editor in chief In White's case, the previous editor in chief, Anne Mollegen Smith, had left two months before, and it was particularly crucial that the new editor establish a strong presence from day one.

White rose to the challenge, but not without setbacks. The day she gave birth, she was on the phone to the office. Soon after, she was holding editorial meetings in and working out of her home. She eased herself back into the office full-time over three months, but the pace proved too fast for her body. Like many new mothers, she caught pneumonia. "The doctor said, You may have to go into the hospital.' I said, just let me go into the office,' " White recalls.

While those days are behind her, things haven't slowed down. In recent months, White and her staff have been tackling updating the magazine's editorial and design.

"Women have changed so much since I started [working] in 1972. Yet so many of the women's magazines are dealing with the same issues: fat, men and sex," notes White, who started her editorial career at Glamour and later held several editorial positions at Mademoiselle. In contrast, she feels that WW's editorial has evolved over the years, and she is determined to ensure that it continues to do so.

When Lang bought the troubled title in 1976, it was skewed to serving pink-collar women. It was repositioned in 1979. Today, most of its readers have attained at least middle management status.

The editorial mission of the magazine hasn't changed: The WW reader wants information about how to perform most effectively at work. But the delivery is different.

"Our reader is more experienced today and open to new points of view, " White explains, noting that provocative articles tend to receive high marks on readership surveys. "We're not going to be as earnest as we've been in the past. Business women aren't feeling like extra-terrestrials anymore. They don't have to play it so safe. The tone of the magazine will reflect that." Shedding gender focus

Readers now read features like "Greed is good and other management lessons at Drexel." WW will still be full of management advice, but it's now more likely to be "gender blind." By excessively stressing gender differences, "we've almost given women a handicap," White says. "A reader wants to know how to be a great speaker, not if you're a woman, you should be aware that the audience may think X.'"

Profiles will take a more critical tone. If there are warts, we'll mention them," White says. Writers have been instructed to dig deeper. An upcoming article on Felice Schwartz, who coined the phrase "The Mommy Track," is titled, "Who is Felice Schwartz and why is she saying all these terrible things about us?"

To give such editorial changes their full impact, a redesign was in order, as well. The full redesign is expected to be complete with the September issue. Several departments are being renamed, and bolder, splashier artwork will accompany editorial.

'Wild factor' in redesign

Specifically, White hopes to bring a more businesslike look to front-of-the-book departments, while the feature well will "have a wild factor that will catch the reader by surprise. "