Money Magazines Get Smart Publishing
BY MYRNA BLYTH
"Business is a glorious subject," the editor of the new business magazine the American, James K. Glassman, said. Launched recently by the American Enterprise Institute, the magazine is called the American, Mr. Glassman explained, so no one would think it is merely "a house organ" for AEI, the Washington-based conservative think tank. "Besides, we were really surprised to find out when we were searching for a name that in America there was no magazine called the American."
Mr. Glassman's opinion that business is a great magazine subject is certainly shared by Randall Lane, editor in chief of Dealmaker, another newly hatched publication that is for and about the "acquiring minds" of investment bankers, private equity executives, and venture capitalists. Mr. Glassman said his audience is also a special, elite group: "The American is a magazine for leaders, those C-level executives — the CEOs, CFOs, and COOs — who are interested in the intersection of business and ideas."
Both editors acknowledge they are producing specialized, upmarket publications and both say that is exactly the niche in which they want their magazines to be. "At a time when magazines in general are being somewhat ‘dumbed down' you may have to seek a limited audience to produce the magazine you want," Mr. Glassman said. "I wanted to edit a magazine that was different. Business magazines that are out there have gone tiny. Today, these magazines provide nuts-and-bolts stories on how to climb the corporate ladder. I have written such stories myself. But that's not what I wanted to do as an editor."
Mr. Glassman has had considerable experience in both the editorial and business side of publishing. He was editor of the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call, a business columnist for the Washington Post, publisher of the New Republic, president of the Atlantic Monthly, and executive vice president of U.S. News & World Report. He also spent years as a fellow at AEI.
Now at the American, his broad interests will be well represented. "I wanted excellent business reporting in the magazine, of course, but I also wanted to examine public policy, foreign policy, economics, and the influence business has on our culture," he said.
To focus on that limited but special audience, the American has printed just over 50,000 copies. Half of the circulation is paid, half controlled, with some copies available at airports and at newsstands.
At Dealmaker, Mr. Lane is aiming at a larger circulation of 100,000. He is also editor in chief of Trader Magazine, which has a circulation of 100,000 in America and 50,000 abroad. It features a mix of news, gossip, advice, and information, such as where to buy the "best toys and gear to help you lead the good life." It has proven popular with Wall Street stock and bond traders, as well as the advertisers who want to reach this affluent audience.
Dealmaker has much the same format, but it is targeted at a different audience with a different financial mind set. "Traders are impulsive. Dealmakers, the guys who buy and sell, not stocks and bonds but whole companies, are more analytical. They are always looking for long-term value," Mr. Lane said. "They are just incredibly smart guys."
The first issue of Dealmaker includes a feature on "The 30 Top Rainmakers," an interview with Wall Street icon Sandy Weil, and a description of "The Deal From Hell." It also doesn't stint on giving tips for achieving the good life. There is a one-pager highlighting a $10,000 Valextra Avietta briefcase and a fashion spread that includes a $6,730 Brioni suit. In its way, it is Fortune for the most fortunate.
The American, by contrast, is short on service journalism and long on provocative ideas. The lead story in its premiere issue asks, "Why do we underpay our best CEOs?" It's a rarely asked question these days, while another separates the facts and myths about global warming in a way that would not please Al Gore. A third, written by Dr. Sally Satel, an AEI Fellow and a kidney transplant recipient, argues for a market in organ donations. There is also a look at Mitt Romney's background as a businessman and venture capitalist and an examination of how Congressman Charles Rangel, the new chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, thinks about business.
Both the American and Dealmaker are glossy, highly designed magazines. "I knew the magazine had to entice people, had to look good," Mr. Glassman said. "Our art director Alex Isley was the art director of Spy. It doesn't look like Spy but it has a great look." Mr. Lane said his biggest challenge was photographing some of his dealmakers. "These guys are rock stars in the profession. But they don't exactly look like celebrities. With good photography and design we do make them look like rock stars."
But these two magazines will soon have even more competition. This spring, Condé Nast is introducing Portfolio, edited by Joanne Lippman, formerly an editor at the Wall Street Journal. Although the magazine's prototype is being kept under wraps, the magazine's promotion makes the fulsome claim: "It will change the way you look at business."The company, which publishes consumer magazines like Vogue and Vanity Fair, is investing heavily in Portfolio, which will launch with a 350,000 rate base. Portfolio, like the American, is also sometimes described as "a magazine of business and ideas," while others believe it will be closer to Dealmaker's mix of news, personality profiles, as well as a salute to all the luxury things that big money can buy. "I'd never underestimate Condé Nast, but that's a big circulation number," the publisher of Trader and Dealmaker, Wilkie Bushby, said. "Personally, I am contented with being in a very small, very defined, very elite niche."