November 25, 2013 Media Industry Newsletter Vol. 66 No. 45 New York, N.Y. www.minonline.com Steve Smith's Eye on Innovation on "The Atlantic's" TheWire: WHEN DID THE NEWS GET SO "SOCIAL," ANYWAY? The relaunched and rebranded Atlantic Wire (now just TheWire) has embraced the trend of "social news," but this certainly was not always the case. When it launched in 2009, the aggregation arm of The Atlantic hardly could be more buttoned-down despite its interactive airs. The original iteration collected opinion pieces mainly around trending topics and was best known for its Atlantic 50 collection of columnists that it ranked and ex- cerpted. Talk about old school: news as massive op-eds from influencers like Michael Kinsley, David Brooks and Paul Krugman, with Arianna Huffington and Rachel Maddow breaking the boys' club. Four years later, TheWire.com has been repositioned after two years under former Gawker editor Gabriel Snyder. He and his 15-person staff are social-savvy and monitor the stories that are trending in order to both summarize and contextualize them for an audience that doesn't want to miss a thing. (continued on page 4) TWITTER AND PINTEREST OFFER PUBLISHERS NEW TOOLS. If you hadn't noticed, content–especially branded content with marquee value–is regain- ing some of its luster now that Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Vine are now openly competing with one another to prove their value to marketers and media partners. (continued on page 8) JOIN US ON DECEMBER 3 TO CELEBRATE min's MOST INTRIGUING These 25 executives–including Galvanized Brands CEO David Zinczenko and Men's Health editor-in-chief Bill Phillips (see page 6)–made a difference in 2013. Plus, our breakfast at New York's Grand Hyatt celebrates the top editor, top publish- er, Samir Husni's top launches and much more. See the ad in this issue or go to http://www.minonline.com/intriguingfinalists_2013/. -------------- min HOLIDAY CONTEST: GUESS TIME'S 2013 PERSON OF THE YEAR The anticipation is heightened with the December 11 selection being the first by Time managing editor Nancy Gibbs. A possible hint came from her tough, December 2 cover story on the current debacle surrounding Obamacare. Details are on page 9. -------------- THE NEXT min: DECEMBER 9 We're back in two weeks, but keep up to date through minonline in the interim. Have a happy Thanksgiving. • IT IS ALREADY 2014 FOR THE AD 100; DAN LAGANI IS "GLAM"....... Page 2 • STEVE SMITH'S DIGITAL PRAISE TO HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, CN VIDEO.. Page 3 • APPS BEING A KEY TO THE PURCHASE JOURNEY ARE A "DUTCH TREAT".. Page 6 • NOV. 19 WAS BAD (2012) AND GOOD (2013) FOR DAVID ZINCZENKO.... Page 6 • SALUTING min's AWARD-WINNERS, HALL-OF-FAMERS AND DANA COWIN.. Page 10 www.minonline.com © 2013 Access Intelligence, LLC. Federal copyright law prohibits unauthorized reproduction by any means and imposes fines of up to $100,000 for violations. PAGE 2 MIN 11/25/2013 "ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST'S" AD 100 HAPPY NEW YEAR! This is the only major magazine signature that we know of not to be an annual. Further, the Architectural Digest 100 top interior designers' January issue date puts it nearly alone as a standout–when it runs. Which it is in January 2014, as AD editor-in-chief (since August 2010) Margaret Russell continues the every-other-year tradition established by 1975-2010 predecessor Paige Rense. "The first 100 was in 1990 and Paige waited until 1995 before releasing the second," says Russell, "because she was concerned about keeping it fresh and not being repetitive. Then, the 100 went to every three years to every two, which is why the 2014 list is only our 10th in 24 years. And it is my second." That keeps the list fresh, yet in the January 2014 issue (pictured), just 13 of the designers or companies are new. The reason is that Russell's Janu- ary 2012 100 debut had 53 changes. "We needed it then, and although 2014 may seem status quo, I expect more in 2016 and beyond because there is a lot of great young talent deserving recognition." Also status quo are the issue's 128 ad pages (newcomers include GE Capital and Arhaus Furniture), which match January 2012. "I am very happy, because there is no longer the 'curiosity' about Margaret, which naturally height- ened interest," says AD vp/publisher (since February 2007) Giulio Capua. "We maintained the momentum after just 92 ad pages in January 2010. We nearly matched that in the January 2013 'off-year' with 87 ad pages in Inside Secrets of the AD 100." What makes Russell popular on the business side is that unlike Rense, the 2000-2010 Elle Decor alumna embraces events. That is why the first AD 100 party at New York's Guggenheim Museum was a huge success, and Russell expects the same with the second on November 25 at The Four Seasons' famed Pool Room. Although the Guggenheim is in the swank Upper East Side, the Four Seasons' midtown venue has the advantage of being "closer." Post Thanksgiving, Capua will host AD's third Oasis on Dec. 5-7 during Art Basel at the James Royal Palm Hotel in Miami Beach. AT&T, Kohler and Porsche are among the part- ners, with Russell participating there and at nearby Design Miami, where she will be giv- ing a presentation. NEW GLAM MEDIA PRESIDENT DAN LAGANI IS–SorT of–EMULATING BIG-BROTHER JOE. They have crossed paths a bit during their distinguished careers (working concurrently but not with each other at Meredith National Media Co. and Condé Nast), but never were they key executives at the same brand until Dan's November 21 hire as Glam Media presi- dent/chief revenue officer. The now-Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia chief revenue officer Joe Lagani was head of Glam Living from 2007-2009, when selling digital advertising was a novelty. "Glam was structurally different at the time, but Joe working there gave me fa- miliarity with the brand and with [2004 founder] Samir Arora, who hired me. Joe paved many great paths in my career, and he has been a great supporter of mine as a brother and as an important person in the media business." "GARDEN & GUN'S" MADE IN THE SOUTH JUBILEE IS DECEMBER 6-8. If your are in the seven-year-old Garden & Gun's Charleston, S.C., hometown post-Thanks- giving weekend, check it out. The fare–naturally–is very Southern as the "Ultimate Oyster Roast" and a "Pit Master's Pig Roast" would attest, and so, of course, is the hospitality. Partner is the Charleston Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, and this is a piece of Ameri- cana that is both antebellum and very cool. Editor-in-Chief: Steven Cohn ([email protected]) 203/899-8437 Digital Media Editor: Steve Smith ([email protected]) 302/691-5331 VP Content: Tony Silber; Group Sales Director: John Ellertson ([email protected]); Marketing Director: Kate Schaeffer ([email protected]); Assistant Marketing Manager: Marly Zimmerman ([email protected]); Associate Editor: Caysey Welton ([email protected]); Editorial Intern: Jennifer Silber ([email protected]); Senior Account Executive: Tania Babiuk ([email protected]); Contributing Editor: Cathy Applefeld Olson; Boxscores ([email protected]) SVP, Media Group: Diane Schwartz; Access Intelligence, LLC President & Chief Executive Officer: Don Pazour; Division President: Heather Farley; Subscriptions/Client Services: 888-707-5814; List Sales: Statlistics, 203-778-8700; Advertising: 203-899-8460; Reprints: Wright’s Media, 877-652-5295 ([email protected]); Editorial Offices: 10 Norden Place, Norwalk, CT 06855; 88 Pine Street, Suite 510, New York, NY 10005; Faxes: 203-854-6735, 212-621-4879; www.minonline.com Access Intelligence LLC, 4 Choke Cherry Road, 2nd Floor, Rockville, MD 20850; Ph: 301-354-2000 Published 2013 © by Access Intelligence LLC. Distributed via email and online. For email and postal address changes, allow 2 weeks notice. Send to: Client Services or call 888-707-5814. For advertising info contact 301/ 354-1629. Contents may not be reproduced in any form without written permission. MIN 11/25/2013 PAGE 3 Steve Smith's App Review: "HOLLYWOOD REPORTER" ADDS CELEB FASHION TO AN ALREADY STYLISH ADAPTIVE DESIGN. The celebrity fashion genre is now so powerful online, it was just a matter of time be- fore the media business trades took a stab at it. In mid-November, The Hollywood Reporter launched a new style section cleverly called Prêt-à-Reporter (available at Pretareporter. com or at THR.com/style). What makes the new site noteworthy on the app front is that it seems especially well-suited to devices in layout and topic. In fact, when we access the area of THR on the Web, it feels as if it wants to be viewed on a tablet or a smartphone. This is one of the rare sites we found where its adaptive deigns actually made Pretareporter.com work best on a smartphone. The site aggregates and highlights THR's recent move towards celebrity- driven trade news reporting. Rather than the red-carpet reporting that dominates the celebrity weeklies' take on the topic, this is more feature and news driven. The online version of THR's story on stars and their de- sign and beauty experts was done especially well. The slideshows fill the screen, and transitions between galleries and articles are seamless. This Web destination feels more like an app than many actual apps. The Web layout is actually more attractive in this scroll of images with over- laid headlines. The navigation menu slides in and is extensive to give lat- eral access into more granular topics.