Say it ain’t so! Vogue will switch to an occasional print publishing frequency

When Vogue announced the appointment of a new director of editorial content this week, the first part of the story pretty much wrote itself. Anna Wintour, legendary in her own right and the inspiration for the novel and movie, “The Devil Wears Prada,” is taking a step back into a corporate role. Her successor is Chloe Malle, a live-wire 39-year-old, with a show business pedigree.

What caught my eye was that Malle told The New York Times that among her plans are to publish a print Vogue issue when a moment warrants it rather than at its historical monthly cadence. Magazines face their own version of a challenging pivot to digital; Malle has run Vogue’s for the last two years. Additionally, commentaries on Vogue argue that it faces the challenge of influencers who are trying to hijack the publication’s longtime role as style setter. Still, what could be more of a match to glossy print than Vogue, with its heavy reliance on elegant still photography? Its September fall fashion issue regularly ran to 800 or more pages in the glory days. It even clocked in at over 900 in 2012, and this year’s checked in at a still hefty 376. 

If Vogue no longer works as a print monthly, what magazine does?

As paraphrased by the Times reporter, “Ms. Malle believes issues should be released…around specific themes or cultural moments…These issues should be viewed more as collectible editions, printed on thick, high-quality paper. Her first print issue will most likely be published next year.”

That looks to be a sound editorial and business strategy. A themed occasion can excite audience interest compared to the same old, same old monthly format. Advertisers, too, love special editions on the theory that readers may keep them indefinitely rather than tossing them. 

To be determined, I suppose, which topics and cultural moments clear the hurdle to be memorialized in print. I also wonder whether subscribers will still be asked to pay $72 a year for print + digital without knowing how many print issues they’ll get. 

Though young, Malle is a 15-year Vogue veteran who upgraded the magazine’s wedding coverage. I’m no fashionista – what exactly is the garment Emma Stone is wearing on the September cover? But I do recognize that the digital presentation is elegant – and timely, with a full obituary Wednesday for Giorgio Armani.

As to her family ties, Malle is the daughter of actress Candace Bergen and film director Lewis Malle. She described herself to the Times as “a proud nepo baby.” 

By Rick Edmonds

Kansas City, MO Event: Poynter’s 50th Anniversary Exhibit

Step into the story of how journalism has changed and where it’s headed. Poynter’s "Moments of Truth: An Exploration of Journalism’s Past, Present, and Future" exhibit runs September 4–12 at The National WWI Museum and Memorial and features a series of free media literacy events. The program concludes with a community conversation on journalism’s evolution from radio broadcasts to social media and what that means for the future of news.

See the event lineup

Bari Weiss to CBS?

The deal wasn’t done, but the chatter was loud: David Ellison’s pursuit of Paramount came with speculation that Bari Weiss was in line for a job.

That didn’t go over well with CBS staffers. Weiss, the former New York Times opinion writer, became infamous for columns that called liberals the “new fascists,” argued the #MeToo movement had gone too far and defended the Times’ decision to run Sen. Tom Cotton’s op-ed calling for troops to be deployed on American streets.

Not long after, she left the Times and founded The Free Press, which describes itself as covering “stories that are ignored or misconstrued in the service of an ideological narrative.” Its columns often deliver contrarian takes with spit-take headlines. Thursday’s lineup included: “In Defense of Inequality,” “Another Reason Not to Trust the ‘Experts’” and “Is There a Dumber Housing Policy Than Rent Control?”

Rumors that Weiss would take a senior leadership role at CBS were overshadowed by other headlines: the $1.5 billion renewal of “South Park” and the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show.”

But Puck’s Dylan Byers reported Wednesday that Weiss is on the verge of joining CBS and bringing The Free Press with her. The deal is said to fall “well above the site’s most recent $100 million valuation, but well below the $200 million figure recently floated in the Financial Times.” That’s despite the outlet making $15 million in annual subscription revenue and operating almost entirely on Substack.

In his Status newsletter, CNN’s Oliver Darcy captured the reaction inside the network.

“CBS News staffers are already buzzing — and bracing — for impact,” he wrote. “The network that was one home to Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite now faces the prospect of being reshaped by a figure who has built her entire career around polarizing politics.”

CBS has survived wars, scandals and ratings battles. But a Bari Weiss era would be something new entirely.

By Ren LaForme

Media tidbits and links for your weekend review

• Speaking of … Jeremy Barr reports that Ellison sent a memo to staff saying they will be expected to work from the office five days per week, with a phased return-to-office plan beginning January.
• The xxxxxx’s Will Sommer writes, “Right-Wing Media Starts Treating Trump Like a Lame Duck.”
• The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty had a little fun writing this one: “Yankees announcers biggest fear? Turning Cam Schlittler’s name into an expletive on air.”
• Emily Ramshaw, co-founder and CEO of The 19th, announced her organization is launching a newsletter about menopause, “which too often goes undercovered.” Read more and subscribe here.
• Semafor’s Max Tani reports that The New York Times is shutting down its standalone audio app.
• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared in a testy hearing before Congress on Thursday. Here’s MSNBC’s Brandy Zadrozny with “Senators tear into RFK Jr. over vaccine restrictions in explosive hearing.”
• Speaking of Kennedy, here’s Vox’s Dylan Scott with an interesting exclusive: “RFK Jr. and the White House buried a major study on alcohol and cancer. Here’s what it shows.”

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Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected].
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