The Mr. Magazine™ Interviews

The Mr. Magazine™ (Samir Husni) Interview: Vicki Wellington, Publisher, Food Network Magazine

Samir Husni — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:36:56 +0000

Vicki Wellington does not have to twitch her nose to bewitch you. The publisher of the Food Network Magazine, for whom Darren/Larry and the men at the ad agency from Bewitched were her “role model” growing up, is flying high with the most successful and hottest new magazine since 2009. Unlike Samantha, Wellington does not need a flying broom or a magic carpet to engage her customers with the hottest magazine on the marketplace today. All she needs is to feed the addiction of the American public to “food” and “celebrities.” Add a dash of pixels on a screen (make that a lot of screens) and a pinch of ink on paper (make that a lot of papers) and the result will be the Food Network Magazine –– led by the hottest, passionate and energetic magazine top chef Vicki Wellington.

The smile never departs from Vicki’s face. You could feel the vibrating energy radiating from her every time she mentions the magazine, the Food Network, the customers, the advertisers, the company and above all “her lean and very able staff.” To say she loves her job will be an understatement. She is as affectionate talking about the magazine and her job as her customers are affectionate about the magazine and the network behind it. It is a story of success second to none in today’s magazine world. It is a hot, hot, hot magazine and, of course, magazine publisher.

The Mr. Magazine™ (Samir Husni) Interview: David Carey, President, Hearst Magazines

Samir Husni — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:03:06 +0000

David Carey is the eternal optimist. The president of Hearst Magazines has his fingers on the pulse of the magazine industry. His prescription for an industry’s cure was outlined in his New Year’s letter to Hearst employees in which he stressed the need and importance of both the ink on paper and the pixels on the screen new magazine media business model.

I had the opportunity to visit with Mr. Carey last week in his office on the 43rd Floor of the Hearst Tower on 8th Ave. in New York City. After a brief chat on the status of industry in general and Hearst in particular, David was generous enough to share with me on tape some of his ideas and practices regarding the magazine industry now and in the future. I asked David what keeps him up at night and his answer surprised me as I am sure will surprise some of you, if not all of you interview readers and watchers everywhere.

Click on the video below to watch the interview. If you like to read the transcript, click here.

Mr. Magazine™ Interviews: The Future of the Printed Word in a Digital Age

Samir Husni — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 21:58:55 +0000

The Magazine Innovation Center at The University of Mississippi’s Meek School of Journalism hosted the ACT 2 Experience last October. We asked 17 media experts who attended the ACT2 Experience their opinions about the future of the printed word in a digital age. Click on the link below to listen to the experts’ answer to the question “What is the future of the printed word in a digital age?”