Condé Nast Plans French Vanity Fair

September 17, 2012, 10:01 pm

By CHRISTINE HAUGHNEY

Vanity Fair magazine, which has been battling declining newsstand sales in the United States, is looking for more readers in Europe. Next year, Condé Nast is starting a monthly edition of Vanity Fair in France. The magazine will share the name of the American publication, but nearly 90 percent of the content will be original.

“When I sit down with the owner of a fashion house or someone in the French cultural life, the first thing they say to me is ‘When are you going to start Vanity Fair?' ” said Jonathan Newhouse, chairman and chief executive of Condé Nast International.

Over the last 18 months, Condé Nast editors created samples of the new magazine and showed them to focus groups in France. Anne Boulay, the magazine's new editor in chief, who had been editing French GQ, also a Condé Nast publication, said that women in those groups said they liked “this combination of hard news and glamour.” She said the women felt “they were taken seriously and not just stupid women buying Manolo boots and makeup.”

Other prominent hires have been made for the French magazine. The journalist and television personality Michel Denisot, whom Mr. Newhouse called a French mix of Barbara Walters and Mike Wallace, will be the editorial director. Condé Nast also hired Le Figaro's fashion editor, Virginie Mouzat, to run the fashion and lifestyle coverage and Hervé Gattegno from Le Point to oversee investigative coverage. Condé Nast has already hired half of the 25-person team that will run the magazine.

Vanity Fair has long been expanding its brand into other countries as it has faced flat circulation and a tough advertising market in the United State s. While total advertising revenue for the United States edition rose by 5.9 percent in the second quarter of 2012 from a year earlier, the number of advertising pages declined by 1 percent.

Mr. Newhouse emphasized that Vanity Fair in France was a “completely different different business proposition.” He added that Graydon Carter, the editor of Vanity Fair in the United States, would not be actively involved with the French magazine.

“That is one of the biggest challenges we have, how to have the French touch,” said Xavier Romatet, president and chief executive of Condé Nast France. “We need to have the French point of view. We need to be much more close to the French culture, the French people, the French way of life.”

For example, Mr. Romatet and Ms. Boulay said that it was unlikely that French Vanity Fair would feature the former Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, on the cover as Vanity Fair did on its September 2012 issue in the Unit ed States. “We have a very different relationship with royalty,” Ms. Boulay said. “We cut off our queens' and kings' heads.”

Mariah Carey, \'Never a Fan of This Type of Thing,\' Tells How \'Idol\' Drew Her In

By BILL CARTER

The new superstar-stocked judging panel of “American Idol” was already at work Monday auditioning hopefuls at Jazz at Lincoln Center in Manhattan for a second day, having begun on Sunday immediately after announcing its new additions for the season.

The group, accompanied by the show's host, Ryan Seacrest, took a half-hour break to offer a few thoughts about the new season to a gathering of the press.

Mariah Carey, who turned up in a tight, pink dress, confessed that she had “never been a fan of this type of thing.” But she said she recognized what the show had done for some talented singers by “truly giving them careers.” She also cited the “panache that goes along with the brand” as a reason to overcome her initial reluctance to join.

Nicki Minaj, wearing a long, platinum blond wig and effulgent silver-glitter eye shadow, said she had been a follower and fan of the show since its inception, citing especially the year that Jordin Sparks won the title. She remembered “picking up the phone” to vote, though, she added, “I didn't vote for Jordin.” (She momentarily forgot who was the runner-up she voted for until a Fox staff member recalled the name: Blake Lewis.)

She called “Idol” a “credible brand,” and a “part of history,” which made it appealing for her to sign on. “Plus, I get to wear a lot of different wigs.”

The third newcomer, the country singer Keith Urban, called “American Idol” a “legendary show,” which he associated with the “American dream.” Coming from a small town in Australia to become a superstar in country music had made him a believer in that dream, he said.

With Randy Jackson as the holdover judge, the “Idol” panel now has an even number - four - which sets up the possibility for a split verdict on contenders. The show's executive producer, Nigel Lythgoe, said the sh ow had no set formula for breaking ties.

“We've changed it around all the time,” he said. “We're giving them all an opportunity to break the tie. They've got to try to persuade the others. Somebody always gives in and that generally means erring on the side of the positive.”

In the first two rounds of judging in New York, Mr. Lythgoe said, “we've already had three or four ties.”

Bill Carter writes about the television industry. Follow @wjcarter on Twitter.

Village Voice Appoints a Music Editor

By BENJAMIN SISARIO

The Village Voice has named a new music editor, three days after it emerged that the weekly's editor was departing and its music editor had been fired.

According to a post on The Voice's music blog on Monday afternoon, its new music editor is Brian McManus, a former editor at Philadelphia Weekly who has also written for Houston Press, The Chicago Reader, SF Weekly and other publications, and recently reviewed a Madonna concert in Philadelphia for Rolling Stone. He is also the author of a book, “Philadelphia's Best Dive Bars.”

Last week, The Voice's editor, Tony Ortega, announced via a blog post that he was leaving to write a book on Scientology. Maura Johnston, the music editor for the last year and a half, posted to Twitter on Friday that she had been fired.

The weekly has not named a replacement for Mr. Ortega, who said he would be leaving after this week.

The Voice's music editor position has been one of the most prominent jobs in American journalism; past editors include Robert Christgau, Joe Levy, Ann Powers and Chuck Eddy.

Stelter and Carter on This Fall\'s Search for the Next Oprah

By THE EDITORS

Katie Couric has begun a daytime talk show, joining a crowded field that is becoming more crowded with newcomers like Steve Harvey and Jeff Probst and a returning host like Ricki Lake. In this video clip, Brian Stelter and Bill Carter discuss the high rewards, and the high hurdles, to becoming a dominant figure in daytime television, as Oprah Winfrey once was.

An App to Help You Find Parking On the Spot

September 17, 2012, 2:00 pm

By ANN CARRNS

Parking Panda, an online service that helps you find and reserve parking spaces, has added the San Francisco market to its inventory and launched a mobile app to help you find parking on the spot.

The app makes it easier to make reservations and pay for them on the fly when you're away from your computer, said Nick Miller, the company's chief executive. “With the app, you can locate a space where you are and book one right near you,” he said. The app is now available for the iPhone, and will be available eventually for Android devices too.

Parking Panda is sort of like a parking version of AirBNB, the site that helps property owners rent out spare bedrooms or vacant apartments to travelers seekin g a bargain. Another similar offering is Parkatmyhouse.com, which started in Britain but is trying to expand in the United States.

Parking Panda lists both commercial lots and garages, as well as privately owned, individual parking spaces. Owners upload a description and often a photo of the lot, as well as a schedule of when it's available. When drivers reserve a space, they enter a description of their car online. Payment is taken care of through the app (or online) by credit card, so there doesn't have to be any interaction between the owner of the space and the driver.

The start-up was already operating in Baltimore, Md., and Washington, D.C.; this week it moves into San Francisco and Oakland, Calif. and should be available soon in Philadelphia as well. The site has about 20,000 spaces that can currently be reserved through the service. (Parking Panda lists parking in other cities, like New York and Chicago, but doesn't offer the ability to reserve spaces in advance and pay for them; you have to go there and pay in person.)

In Baltimore, Mr. Miller notes, many homeowners near the city's football stadium list spaces on Parking Panda. “For events, even if the stadium has parking it sells out, and half the people attending can't find parking,” he said. “So this adds additional inventory, without driving around for 45 minutes.”

But he also expects the app to be useful in areas like San Francisco's Nob Hill neighborhood, where restaurants and bars regularly draw crowds but there is limited parking.

If you try Parking Panda, let us know about your experience.

What\'s Up With Quote Approval? A Call for Reporters and Sources to Weigh In

By DAVID CARR

In Monday's Media Equation column, I wrote about the trend toward sources requiring quote approval, a practice that seems to be growing like kudzu.

So, are sources trying to get their busy hands all over something that belongs rightfully to reporters, or are sources, tired of having their words mangled, pushing back because they have to?

While I was writing the column, I was reminded of an incident that took place before I came to work at The New York Times. I was working at Inside.com, an early Web newsroom, in 2000 and had published something that kicked up a lot of dust. The main subject called me and said, and I am definitely paraphrasing, that I had misquoted him - dropping context and adding stray words - and in general had given a very incomplete picture of what he said. This part I remember: “What you published was only an approximation of what I said, not what I said.”

My ears burned because it had been extremely loud in the room during our initial interview, I had been on deadline and I am not the most efficient typist at the best of times.

The source who complained? Bill Keller, who went on to become the executive editor of The Times and my boss. At the time, we talked out our disagreement and eventually came to an understanding, but the lesson of that day stayed with me. As I said in the column, journalism is a blunt technology. Until we arrive at real-time transcription (it's not that far away) even the best reporters will get at least the small things wrong - unless they have time to tape and transcribe, which is a rarity in this rapid-fire age.

Marc Andreessen, the oft-quoted Silicon Valley investor, sent me a note saying that mangled rhetoric is endemic.

I'd like to agree with you on quotation approvals, but I have to tell you that something like 80 percent of the things attributed to me in the press are not things I actually said. Para phrasing has run amok, and it often changes the context and meaning. It's really frustrating on the source end.

The only entities that don't have this problem in my experience are the ones with full-time fact checkers.

He's got a point. Sometimes we type, we lose our place, we start again, and it is what is left out, or elided, that ends up twisting meaning. But Buzz Bissinger, the well-known author of narrative nonfiction books, suggests that the cure of submitting quotes for approval is a far worse disease.

“It is a deal with the devil,” he said. “They don't want quote approval because their words are getting mangled, they do it because they don't want the real person revealed.”

Mr. Bissinger said that neither “A Prayer for the City” or “Friday Night Lights” would have happened if the sources were able to approve the quotes. (It is worth pointing out here that neither the McClatchy newspaper chain nor National Journal allow the practice.)

“No newspaper should to it,” he said. “If we all said no, they'd still talk to us, because they need us. We're not dead yet.”

Mr. Bissinger, who called early and ranted for a bit, finished by saying, “Do me a favor, whatever you quote, please call and read it back to me.” He waited a beat before he started laughing and hung up the phone.

So we've heard from a journalist, a source and someone who has been both. We'd like to hear from more of you. So you P.R. people and sources, do you find that you are generally quoted accurately in the press, or are reporters constantly and chronically wrong in some aspects? And all you reporters and editors: what is your experience with sources asking for quote approval? And is there a better way to insure accuracy?

Tips For Managing Your Increasingly Lumpy Income

September 17, 2012, 11:30 am

By CARL RICHARDS

Carl Richards is a certified financial planner in Park City, Utah, and is the director of investor education at BAM Advisor Services. His book, “The Behavior Gap,” was published this year. His sketches are archived on the Bucks blog.

Graduate from college, get a job with a stable paycheck that grows each year by a little, work for 30 or 40 years and retire with a pension.

While it may have been common among Tom Brokaw's “Greatest Generation” and even many Baby Boomers, the idea of working at the same place your whole life, having a stable paycheck and getting a pension check afterwards seems like a fairytale now. It's hard to pin down the numbers, but increasingly it seems like we're fac ing the new reality of living in Dan Pink's Free Agent Nation.

It's a place where many of the structures we used to rely on have either gone away or are predicted to go away. Retirement accounts we manage ourselves have replaced company pensions, and in many cases our income has become more variable.

The issues that come with variable or lumpy incomes are not new. Think of farmers, small business owners and artists. Add to that list all the real estate agents, trial attorneys and other jobs that rely heavily on commissions or bonuses. These jobs come with fat years followed by very lean ones.

But most of the personal financial literature focuses mainly on the non-lumpy, on people with steady incomes and a paycheck every two weeks.

For this group, it's logical to think of saving a percentage of your income each year and allocating that savings to different buckets, like college and retirement. It's a strategy that works fin e if your income is steady and steadily growing over time.

This approach gets confusing when you fall into the lumpy category though. In one year you may have X amount, then the next year you may may earn 10 times X or one-tenth of X. The variation can be incredibly difficult to predict, making it a challenge to plan for your financial future.

For example, think of artists who have a big art show and make two to three times their annual income from that one show. They may not make any income during the next two years while preparing for a new show.

You may not be an artist, but it's hard to miss the dramatic changes in the job market. How many people still work for the same employer for 30 years? I predict that over time more of us will face the challenge of lumpy incomes even if we don't right now.

People with lumpy incomes need to think about financial planning a bit differently. Many of the standards will hold true, but if you find yourself looking at a lot of ups and downs in your income, you want to be aware of a few things.

1) SPENDING When you have that first big year, where your income is two, three, or even 10 times as big as your previous high mark, there's a tendency to think of it as the new normal. It's easy to assume that you'll always earn that new income. It's also very easy to start and continue spending at that level.

A friend told me the story of a trial attorney she knew who won a big trial many years ago. He made upgrades to his lifestyle that he still follows today, even though he hasn't had another big win since the original one. It's starting to catch up with him, but he appears unwilling to modify his lifestyle. So with your first big year, be careful that you don't reset your expectations to a markedly higher level and then years later realize you're in trouble.

2) SAVINGS Depending on your situation, saving a percentage of your income may still make sense, but it can also help to think in terms of setting a spending threshold. With a spending threshold, you spend a certain amount and then everything over that amount gets saved. From that savings, you'll allocate some to retirement, education or other goals you're working towards.

3) TAXES Often people with lumpy incomes are in for a big surprise the following April. You'll want to work with a certified public accountant to set aside enough to cover you, particularly if you've done really well that year. There are few things worse than having a big year, something that's cause for celebration, and then being shocked by the tax bill.

When I think of the lumpiest incomes, it's hard not to think of farmers and their time-tested rules. For instance, when you have a fat year, set some aside for lean years, or live on far less than you make. The problems come when you try to manage a  lumpy income using a set salary mindset. If you have lumpy income, you should act like a farmer, not a sala ried employee.

We need to start rethinking some of the rules of traditional financial advice and adapting them to better fit incomes that go up and down, often without warning. It's easy to forget that most people lived this way for years before we got used to the idea of company pensions and working at the same place for 30 years.

If you earn a lumpy income, what have you done to better align your spending and saving with your income?

 

The Breakfast Meeting: YouTube\'s Balancing Act, and an App Aims for Stardom

September 17, 2012, 9:45 am

By NOAM COHEN

Google rejected a request from the White House last week to pull “The Innocence of Muslims” from its YouTube service in light of the spreading protests of the video in the Muslim world. At the same time, it did temporarily block the video from Egypt and Libya, where the protests have been the most fierce â€" and that, in a nutshell, is the tricky situation Google faces in trying to fashion a policy on the acceptability of content viewed around the world, Somini Sengupta writes. Google quickly determined that the video - which depicts the Prophet Muhammad as a child molester and thug, among other things - did not violate its hate speech rules or any law, but nonetheless took it down in Egypt and Libya “give n the very sensitive situation” there.

• To explain the intense reaction to “The Innocence of Muslims,” David D. Kirkpatrick writes, you must look at more than “religious sensitivity, political demagogy or resentment of Washington.” There is an appeal to freedom made by Egyptian protesters and their sympathizers that cuts very differently than the freedom of speech that is cited in the West: “The right of a community, whether Muslim, Christian or Jewish, to be free from grave insult to its identity and values.”
• One of the men behind “The Innocence of Muslims,” Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, was questioned by federal probation authorities in California over the weekend, Ian Lovett reported. Among the questions they may have asked Mr. Nakoula, who was convicted in a 2010 check-kiting case, was whether he uploaded the video to YouTube. The terms of his sentencing included a restriction against using the Internet without permission from a probation officer.

Can smartphone apps become the grist for a big-screen movie? Count Hollywood as on the fence with that question, Brooks Barnes writes, as it considers what to do with the  popular app Talking Friends, in which cartoon animals “respond to a user's touch and repeat (almost) anything in funny voices.” The company behind the app, Outfit7, guided by William Morris Endeavor, are pursuing movie and television deals based on its characters. But the record of movies from video games is spotty, in part, the industry believes, because movies lack the personal control built into video games. Add in the broad appeal of apps, which makes it harder to tailor a movie to a certain audience, and app-based movies can seem like a hard sell.

• That said, the video-game-based film “Resident Evil: Retribution,” the fifth in a series, was No. 1 at North American theaters over the weekend. Its take was about $21.1 million, according to Hollywood.com. The story of the weekend was that two art-house films - “The Master” and “Arbitrage” - drew crowds in limited release, ArtsBeat blog reported, “a reflection of how starved filmgoers are for sophisticated cinema.”

The agreement by reporters to allow sources to approve their quotes before publication can seem like the final stage of journalism turning into Kabuki, David Carr writes, and can stamp out any trace of spontaneity in an article. The practice has become widespread in political journalism, but, as it turns out, it is common in business reporting, too. There is a palpable loss from the process, Mr. Carr writes: “Keep in mind that when public figures get in trouble for something they said, it is usually not because they misspoke, but because they accidentally told the truth.”

Monday Reading: Budget Airlines Fly South of Border

September 17, 2012, 8:39 am

By ANN CARRNS

A variety of consumer-focused articles appears daily in The New York Times and on our blogs. Each weekday morning, we gather them together here so you can quickly scan the news that could hit you in your wallet.