A Tale of Two Condés

"[W]hen the current [New Yorker] editor, David Remnick, ordered up a bunch of articles for the magazine’s formidable presidential inauguration issue, some of the reporters drove to Washington and stayed at friends’ houses. Mr. Remnick, who was among those who bunked with a friend in Washington, declined comment, beyond suggesting it was just common sense to preserve assets for other articles. 'Steve Coll can’t stay at a friend’s house in Afghanistan,' he said."— David Carr, When Even Condé Nast Is in Retreat, The New York Times, February 2, 2009.

"Eyebrows were raised last week when Portfolio editor Joanne Lipman—not known for her modesty—not only insisted on attending the World Economic Forum in Davos but demanded to fly to Switzerland first class. 'It's just jaw-dropping,' an insider said. 'Not only is her magazine not profitable, but she just laid off almost the entire Web site and fired many others on the print side.'"— Richard Johnson, et. al., Porfolio's First-Class Folly, The New York Post, February 2, 2009.