NY Observer > Conde Nast Publications Inc.

Conde Nast Wants Employees to 'Rock' On Their Own Dime [Update]

Matt Haber — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:21:29 -0400

In his profile of Condé Nast chairman Si Newhouse on Sunday, The Times' Richard Pérez-Peña noted:

Some extravagances have been curtailed, but no one in the business disputes that Condé still spends far more money than its competitors. Magazine publishers and editors in chief haul in $400,000 to $2 million in salary and bonuses, current and former executives say, and many executives have clothing allowances in the high five figures.

Perhaps one indication of tightening belts at the glossy empire may be a memo sent out to employees asking them shell out their own money for tickets to the Fashion Rocks benefit at Radio City Music Hall in September. read more »

Success, and Succession, at Conde Nast

John Koblin — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:43:24 -0400

The most interesting thing in Richard Perez-Pena's 3,330 word write-around profile of Si Newhouse is the language from Condé Nast executives about the importance of the Web.

Tom Wallace, editorial director, Condé Nast: “You’re going to have to go a long way on the Internet to compete with the way we produce words and images in the magazines."
Steve Newhouse, chariman of Advance.net: “What we’re not doing is trying to turn those companion sites into large Web destinations. They’re there to support the magazines.”
Jonathan Newhouse, head of Condé Nast international: “I think sometimes commentators throw around these assumptions about what is happening to the industry, going the way of newspapers, and I don’t believe it.
read more »

Former Wired Editor: We Could've Been Google

Matt Haber — Fri, 23 May 2008 14:56:52 -0400

As part of its 15th anniversary celebration, Wired has posted a few videos and articles in which its founders look back at what they got right and wrong in the early days of the magazine. read more »

Developer Says Conde To Rejoin Rail Yards Bid, But Conde's Not Talking

Eliot Brown — Thu, 15 May 2008 16:16:22 -0400

One of the remaining bidders for the West Side rail yards, a team of the Durst Organizaiton and Vornado Realty Trust, said it is expecting that S.I. Newhouse’s Condé Nast will remain part of its bid as an anchor tenant.

“We expect that Condé would be our partner,” said Durst spokesman Jordan Barowitz.

However, Condé, which began a new search for space after Tishman Speyer was named the winner over the Durst/Vornado team in March, did not make clear its plans, as a company spokeswoman, Maury Perl, declined comment. read more »

Ancient Order of Magazine People in Not-So-Secret Celebration

Matt Haber and John Koblin — Fri, 02 May 2008 07:40:16 -0400

A little after 6 p.m. at the Frederick P. Rose Hall, Condé Nast president Richard Beckman was sharing a drink—vodka, olives—with Condé Nast CEO Chuck Townsend. The two were discussing the same thing everyone in the lobby of Jazz at Lincoln Center at the Time Warner Center was talking about: What the National Magazine Awards can do, or not do, for a magazine. read more »

The Week in DVR: Richard Dreyfuss' Opus; Happy 40th, Julia Roberts!

Jake Brooks — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 04:16:52 -0500

MONDAY

Monday’s future just got a little bit bleaker. Dancing With the Stars (ABC)—whose finale last Tuesday earned the network its best ratings on that night in over seven years—cha-cha-cha-ed out of our lives. CBS canceled their December 10th debates, as the Democratic nominees balked, fearing the bad publicity of a protest by striking news writers. (CBS is hurting: How I Met Your Mother is in repeats, as well as the rest of the network’s sitcoms.) And NBC announced this week that Chuck (NBC, 8 PM) will be replaced by American Gladiators—the original was obviously before its time—on January 7th. read more »

No More House & Garden, But Strangely, Lots of Comparable Titles Remain

Observer Staff — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 16:21:06 -0500

Writing on The Observer's Real Estate blog, Tom Acitelli notes a Wall Street Journal story about how even though the weak housing market may have been responsible for the collapse of Condé Nast's House & Garden, the "shelter mag" genre is enjoying a moment of disproportionate prosperity.

Alicia Keys Dates Herself at Rock 'n' Roll Benefit

Tathiana Monacella — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 10:55:41 -0400

Last night at the Hammerstein Ballroom, where celebrities converged for Conde Nast's Black Ball to benefit Keep a Child Alive, singer Alicia Keys was decked out in head-to-toe Armani and a lot of black patent leather. She told she was taking a very special date to the Bungalow 8-themed, Amy Sacco-designed after-party ... read more »

Burstin’ With Durst! Condé Nast Says Yes to Anchoring His Far West Side Tower

John Koblin — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 18:46:04 -0400

When Condé Nast moved its headquarters from Madison Avenue to 42nd Street in 1999, it brought instant credibility to the Times Square office market. read more »

Another Reporter Leaves WSJ For Portfolio

Felix Gillette — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 17:49:14 -0400

In the wake of Rupert Murdoch’s purchase of Dow Jones, another veteran Wall Street Journal reporter is leaving the paper to join Conde Nast’s Portfolio.

Scot Paltrow, a senior special writer for The Wall Street Journal, will join Portfolio as a contributing editor, starting Sept. 1.

He follows Peter Waldman there; the investigative features writer announced in July that he would be leaving the Journal for Portfolio after 22 years. read more »