Travel advisory: I shall be in transit on Tuesday to a place where blogging will be rare for the remainer of the week.

Free-bold: The Seybold Bulletin, the weekly electronic newsletter covering publishing technology, has been redesigned and made available to subscribers at no charge. This is the first time Seybold Publications content has been offered for free, and is now accessible online or via e-mail by subscribing at www.seybold365.com/bulletin.. (via: the magazine design weblog.)

That’s okay: Really. Why should this weblog have its feelings hurt because no one thinks it should be on this list. Really. Perhaps if they had a category for blogs read by less than five readers.

Macopiates: I try my best not to discuss my religious beliefs on this weblog, but sometimes, when I see something like this, I can’t help myself.

More praise for Time’s cover archive: On Saturday, [Macro error: Can't evaluate the expression because the name "ftpSite" hasn't been defined.]
the Time Magazine cover archive for being the gold standard for such archives. This search using the keyword “reagan” is a great example of how excellent the Time cover search is. And the service even has a business model, as a reproduction of each cover (suitable for framing) is available for purchase ($20-$90).

Static: Just what the world needs, more Maxim.

The chosen one: Perhaps it should [Macro error: Can't evaluate the expression because the name "ftpSite" hasn't been defined.]
that out of tens of millions of photographs taken of the former president, Time and Newsweek would choose the exact same frame, cropped precisely the same way, for their covers this week. For the record, I would have chosen the exact same one also.




June 14, 2004

For an explanation of the rexblog feature, Clone Covers, visit [Macro error: Can't evaluate the expression because the name "ftpSite" hasn't been defined.]
. Previous 2004 [Macro error: Can't evaluate the expression because the name "ftpSite" hasn't been defined.]

Later: This a response to an e-mail question: (More information about this in the NY Times article below, also.) The photograph is credited to Michael Evans who is represented by the Zuma Press photo agency. The website Fadedgiant.net provides the following information about the photograph: Photograph of Ronald Reagan in a cowboy hat at Rancho Del Cielo, California. 1976 Collection RR-WHPO: White House Photographic Collection, 01/20/1981 - 01/20/1989. The National Archives and Records Administration NLS-WHPO-A-E13(3) Later II: The NY Times David Carr covers the issue of the Reagan clone covers issue:

“I am not completely surprised,” said Jim Kelly, managing editor of Time magazine. “Yes, there are a lot of images of Reagan out there, but very few that fit so well in the frame of a cover and tell a story the way this one did.” Over at Newsweek, the editors assigned the coincidence to an instance in which great minds thought alike. “We knew it might happen,” said Jon Meacham, managing editor of Newsweek, who also wrote the main article in the magazine about Mr. Reagan’s death. “We have known for six or seven years that this day was going to come and I guess we just decided that this was the best cover for our story.”… …With the Reagan covers, there are some slight differences. Time’s version of the photograph is much more ruddy-hued, the redness of the face emphasized by the magazine’s signature red border, while Newsweek’s president-as-cowboy has more brownish tones. Mr. Kelly chalked the differences up to the vagaries of the printing process and said the photograph was not altered…. (Photographer Michael) Evans, who is now chief technical officer of Zuma Press, a photo agency, was pleasantly surprised that both magazines, which had years to ponder their choice, ended up choosing his intimate portrait of the president. Back in 1980, before the Republican convention that would eventually lead to Mr. Reagan’s first term in office, Mr. Evans spent the day photographing him as he worked his horses and did chores. At the end of the day, they were sitting on the porch and fell into conversation. “I can’t exactly remember what I said, but he must have liked it because he had this smile that came and went quickly,” Mr. Evans said. “I didn’t know exactly what I had, but I knew it was a great situation with great light, so I thought there would be something worthwhile.” The coincidence of images will have few business implications. The magazines are mostly mailed to subscribers and sell relatively few of their copies on the newsstand, though commemorative issues have more single-copy sales. “This is not the first time this has happened, and it certainly won’t be the last,” Mr. Kelly said. “It is an absolutely fantastic image.”

How to make money in magazine publilshing: The Miami Herald’s Christina Hoag profiles Marc Bell, head of Marc Bell Capital Partners.

Quote:

“‘I love starting up businesses, coming up with ideas, even though one out of every two bombs.” His latest venture certainly didn’t. Last year Bell and a partner bought most of bankrupt Penthouse magazine’s roughly $45 million debt for pennies on the dollar with the idea of getting the famed porn monthly back on its feet. Bell’s vision was to turn it into a tamer magazine geared toward young men and sell it. But earlier this year, another contender for the magazine emerged and filed a competing reorganization plan. During the tussle that earned plenty of headlines in the New York press, Mexican millionaire Luis Molina gained the edge when he swayed broke Penthouse founder Bob Guccione to his side. He did that by buying Guccione’s posh town house, which Guccione was on the verge of losing to creditors and lavishing a $1 million salary on him.

Molina also offered Bell a deal that was too lucrative to toss aside — $60 million for the debt and $10 million for a chunk of stock. ‘I asked my accountant what’s the ROI [return on investment]; he answered, ‘infinite.’ How many times do you get to make multiples on your money in a year?” Bell said.”

Indeed.