The Fed

Talk-tanic

Will Talk Magazine Stay Afloat?

Chris Sandersfeld

New York City had not seen a really grand spectacle in quite a while before this summer - or even in the months since-- that is, until The Party. Well, that is, Her Party. Party? Political convention? There hasn't been one here since 1992. The Marathon? A Yankees' World Series victory? Happens every year, or so it seems. No, Her event doesn't happen every year. The Brooklyn Museum of Art fiasco? Hardly, and let's be honest, vivisection is disgusting.

It was into this relatively bland social milieu that Tina Brown, editor extraordinaire, launched her latest creation, Talk. The Party on Liberty Island and the magazine had everything -- opposition from slighted Mayor cum Fuhrer Giuliani, a nearly unlimited budget from Miramax and the Hearst Corporation, a fireworks display rivaling the Fourth of July, and strictly super A-list invitees. (Did Kate come with Johnny? No, but she was sure chatting it up with Henry Kissinger.)

The public, always eager for a glimpse of the glitterati and something new with which to sate their infinitesimally short attention spans, loved it and bought the hype-- quite literally. Talk sold more than one million copies of the first issue, and the figures are not in yet for October. It seemed that Brown, the British-born queen of the New York magazineland, had carried her golden touch with her from stunning years at Vanity Fair and the New Yorker. But Talk would be different. It would be her own creation. It would be even better than the others.

But critics say that Tina's golden touch may be tarnishing.

"At this magazine we have a five-year plan," Brown said recently to the Times of London. "No one expects it to make a profit within five years. We are on plan and on budget."

Really? Word on the street and in newspaper columns around the world is that even if Talk is on budget now, five years is a long time. Vegas is not giving great odds on Talk making it to the end of that five year plan.

Defection of several high-level Talk cadres in recent weeks (among them the managing editor, the features editor, and the production director) has given rise to speculation that the magazine is in real trouble. Worse yet, it seems that Brown herself may be grooming another to take over for her long-time co-hort/toady, executive editor David Kuhn, who was reportedly already floating his resume around town. Other writers and editors grumble that they are overworked, underpaid, and micro-managed.

Additionally, views are mixed on whether or not Talk's initial success is translating into a formidable subscription base. It is still too early to say.

Most critics put the blame squarely on Tina Brown's shoulders. They charge that she is a compulsive control maniac, who has a penchant for altering or completely discarding stories literally minutes before press time. "I will always change the line-up for a news break or when a revision comes in that isn't what you hoped for or something better comes in," she said to a London Times' reporter.

These changes and decisions may be an editor-in-chief's prerogative, but they have ruffled more than a few feathers in the media community.

Despite all the confusion of who will be on the masthead next month or the baffling editorial judgments, there is perhaps a more profound reason that Talk's ship is already sinking- the magazine itself. It's too bad really- Talk really has a lot to say. It just doesn't say it very well. The layout is more overtly Euro-zine than American consumers are used to seeing, with a virtual assault of ill-placed images and unusual type faces from cover to final page. The departments throw in stories that have no real logic or internal coherence. Well written feature stories are the only saving grace? too bad they're buried way in the back in a murky sea of Dolce and Gabbana ads.


In short, Talk fails because Queen Tina and her Court cannot decide what the magazine should be-- splashy celeb, slick fashion, or human interest. Jack of all trades, master of absolutely none. Something for everyone has become not much for anyone. (One more cliche and this is ready to submit to Talk.)


But even if the Good Ship Talk-tanic is already taking on water, you can bet that Brown will be the first one into the lifeboat. She's a survivor. She's smart, savvy, and has been around long enough to know which end is up. And despite a popular ancient myth, captains rarely go down with their ships.

December 1, 1999