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Managing Editor vs Publisher
How do magazine editors handle bad publishers? And where is the line traditionally drawn between a managing editor's responsibilities and a publisher's responsibilities at a very small publication?
I’m the managing editor of a small (40,000 circulation) nationally distributed niche-interest consumer magazine. A few years ago, we were purchased by an individual who fancied himself a publisher but who in reality has had nothing but a negative effect on our publication, financially and with regard to our reputation. Besides being an in-denial alcoholic who has embarrassed himself and our company repeatedly at industry events, our publisher’s chronic refusal to act as a leader has left us practically in shambles.
Having been hired at this publication right out of journalism school, I’m curious as to what the managing editor’s role is at other small consumer magazines. I see myself as a “creative” with very little business/financial talent, and feel that running the business side of things is beyond my ability. The publisher seems to agree that the job of keeping the company afloat is his, not mine. But in the years since he purchased us, he has refused to make any financial decisions for the company, instead pawning off all such decisions on our business manager -- an elderly high school graduate with zero business skills or training. Since our business manager is seldom able to make the kind of decisions required of her, what frequently ends up happening is that no action gets taken at all. Unsurprisingly, our company is now on the verge of catastrophe.
For the record, besides the publisher/owner, our company consists of four full-time employees: an art director and a copy editor (both of whom are my employees), the business manager (who isn't my employee, but neither am I her employee), and myself. Our ad sales are contracted out to a company and "directed" by the publisher -- but in reality he isn't doing much, if any, directing of that department, either. Obviously we also employ a variety of freelance writers and photographers, all of whom are under my direction (but who haven't received paychecks for the last 6 months and who will probably be jumping ship soon, thinking [correctly?] that I'm the one to blame for the bad finances).
As managing editor, what can I do to help save us from our publisher? I know, I know: I should flee the sinking ship and find a new employer. But I don’t want to do that, because I *love* this publication and I love editing it. Are there any steps I can take (besides the obvious belt-tightening all of us have been forced to do in recent years) to help us fix our business without the consent of the publisher? Should I take a business course? Should my J-school education have included curriculum on business management? (It didn’t.)
Help!
I’m the managing editor of a small (40,000 circulation) nationally distributed niche-interest consumer magazine. A few years ago, we were purchased by an individual who fancied himself a publisher but who in reality has had nothing but a negative effect on our publication, financially and with regard to our reputation. Besides being an in-denial alcoholic who has embarrassed himself and our company repeatedly at industry events, our publisher’s chronic refusal to act as a leader has left us practically in shambles.
Having been hired at this publication right out of journalism school, I’m curious as to what the managing editor’s role is at other small consumer magazines. I see myself as a “creative” with very little business/financial talent, and feel that running the business side of things is beyond my ability. The publisher seems to agree that the job of keeping the company afloat is his, not mine. But in the years since he purchased us, he has refused to make any financial decisions for the company, instead pawning off all such decisions on our business manager -- an elderly high school graduate with zero business skills or training. Since our business manager is seldom able to make the kind of decisions required of her, what frequently ends up happening is that no action gets taken at all. Unsurprisingly, our company is now on the verge of catastrophe.
For the record, besides the publisher/owner, our company consists of four full-time employees: an art director and a copy editor (both of whom are my employees), the business manager (who isn't my employee, but neither am I her employee), and myself. Our ad sales are contracted out to a company and "directed" by the publisher -- but in reality he isn't doing much, if any, directing of that department, either. Obviously we also employ a variety of freelance writers and photographers, all of whom are under my direction (but who haven't received paychecks for the last 6 months and who will probably be jumping ship soon, thinking [correctly?] that I'm the one to blame for the bad finances).
As managing editor, what can I do to help save us from our publisher? I know, I know: I should flee the sinking ship and find a new employer. But I don’t want to do that, because I *love* this publication and I love editing it. Are there any steps I can take (besides the obvious belt-tightening all of us have been forced to do in recent years) to help us fix our business without the consent of the publisher? Should I take a business course? Should my J-school education have included curriculum on business management? (It didn’t.)
Help!
Tags: editor, finances, management, managing, publisher
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Don Tydeman on -
You've got a problem for sure but your publisher has a bigger one - himself. There is not very much you can do to control someone who is in a downward spiral. It seems to me that the best way to manage the situation is to insert a competent associate publisher who can run the business and manage the boss. Of course the trick is convince the publisher that he needs the help. If you can't make that happen you might want to make sure your resume is up to date. Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Kevin Convertito on -
You seem a little unclear on the chain of command...he's not just a publisher, he's the F-n owner. It's not a Democracy it's a Dictatorship. Unless you're in a position to buy him out, suck it up and try to work it out or quit. A former publisher of mine, Chris Anderson once explained his hiring policy as "hire slow, fire quick"...as a lowly worker bee your version should be "take your time to find a better employer (they're out there), then quit quick" Re: taking business courses, only if you buy the company. Concentrate on what you love to do and went to school for.
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Permalink Reply by Bruce Apar on -
I couldn't disagree more with this mindset. Any contemporary journalist who thinks s/he doesn't need to nurture a business sensibility shouldn't merely look for a new employer, but a new professsion. Understanding one's role in the food chain is not tantamount to compromising editorial integrity or independence. If anything, it empowers you. Revenue -- and understanding your role in helping generate it -- is not the enemy. It's the enabler. If you love to be a journalist, concentrate on being a compleat craftsman and manager, not a prima donna who cavalierly dismisses the business side as beneath you. That's a recipe for self-obsolescence.
I'm curious to hear what Joe Cappo has to say about this as well.
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Permalink Reply by Kevin Convertito on
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I'm not saying ignore the business side of things, just noting the poor guy is fresh out of journalism school, has seen very little of what this industry has to offer, and is now contemplating business school as a result of one crummy publisher...I think he'd professionally be better off to get some more real-world experience before trying to run the world...
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Permalink Reply by Joe Cappo on -
Yes, you should learn as much as you can about the business of publishing. I'm not sure a college business course is the solution because the information might not relate specifically to publishing, which is different than many other businesses. You might learn more by attending the various publishing conferences that are held and going to the business sessions rather than the editorial sessions.
Leaving the publication, obviously, is one alternative. But buying the publication from your boss is another...if you can get an investment team together. You might also try to persuade your publisher to hire an outside consultant to look at your business and make some suggestions. A good consultant will say that the development of a strong editorial publication will help build a strong circulation, and that will help build advertising revenues.
I started on the editorial side and worked my way up to publisher and group publisher of some major trade journals. I have always had management who understood the importance of editorial. I'd be happy to make some more suggestions if you're interested.
Joe Cappo
www.joecappo.com
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Permalink Reply by Bruce Apar on
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Absolutely your J-school education -- anybody's J-school education -- is woefully incomplete, unrealistic and inadequate if it does not prepare every journalist for the business world. Publishing is no less than a business than any other discipline. I'm a publisher (at a community newsweekly) who started out as a writer and editor on trade periodicals, and determined early on that I'd have a lot more control over the products I worked on if I learned the business side of publishing. I was right on that score, and have never been more satisfied in a job than I am now, on the north side of 50.
I know it's easy to sit here and advise that you build a business model and present it to your wayward publisher, but that arguably is the best pathway for you if you intend to stay put. I'm blessed with a very smart and talented and young managing editor who has improved our newspaper markedly in the two years since I came aboard. I know you have precious little time to doodle around with a business plan in your not-so-spare time. But there are ways: find a willing mentor whom can help craft a simple business plan with your verbal input. It can use your current product as the foundation and build it from there based on what you know and think will work going forward.
Good luck. Sounds like in the environment you inhabit, you'll need a measure of that along with the requisite skill and sweat.
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Permalink Reply by David Willson on -
I would only add one thing to what Bruce Apar and Joe Cappo have said. The emerging environment for publishing today is one of convergence. According to your description, your organization not only has some dysfunctional people, but a structure that will be very challenged going forward.
For example, advertising and editorial have traditionally been viewed as oil and water in magazine and newspaper publishing. Editors have been reluctant to bestow special favors on advertisers or cross over the bounds of "advertorial." Ad sales people would often up-sell to better positions on the rate card by asserting "no pull with editorial" when asked about special editorial coverage. "Maybe I can get you something. But I can't promise it. Editorial insists on being autonomous. But if you reallly want to have impact, buy the inside front cover."
However, ad money has been shifting away from print page buys to the Internet. An exponential increase in that shift took place during 2007, and it continues. Many print publishing operations that maintain an editorially redundant Web site are struggling this year as a result. Their Web site does not really offer anything unique to sell into, and competitive Web banner CPM's are still quite low.
The publishers that are beginning to set the example for successful Web/print strategies are learning to mix that oil and water by creating a combined event-like product that has editorial coverage in print, a Web event (contest, rewarded survey, special Web offers, etc.), possibly public events and even partnered cable or radio programming to propose to their advertisers. They are finding that advertisers who previously pulled entirely out of print will actually increase their budget allocations over what they were spending before for a program like this.
Editors and managing editors who report directly to the publisher are at the functional nexus for any strategy like this, and therefore often assume the leadership role. Much like what happened in the early '90s, with the advent of "desktop publishing," where the Mac design station also became the rewrite, caption, headline, copy editing and final approval position, publishing operations are having to rethink some long-held organizational precepts, and it will change job descriptions dramatically.
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Permalink Reply by Tenisha Anderson on
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I was in a similar situation and I had been with the company for about 3 years. I had been there since its conception and took very limited pay because I was understanding of its financial situation and loved editing this publication. However, I was dealing with a publisher who prioritizing and organizational skills were nil and was not only effecting the publication, but how he dealt with his employees and clients. So I came to the conclusion of just moving on. It was actually that simple, for me that is, because I realized I could use my energy and time in a more productive way then just the constant complaints of what I was experiencing at this publication. Peace of mind is sometimes the "straw that breaks the camel's back" in a complicated decision....
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Permalink Reply by Kerry Smith on
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Sounds like an untenable situation. If the publisher is the actual owner of the business and is in denial about the state of the business, then you really don't have many options other than to get out of there asap. Loving your publication is a great thing, and that kind of attachment and passion is what makes the magazine business such a great one to be in (well, maybe not so much right now). You can take all the business courses you want, but if the owner can't see the predicament he's in, then it won't make a difference.
All that said, I would recommend that editors seek to familiarize themselves with the business side of publishing. Typically, it's the editor's job to worry about the reader and not be distracted by business issues. However, these days, readers are eroding because of the wide array of options they have for consuming content across multiple channels. For magazines to retain their status, it's going to take the efforts editors and publishers working together to serve readers and advertisers in new and creative ways. There are numerous avenues for learning the business-side of publishing -- reading the publishing trade journals, attending industry conferences, webinars, etc., as well as some that might be right in front of you, like asking your business manager to take you through your publication's budget, or to work with him/her to fine tune your editorial budget.
In the end, though, if your owner/publisher is a train wreck, then get out of there as soon as you can, and find a magazine where your hard work and passion is welcomed and acknowledged. Those opportunities are out there.
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Permalink Reply by John Garland Pollard on -
Bob. This is a great question to ask. Since you like the publication, and it is a horrible time to go look for a job, I think you need to assert yourself and show some leadership in the business arena with the publisher, and be frank with him or her. I find over and over again that while there are good publishers and bad publishers, many come from sales backgrounds and so only think of that. But editors often can do more than just edit the magazine.
You really need to assert that there is no way you can run a magazine when freelancers and photogs don't get paid. The printer doesn't work for free, nor does the copy machine vendor. Demanding that, in a nice way, will win some respect for what you do. You also need to assert that his or her investment in this publication is on the line, and you are ready to make it work but it can't go on like this. With the economy the way it is, I am sure there will be lots more situations like this one.
If you are desperate to see it turn around, perhaps you can assert some leadership with sales and collections efforts, by coming up with some advertorials that might bring in revenue, and encouraging the business manager. You might also come up with some sales promo "one sheets" for upcoming editions, that could help spur sales. But really, they need to have sales in house. I have never heard of an outsourced sales department for print.
And yes, good luck.
http://www.brandlandusa.com/
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