Daily Front Row

2012 February 12

The New Yorker's Secret Weapon

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Lisa Hughes
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(NEW YORK) Before arriving in the plush publisher’s chair at The New Yorker, Lisa Hughes spent over 20 years hopping around at Condé, from erstwhile Mademoiselle (R.I.P.), to VF, to a decade (and change) at Condé Nast Traveler. Now she’s tasked with luring in ad dollars to fund one of the most respected journalistic operations in the world. 
BY ALEXANDRA ILYASHOV

What’s David Remnick like?
He wanders the halls—a lot. He just pops in, and he rarely calls in advance for meetings. He’ll just appear and say ‘Hey.’ That’s not conventional for an editor-in-chief. It’s organic, and it’s kind of disarming! It’s very reporter-like. He goes out and finds the story, instead of having people come to his office and tell him things. David is not a formal person. His approach is to roll up his sleeves and get it done.

How did you end up in publishing?
It’s sort of a dumb reason: I loved to read books and magazines. I could have gone into either medium, but back in the old days, they made you take a typing test to get into book publishing. I kept failing! So my very first job was at Cook’s Illustrated.

What’s your history with Condé?
August was my 25th anniversary at Condé Nast. My first magazine was Mademoiselle, then I went to Woman, Allure, Condé Nast Traveler, House & Garden, back to Traveler, and then The New Yorker.

Long stint at Traveler!
I got to really see and travel the world when I was there, and I worked with the great Tom Wallace for a decade.

Why were you plucked for The New Yorker?
That’s a question for Chuck Townsend! My predecessor at The New Yorker, Drew Schutte, was promoted to a more integrative role, which is his core interest and made sense as we were doing all this web selling. It’s always a question of timing, based on how they are shifting the players around. I think they were all aware that I’d really love to be here.

Are you a lifelong reader? 
My parents were subscribers, so I’ve never had a moment when The New Yorker wasn’t a part of my life. Of course, it all started with the cartoons.

How do you read The New Yorker today?
I behave very much like our reader does: following the writers.

How does fashion figure into the magazine?
We apply the same topical focus and eye for current events to politics as we do to our fashion coverage. We do two Style Issues a year with profiles of the industry’s biggest names, whether it’s a Mickey Drexler at J. Crew or Ikea. From an ad perspective, luxury goods have always been a really important category.

How else does style seep into the pages of The New Yorker?
Cartoons! We’ve had thousands of fashion and beauty cartoons. Many have become iconic for the luxury houses. Our cartoons spoof our readers’ lifestyles—they hold a mirror up to, and comment on, a specific moment in time.

How does the pace at a weekly compare with a monthly?
Everyone at The New Yorker has a terrific sense of urgency. If you like instant gratification, which I do, you have it. But if you don’t like something you can’t sweat it because it’s ancient history by next week.

What other moments from your tour de Condé stand out?
I worked at Vanity Fair during the really early days of Graydon. The very first Hollywood issue was a brilliant, winning idea from the start. And the first Vanity Fair Oscar party happened while I was there—what an A+, amazing event! It was a big, fat issue with that gatefold cover including people such as Gwyneth Paltrow, who was unknown at the time. As a sales team, we had to practice just to pronounce her name correctly.

How would you launch a magazine today?
It would be completely different—a multi-platform approach from the get-go. Distribution of content would be a big part of the conversation.

What are the challenges of building a biz on new media?
It’s the Wild West right now, in a good way. People are experimenting, particularly in fashion, but it’s harder to articulate it all on a sales call. The creative material is getting better. As a result, interaction with the consumer is more fun and interesting. Ultimately, publishing is for people who can adapt.