Daily Front Row

2010 March 17

W and WWD Split

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Gina Sanders
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(NEW YORK) W Magazine, which has partly shared an editorial staff with trade publication Women’s Wear Daily under the umbrella of Fairchild Publications, will become exclusively a part of Condé Nast. All editorial and business operations for W will move out of the Fairchild Fashion Group, according to Condé president and CEO Charles Townsend; the shared staffers, such as Bridget Foley, will stay solely with WWD. A new editor-in-chief of W will be named by Condé editorial director Thomas Wallace, while Patrick McCarthy will continue in his role as chairman of Fairchild—“through the end of the year,” according to a release. WWD EIC Ed Nardoza will now report to Gina Sanders, president and CEO of the Fairchild Fashion Group.

“This formally establishes a structure for W consistent with our other consumer magazine titles, and allows FFG the autonomy to focus on their core business-to-business publications and related businesses,” said Townsend in a release.

Rattling executive changes at Condé and Fairchild preceding this restructuring have been taking place for years. Mary Berner, whose titles included CEO of Conde Nast’s Fairchild unit and then Group President of Conde Nast’s Fairchild division, left the company in January 2006. During her time there, Fairchild grew to include seven consumer magazines; some, like Jane and Cookie, have sin ce folded, while others, namely Details, are now under the Condé Nast umbrella. After Berner’s departure, W, Fairchild’s bridal division, and its trade titles (WWD, Footwear News) came under the control of Mitch Fox, another Condé Group president. In January of 2008, Fox (then group president and publishing director of the Golf Digest Group, the Fairchild Fashion Group, and the Condé Nast Bridal Media Group) exited the position.

The most recent Condé/Fairchild shakeup came in January, when Richard “Mad Dog” Beckman left his job as CEO of the Fairchild Fashion Group to become CEO of e5 Global Media, a newly-formed trade publishing company that includes The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, AdWeek and MediaWeek. Beckman started his career at Condé, acting as the publisher of Vogue and eventually president of Condé Nast Media before being effectively demoted to running Fairchild. Shortly after Beckman’s departure, Gina Sanders—a 20-year Condé veteran, married to SI Newhouse’s nephew, Steven—was named as his successor.

It remains to be seen how the split will affect these publications from a business perspective. Though rumors have swirled recently that W, which saw a 45% decrease in ad sales in 2009, would cut its publication to six times per year, Condé Nast reps have denied those reports.
EMILY GYBEN