Is Queen of Cuisine Ticked at Time?
The situation recalls David Letterman’s stormy relationship with NBC a few years ago and the intense interest that the standoff generated in the TV industry.
Another brand-name talent, homemaking doyenne Martha Stewart, is fighting with a large media company, in this case Time Inc., as the publishing industry looks on with fascination.
Stewart, the editor in chief and earth mother of Martha Stewart Living, which Time Inc. started to publish five years ago, has been working without a contract as she negotiates a deal involving control of the popular magazine and its finances.
Advertising revenue at the do-it-yourself decorating and entertaining title rose dramatically last year and circulation was up nearly 53%--an astonishing jump--to 1.4 million copies. Martha Stewart Living led Adweek’s list of the top 10 magazines in 1995 and was named magazine of the year by Advertising Age.
However, like most publications not long removed from their start-up phase, Martha Stewart Living is said by publishing insiders to be losing money and spending lavishly to produce 10 issues a year. On Tuesday, industry experts said that Time Inc. was prepared to sell the magazine sooner than agree to terms unacceptable to the publishing giant. “Time is tired of paying for it,” a knowledgeable executive said.
This attitude on the part of Time Inc. has led to speculation that Stewart herself would seek investors to help her buy the magazine.
“There would not be a Martha Stewart Living without Martha Stewart,” said Steven Cohn, editor of Media Industry Newsletter. “She’s a franchise unto herself and brings a lot to the table. But is she asking for more than Time Inc. is willing to pay?”
Stewart’s unhappiness follows a major reshuffling at Time Inc. in November. Time Inc. Ventures, a Los Angeles-based subsidiary that was responsible for Martha Stewart Living, Vibe and other magazines, was disbanded and its president, Robert L. Miller, with whom she had a good relationship, was left in limbo. As a result, Martha Stewart Living came under the control of Time Inc. in New York, its president, Don Logan, and its new editor in chief, Norman Pearlstine.
Besides the magazine, Stewart has her own syndicated TV show, her own line of paints and a Martha By Mail company, which sells household utensils. She has written “The Martha Stewart Cookbook” and similar books for Crown Publishers Inc., a division of Random House. Entertainment Weekly estimated that Stewart’s media interests generated $200 million in revenue last year.
Stewart has retained Allen Grubman, a leading entertainment lawyer who has represented Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen and other stars.
The Time and Stewart camps declined comment early this week because, they said, negotiations are still in progress.
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Afterwords: “The Newspaper That Can’t Be Bought.” So say the new red curbside boxes that contain free--yes, free--copies of the Village Voice. Yesterday, New York’s most opinionated newspaper became available in Manhattan without charge under a previously announced plan designed to more than double circulation in the borough, to 200,000, and thereby raise ad rates . . .
People will bring out its first Spanish-language edition--a translation of the magazine’s recently published special issue, “The Diana Years.” Look for it on newsstands next month. The magazine calls the Princess Diana venture “a preliminary test of the concept of a Spanish-language edition of People.”
* Paul D. Colford is a columnist for Newsday.
