Newest Media Critic Savors His Publicity Coup

For a man on a mission to reform the American media, Steven Brill isn’t too thrilled when reporters question his own journalistic standards--but he seems to relish the firestorm triggered by the debut issue of his magazine, Brill’s Content.

At an elegant party launching the publication, media VIPs buzzed about “Pressgate,” Brill’s story detailing news leaks by independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr to several reporters. In doing so, he charged, Starr may have broken the law.

Clearly enjoying his role as super media critic, Brill on Monday denied Starr’s claim that his comments were taken out of context. And he reiterated his belief that reporters covering the Monica S. Lewinsky case had “enabled” the independent counsel to abuse his power by pursuing illegal news leaks.

Yet the entrepreneur who created American Lawyer magazine and Court TV--and who has now begun what he says is a crusade to make the media more accountable--sounded like any other journalist when asked if he would clarify the Starr dispute by releasing notes of his interviews.

Isn’t he under a special obligation to do so, given the lofty standards he has set for his magazine? “No, not anymore than you are when you write an article,” Brill answered, sounding surprised. “If other authorities act on it [the article] or don’t act on it, I’m on to the next story.”

Alert to New Ideas and the Bottom Line

Brill’s response was direct, somewhat curt, even cavalier: qualities that, along with a keen sense for new ideas and the bottom line, have served him well in New York’s media world. As debate swirled around him at his own party, he was all smiles, hobnobbing with the news elite who were toasting his new venture.

“The whole idea is to have a magazine that is, in effect, a consumer guide for what has become the most important consumer product, which is nonfiction media,” Brill said. “What we’re trying to do is tell people how [modern journalism] is produced, how it’s made and what they can rely on.”

Earlier in the day, Brill conceded that he had made a $2,000 contribution to the 1996 Clinton-Gore campaign, and agreed that he should have mentioned that in his 24,000-word story on Starr. But his party at the Four Seasons restaurant seemed more about marketing than media ethics, and Brill broke off a short interview to spend more time with his guests.

“Look at the attention he gets with just one issue of his magazine,” marveled Fox News president Roger Ailes, who was critical of Brill’s “Pressgate” story. “You can’t buy this kind of publicity [but] Steven has always been a smart guy.”

Brill, 47, has long enjoyed rocking the boat. The Yale Law School graduate wrote “The Teamsters” in 1977, an eye-opening book about the late Jimmy Hoffa’s ties to organized crime. As publisher of American Lawyer, he invigorated the tired field of legal journalism; Court TV, at first widely derided, sparked a nationwide fascination with trials.

Over the years Brill has acquired a reputation as an intelligent, driven man with little patience for subpar work. He has managed his investments shrewdly, selling his stake in American Lawyer and Court TV to Time/Warner for an estimated $30 million. A tall, intense person, Brill hosts a weekend softball game at his Westchester County home that is reportedly as combative as his business dealings. Former colleagues coined the phrase “Brill-creamed” to describe what it feels like to be on the wrong end of his temper.

His latest project is yet another attempt to tap a mass market that others have failed to reach. To be sure, the idea of publishing a tough magazine about the American media isn’t new. Yet past and current media reviews, like MORE and the Columbia Journalism Review, have appealed to professional or academic audiences. They have rarely made national headlines.

Now, Brill thinks America is hungry for a publication that takes on the fourth estate with pizazz and tenacity. And few celebrities at his New York party were betting against him.

“I expect that he [Brill] may publish stories about me, about us, that we won’t be comfortable with,” said CBS TV news anchor Dan Rather. “But he’s a solid journalist and he’s got a very good idea here. I think he may pull it off.”

If the first issue is any indication, Brill is taking on a broad cross-section of the media world. Besides “Pressgate,” the monthly magazine features a story critical of “60 Minutes,” a profile of the chief book buyer for Barnes & Noble, plus glimpses of four “hero reporters” and a story praising the New York Times’ investigation of a troubled health care chain.

Ambitious Goal for Circulation

Brill and his financial backers--a team that includes media entrepreneur Barry Diller--are hoping to eventually reach a circulation of 400,000-500,000. It’s an ambitious goal in a market where so many special interest magazines have faltered, and Brill realized that he needed to catch the public’s attention in a big way before his first edition appeared.

In the months leading up to publication, the magazine began an ad campaign announcing that it is going to challenge the highest and the mightiest in American journalism--from news anchors to newspaper, magazine and Internet personalities.

So far, business has been encouraging, said publisher Deanna Brown. The magazine received 170,000 requests for subscriptions, and ad sales for the first issue, which took up 44 pages, were 22% above what had been budgeted, she added.

“The thinking behind all this,” said New Yorker media critic Ken Auletta, “is that, if you believe in checks and balances, which is what our government is predicated on, then you believe all this power needs a check on it. And one of the most powerful institutions in this society is the press. We need a check, and this [publication] is definitely that.”

But who polices the media police?

Recently, Brill canceled a deal allowing NBC’s “Dateline” to use Content’s stories, amid criticism the magazine might have to take on the news show at some date. The flap over Brill’s first issue showed that no one is above criticism when it comes to media fair play. And that’s where Bill Kovach comes in.

Brill hired Kovach, the former editor of the Atlanta Constitution and current curator of the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University, as the Ombudsman for Content, giving him wide latitude to review criticisms of stories. In a message to readers Kovach noted his independence and added: “Brill’s Content intends to hold the media to a high standard of performance in this regard. Brill’s Content must therefore match or top in its own performance the standard it applies to others.”

Kovach was out of town Tuesday and unable to comment on the “Pressgate” article, according to a Nieman spokeswoman. But at the New York launch party, the room was full of pundits.

“I think Steve is a brilliant provocateur, and he’s really delivered with his first issue,” said Carl Bernstein, the author and former Washington Post reporter who, along with Bob Woodward, broke the Watergate break-in story in 1972. “There’s not enough serious press criticism in this country.”

‘Grossly Inaccurate,’ Says Quoted Figure

Some dismissed Brill’s debut. Lucianne Goldberg, the Manhattan literary agent who convinced Linda Tripp to secretly tape record her conversations with Lewinsky, said she and her son had been misquoted several times in the story.

“I think it’s grossly inaccurate,” she said. “And I was very disappointed because, as media freaks, we want this magazine to succeed. And I think Steve--whom I like--did himself a disservice to make it such an unbalanced piece.”

Harold Evans, vice chairman and editorial director of the New York Daily News, said Brill is in a fix, with some people blasting his media ethics as he criticized theirs.

“What would I do in this situation?” mused Evans. “I really don’t know. Maybe I’d start another magazine.”