Blaze (10 page)

‘So you're not letting Ali do the first issue on her own? Wise move.'

‘She will be the editor and make the decisions. I can't relinquish total control straight off the bat,' admitted Nina with a slight smile. ‘Besides, I know what pitfalls there can be in setting up a new publication. After that, she's on her own. And I'm not going away forever . . . three, maybe four months. I've told Ali she will handle the media launch. It's important that she is the focus of this new magazine. And the Baron will be there to introduce her. I'll hardly be missed.'

‘I doubt that.' Manny turned his attention to the spreadsheets in front of him. ‘Okay, let's look at what we're spending where.'

Nina was welcomed back into the media fray in Australia with mixed reactions – speculation, suspicion, scepticism and sarcasm.

Nina shrugged it off and followed up on her plans that had been quietly moving along. Triton had bought out an independent magazine called
Carina
, started by Carina Brett-Moir, a multimedia identity who saw herself as a latter-day Nina Jansous. The magazine had been launched three years ago with a lot of publicity, branding itself as the alternative working woman's magazine with the latest hip styles and trends. Carina was identified with the magazine, but the cult of personality was to become more of a handicap than an asset. Despite her media appearances and work for charities, her first night attendances, her radio show, and the fact she was written about flatteringly in friendly publications, women still didn't buy the magazine. Advertisers, who had been initially responsive to her apparently healthy financial backing, soon withdrew their support and, with dwindling advertising revenue, the magazine was in trouble. Carina Brett-Moir had quietly searched the international market for more backers. When none was prepared to put money into a sinking enterprise, she'd accepted Triton's offer of a buy-out.

The staff at
Carina
magazine had not been told of the ‘new arrangements' until the deal with Nina and Triton had been signed. When informed the magazine would resurface in a new guise and that the bulk of the staff would stay on the payroll for a minimum of six months as part of the sale, there was relief. Knowing that Triton was the buyer also meant they could feel relatively secure as part of an internationally successful corporation.

Nina had ordered modest but stylish changes to the interior design of the now defunct
Carina
's offices, but she'd put her main effort into technology
.
The computer systems she'd installed were the best available and sleek new PCs hummed on the soft blue desktops. TV monitors, tuned to CNN and Bloomberg News, as well as the local channels, were strategically placed for monitoring the ‘happening' stories. In the new Syndications Centre, computer screens revealed the latest purchases of top international stories from the
Blaze
dealers around the globe.
Blaze
was a monthly magazine, but Nina had always held the news pages open until the last minute. Similarly, if someone died and was featured in a story, it would have to be pulled overnight. Like most magazine editors, Nina would make sure they had stories in reserve that wouldn't date and could be dropped in at a moment's notice. And the obituary file on famous people was always ready to go to press when the inevitable occurred.

Wanting technology that would give her the shortest print time, Nina had signed a contract with Pacific Magazine Publications to print the magazine from electronically transmitted page layouts. Once received by Pacific, the pages would be converted directly to plates for the printing presses. She appointed a new production manager and instructed him that where possible
Blaze
was to be environmentally friendly, even down to using soya inks on paper produced from plantation loppings and recycled paper. She'd negotiated a three-year fixed price for paper. PMP had acquired the nation's largest distributor, and they would freight her magazines into sales outlets around the country.

Nina's first ‘social' function gathered together the existing staff of the new
Blaze
for drinks and hors d'oeuvres after work.

The staff eyed the lavish spread of finger food, quality wines and fresh juices, wondering if this were a softening up ‘last supper' before the axe fell. There had been rumours in the gossipy media world that Nina would bring in staff from the US. The long-time editor of
Carina
, Dorothy Power, who had worked under Carina Brett-Moir – a demanding editor-in-chief and publisher – had already announced her retirement. This was interpreted in Sydney's gossip columns as having been gently pushed.

However Dorothy, at fifty-nine, was only too happy to retire with a substantial package and avoid the upheaval associated with yet another magazine launch. Nina had called Dorothy to make sure she was going to be at this ‘little function' so they could wish her well in her new life.

‘New life?' Dorothy had exclaimed to her long-serving secretary, Belinda Gordon. ‘I'm not going anywhere. I plan to potter in the garden, go to lunch, spend time with my grandkids, drag Charlie around the wine country. All the things I haven't been able to do with a full-time job.'

‘So that's a new life,' said Belinda. ‘Carina doesn't have a family like you do. That's why she headed to London the minute the cheque was in the bank. She's not ready to step out of magazines. Or the limelight.'

‘I think Nina Jansous sees a new life as taking on a gung-ho career again. That's for the birds. Especially at sixty,' replied Dorothy, wondering how Nina managed to look the way she did. Money and America she supposed. Not that Nina appeared to have had cosmetic surgery – she just radiated youthful energy. Her health and looks must be in her genes, Dorothy decided.

Nina approached the microphone and a hush fell over the restaurant.

‘Good evening, everyone. I'm Nina Jansous. I'm so happy to be here and I thank you for coming.'

‘Royal decree, wasn't it?' whispered Fran Hirshcombe, the promotions director, to no one in particular. ‘It'd be like being late for your own execution.'

‘I'm sure each of you has been speculating about what I'm going to say this evening. I imagine there is no small amount of tension in the ranks, and that there's been a lot of speculation over the past few days with appropriate bitter-sweet jokes and smart satire.' She spoke with a lightness in her voice and the hint of a smile that immediately lowered the emotional temperature. Then she added with a grin, ‘I would dearly like to hear a few of the more clever jokes that the changeover fertilised, and perhaps they will filter through over the next few days.'

Surely she couldn't smile like that and then tell them they were out on their ears? Everyone was nervous. Who might be buried along with the
Carina
masthead?

‘With the acquisition of
Carina
there will be changes. And that is not to demean the achievements of this magazine, which has been superbly led by Dorothy Power. Dorothy, as you know, has decided to retire after a very successful career in journalism, both here and in the UK, to pursue other interests. Dorothy, we wish you much happiness and success in your new life.' Nina gestured to Dorothy who, with a slight bow of her head, acknowledged another burst of clapping from her staff. Suddenly the retiring editor felt close to tears and hoped Nina wouldn't ask her to speak. While she hadn't made radical changes to
Carina
in its brief life, she had hoped the magazine would take off in a big way. But sales had never reached Carina's levels of hype. And Dorothy was pragmatic enough to know there would not be a place for her at the helm of a magazine like
Blaze.
Nina was bringing in her own top people. Dorothy was satisfied that she could retire with a respectable track record.

Nina continued, ‘Our magazine will aim at a broader and younger demographic. The details will be made public at a media event in a few weeks. It will be the duty of the new editor to introduce herself to Australia as well as to introduce the Australian edition of
Blaze.
I have appointed an editor who will come from
Blaze USA
, but . . .' she held up a finger at the murmur from the audience, ‘she is Australian and is looking forward to coming home to begin this exciting new venture of which you will all be a part. Once the first issue is put to bed, I will be taking a temporary leave of absence. I'm due for a long holiday and I would like your new editor to settle in without me looking over her shoulder. Finally, I'd just like to say to those of you I don't know well, I'm looking forward to getting to know you and hearing your ideas and comments.'

By now the atmosphere was relaxed, a communal sigh of relief running round the room. Their jobs were safe – for the moment – and thankfully the new editor was Australian. She'd be on their wavelength.

Nina gave a slight smile. ‘I hope you feel as I do, that this is an exciting challenge and that we have the opportunity to start afresh, to build a new era and make a significant contribution to the rich heritage of magazine publishing in this country. I look forward to your support and enthusiasm. Thank you.'

‘I haven't heard the dramas of producing a magazine described as a rich heritage before,' murmured Bob Monroe, the features editor.

‘Maybe she was just referring to rich and heritage in the sense of proprietor's pockets,' said Fran. ‘It's hard to survive like she has in the magazine business these days,' she added.

‘
Carina
must have eaten up a whack of cash,' said Bob. ‘Anyway, with Triton behind her, Nina can't really lose. We're part of a big group now.'

Fran was wistful. ‘Paris, Rome, London, New York, Tokyo . . . do you suppose any of us might get a guernsey to the other offices?'

Nina followed the staff function with a series of intimate luncheons in the boardroom to network with the movers and shakers across the spectrum of social, political, marketing and corporate worlds. Manny sat in on these, outlining details, where needed, about the backing of Triton and the fact they were sparing no expense in setting up a major publication to ‘smother the market', as Manny put it bluntly.

Nina spoke about her reasons for returning and what she hoped to achieve with her new magazine. ‘Thanks to its success in the States and Europe,
Blaze
is a respected and internationally known name. As you are aware,
Blaze Australia
must sell a lot of magazines in order to make it financially viable. To do that, we plan to appeal to a broad-based popular readership in Australasia. Given a choice of
Blaze
's classy, ethical entertainment or down-market exploitative superficiality, I trust Australian readers will choose the former. The dramatically falling circulations of the women's magazines in this country is proof that the readers are fed up with the diet dished out to them in past years. And while we are a general interest magazine, women are the largest buyers of magazines.'

‘Most of those women's magazines are still making money, Nina,' an advertising agency executive reminded her.

‘Thanks to clever people like you, James. Hype and large promotional budgets still feed that particular market. But for how long? At the rate the circulations are falling, my guess is not for long. What we're doing is putting hype and larger promotional budgets, on a scale never envisioned in this country, into a product that will be thought-provoking, glamorous and creative.
Blaze
has never been an elite magazine, marketed to a few readers who know and care about quality and are prepared to pay for it. It has always been, and will always be, a magazine of the highest quality in its content and production standards, offering something for every reader, male and female, in the particular country it serves.
Blaze
has proved this worldwide.
Blaze Australia
will be no exception.'

‘Is that why we're here today, Nina?' asked Bevan Lean, Australian CEO of one of the largest international hotel chains. ‘To help you bridge the gap between consumerism and culture by providing the advertising support? In other words, our dollars are to support your idea of some sort of consciousness raising of popular culture in Australia.'

‘And what's wrong with that?' asked Nina with a disarming smile. ‘I do want
Blaze
to provide news features, information, entertainment and, yes, meet that voyeuristic streak of looking at how other people live, think, behave, as well as discovering new ideas on a wide range of subjects. I see this magazine as having a tangible link to the readers' lives. Television is transient, and being cyber-savvy doesn't give the same satisfaction as holding a beautifully designed magazine that is also stimulating to read. There are such rifts in society and families today. I would like to think our magazine, reflecting the standards of a civilised society, could help close that gap.'

‘Pretty ambitious concept,' remarked another of the businessmen at the table. ‘How can – dare I use the expression – a mere magazine do that where government, the media and society itself have failed?'

‘For all its misdemeanours, the tabloid press is still considered to echo the voice of the people.
Blaze
will not lecture or impose, but it will try to reflect current issues, interests and concerns . . . and celebrate the joy of life. To give positive messages, while not ignoring the problems. Yes, we need to address the bleak side of society and ask the hard questions – such as why are our children killing themselves, how can we reduce teen drug use and pregnancy, and why is there so much poverty in such a rich society? What can we as individuals do to improve our world in this new century?' Her voice softened as she spoke, and the men and women around the table fell silent.

Finally it was a woman banker who spoke. ‘If you can produce a magazine that answers those questions, I'll buy it.'