Weekly Publications
above photo by Matt Popovich/Unsplash
Most of my magazine experience was with monthly or the less frequent special interest publications (a.k.a. SIPs), but if given the opportunity to swim around in the accelerated environment of a weekly, let me have it!
Though many who work at a daily might shrug off the intensity of a weekly schedule, I was always astonished at what brilliant, well-oiled machines they were. These teams were always exceptionally decisive and so smart. Weeklies were also tremendous fun because they often contained very lighthearted, celebrity-driven-content. Below are some of the many that I’ve worked on.
People Magazine Holiday Specials
The People magazine holiday special was a single issue that came out as a bonus. These issues often focused on holiday decorating with a special emphasis on food and recipes sponsored by their sole advertiser Kraft. The completion of the first one went so well they had me back to do more.
UsWeekly Hair Special
UsWeekly was another publication that brought me back numerous times to do special issues. This was a big celebrity hair issue and the first of its kind for them. UsWeekly had never before pursued fashion or beauty revenue. This was the first test to tap that revenue stream.
UsWeekly Twilight Specials
UsWeekly often published fanzines and the two Twilight film series issues were completely sold out in pre-order, requiring second and third print runs. The Twilight series was the first time a publication I directed reached Amazon’s number one spot for pre-orders about four days in a row.
TV Guide Redesign Pitch
TV Guide found itself in a position where their numbers were dropping, as many magazines were at the time, and they were looking for a new vision. I personally have never seen a publication that was struggling to survive without big, bold, and brave steps so that’s why my creative direction was fully about addressing the real things that the public and industry was talking about — even to the point of challenging the television industry itself.