[Media-watch] A lighter thought on Spin and Quinn?!

[Sigi D]

More spin?
My dear MW friends,
I relax on Sundays and baked cakes. 
I also read the Sunday Telegraph (NOT my usual poison)
for juicy gossip.
Sorry, I try to be an angel, and work for peace but
the story about Blunkett and his love life was too
good to be missed.
One thing which bugs me though:
 I wanted to know more about this cheated husband of
Kimberley Quinn Fortier, the married woman the tough
home secretary (anti-social behaviour?) was bedding.
I came across an interview from April 2004 where Mr
Quinn spoke about his fierce loyalty (!) to Tony
Blair.
Smell a rat?
Spin Quinn?
All the best
S
URL etc enclosed
http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/articles/2004/4/QuantumArticle-2004-04-13000049
Media mentor
Category
Careers
Channel
Magazines
Stephen Quinn, publishing director of Vogue, used to
carry the New Statesmanas a badge of honour. Nowadays
he prefers the glossy game

How would you describe yourself in three words?

Charming, intelligent and effective.

What was your first job in media?

Selling semi-display advertising against features at
The Belfast Telegraph. I had a rather terrifying boss,
Jim Judge, who took the view that a few of us were
hippy layabouts and needed correctional time in his
busy department. I turned up for work looking like
Warren Beatty from the then fashionable film Bonnie
and Clyde.

I used to carry a copy of the New Statesman as a badge
of honour to my socialist beliefs. I had read every
single word of George Bernard Shaw and believed myself
to be an intellectual in the leftist tradition.

What does it take to make it big in media?

I have a business outlook that functions well when I
can respect and regard the magazine that I am selling.
I have been lucky enough to work on Nova, Over 21,
Harpers & Queen, GQ and Vogue, all magazines much
admired and talked about in the media industry.

You must bring energy, enthusiasm and informed
intelligence to the task of selling your magazine. The
arrival of the media-buying companies has sharpened
the need to employ confident, determined salespeople
and I like to think of myself as one of those.

What is the best piece of advice ever given to you?

Gordon Brown, my delightful and indulgent boss on
Nova, convinced me that I had to add a high work rate
to the Quinn charm.

Who is the person you most admire in the media
industry?

Alexandra Shulman, the editor of Vogue, because she
approaches the job in a very sensible and
straightforward way and has not become a diva. It does
happen a lot in glossy magazines and it is very
tiresome.

What has been the most embarrassing moment in your
career so far?

At a media research conference in the late ’60s, I
travelled with Rick Sheldon from West Berlin, where
the conference was taking place, to East Berlin
without my passport, having left it in the hotel. East
Berlin was a bleak place then and I did worry about
getting back to civilization. The famous Sheldon
worldliness got us through.

What has been your biggest regret?

Boasting that I would reverse the downturn of pages on
Vogue in 1992, my first year as publisher. I failed
because the recession was stronger than my judgement.
It annoyed Condé Nast directors because I appeared to
be saying I was superior to the previous management.
It still makes me blush.

What is the first thing you do when you get to work in
the morning?

I love to read the Daily Mail for its right-wing views
and its marvellous gossip. It is a counter blast to my
fiercely strong loyalty to Tony Blair and the Labour
Government. I will have already watched an hour of
Milkshake on Five with my 18-month old son, William,
so I know I have to enter the real world.

What is the most exciting aspect of your job?

I was absolutely certain when I launched GQ in 1988
that Britain was ready for a mainstream magazine for
men. I used all my powers of persuasion to convince
clients and agencies to believe in the men’s magazine
sector. Today, GQ is making a huge contribution to our
profits. It was exciting to help to create that
market.

Another great aspect is producing a business plan for
Vogue at the beginning of each year and delivering a
highly profitable result for the company.

That means a careful collaboration with the managing
director, Nicholas Coleridge, and with the editor and
associate publisher. It is terrific fun at Condé Nast
because we are not keen on corporate stuff and think
it all a bit overrated.

And what do you least enjoy doing?

I have a very well-connected PA, Alison Wilby, and she
is not into the 1950s mode of filing for enjoyment. I
guess I get to do it more often than she does.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years’ time?

Kimberly Fortier, publisher of The Spectator, also my
wife, is much younger than me. She loves to discuss
what I will do in business when I retire from Condé
Nast in seven or eight years from now. I would not
like the Condé Nast gang to think that I will simply
be holding William’s hand as he walks to his school.

Career path

Stephen Quinn

1991 Publishing director Vogue

1988 Launch publisher GQ

1981 Publisher Harpers & Queen

1975 Ad director Harpers & Queen

1974 Ad director Over 21

1972 Ad manager Over 21

1968 Senior sales executive Nova

1967 Sales executive Thomson Regional Newspapers



Created by admin
Publication Date 2004-04-13 12:00




		
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