Kennedy Brainchild 'George' Folds
N E W Y O R K, Jan. 4, 2001 -- George magazine, founded in 1995 by the lateJohn F. Kennedy, Jr. to be a reservoir of pop culture and politics, is folding. The magazine’s final issue will hit newsstands in March as a tribute to Kennedy.
The announcement was made today by Jack Kliger, president ofHachette Filipacchi Magazines, a division of the Frenchconglomerate Lagardere SCA. The magazine’s 39 staffers will receiveseverance packages.
Kliger said Hachette had put “well over” $10 million into themagazine over the past year and only anticipated the losses to riseas the advertising market softens. “I deeply regret this decisionbut it is unavoidable,” Kliger said.
Hachette faced a dilemma over what to do with George magazine,which was already struggling when Kennedy died in a plane crash inthe summer of 1999, since closing George right away could haveseemed disrespectful so soon after Kennedy’s death.
Hachette ended up taking full control of George that fall,buying out the half-interest it didn’t already own from the Kennedyestate and installing former Money magazine editor Frank Lalli atthe helm.
Circulation Rose, Ad Dollars Sank
Even though circulation rose some 25 percent over the past year,Kliger said the poor response from advertisers, combined with aslowing economy and worsening advertising climate, made a decisionto close the magazine inevitable.
Kliger also acknowledged in an interview, however, that themagazine’s close association with its late founder also played arole in making a relaunch of the publication a difficultproposition.
“There was a product that went out beyond John, but theadvertisers had always associated it with John Kennedy,” Kligersaid. “It was a political/lifestyle magazine, but we had a hell ofa ghost to always be compared to.”
Even before Kennedy’s death, readers and advertisers had oftenpuzzled over George’s unusual premise of combining celebritycoverage with serious political issues. Despite a considerablerevamp under Lalli, the response from advertisers was poor.
For the first 11 months of 2000, the magazine’s advertisingpages, a main gauge of health for a periodical, fell 40 percent to251 pages compared to the same period a year ago, according to thePublishers Information Bureau.
A handful of other magazines also have close associations withcelebrities, including Martha Stewart Living, The Oprah Magazine,and now McCall’s, which is being relaunched in association withtalk show host Rosie O’Donnell.
A Young Kennedy’s Dream
The ’90s, with MTV covering presidential politics, ushered in a whole new era of politics and entertainment. Kennedy believed the two should be melded together.
“He thought politics should be an integral part of our popular culture, and that popular culture should be an integral part of politics,” Sen. Edward M. Kennedy said in a eulogy at Kennedy’s funeral. “He transformed that belief into the creation of George. John shaped and honed a fresh, often irreverent journal. His new political magazine attracted a new generation, many of whom had never read about politics before.”
Kennedy jumped right in, stirring up attention and controversy: The premiere issue showed a racy photograph of model Cindy Crawford dressed as George Washington with a bare bellybutton.
He once posed seminude for a photograph that accompanied his editor’s note. And Kennedy caused a stir in his own family when he ridiculed his cousins, Joseph and Michael, for being “poster boys of bad behavior.” Joseph Kennedy, a former Massachusetts congressman, had just annulled his 12-year marriage, and Michael Kennedy, had been accused of having an affair with his underaged baby sitter.
The magazine itself got mixed reviews, but in the end, it was Kennedy who helped attract readers and advertisers. Even before Kennedy’s death, however, there were reports that the magazine was struggling financially.
Kennedy reportedly spent his last night, in July 1999, poring over the magazine’s financial reports, trying to find away to turn it around.The Associated Press contributed to this report.