Trades position themselves in a turbulent market.Daily Variety tries redesigned face to lure lure the skin-covered object which runs on a monorail on a Greyhound racing track and which the dogs are schooled to chase. The lure must be kept 30 to 40 ft ahead of the leading dog so that the field is stretched out. new interest With advertising in the entertainment trade publication market off about 18 percent this year, Daily Variety, one of two Los Angeles-based daily newspapers of the entertainment industry, underwent a major redesign re·de·sign tr.v. re·de·signed, re·de·sign·ing, re·de·signs To make a revision in the appearance or function of. re this month, hoping to attract more readers and eventually improve revenues. Daily Variety Publisher Mike Silverman said the redesign had been planned for more than a year and was prompted by reader surveys, not by drops in ad pages, which he said are down less than 10 percent at his paper compared to a year ago. "One of the few gripes gripe v. griped, grip·ing, gripes v.intr. 1. Informal To complain naggingly or petulantly; grumble. 2. To have sharp pains in the bowels. v.tr. 1. our readers have had is the paper's readability read·a·ble adj. 1. Easily read; legible: a readable typeface. 2. Pleasurable or interesting to read: a readable story. ," said Silverman. "The redesign really is our response to our research." Daily Variety is owned by Cahners Publishing Co. of Newton, Mass., which is part of Reed International P.L.C. of London. Cahners also publishes New York-based weekly Variety, as well as Broadcasting magazine, Modern Bride and nine other publications. There has been a series of changes at Daily Variety over the past year. In December 1990, the paper fell victim to Cahners' budget cuts and had to lay off a few staffers. Then in March, Peter Bart, editor of Variety in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , was named editorial director of Variety Inc., putting him in charge of both papers' editorial departments. Staffers were worried about sweeping firings, but they didn't occur. The editorial department has lost a few employees this year through attrition Attrition The reduction in staff and employees in a company through normal means, such as retirement and resignation. This is natural in any business and industry. Notes: , but Silverman said the redesign may lead to more hirings. "We're looking to, if anything, beef up the editorial staff," said Silverman. "Editorial is the last thing you cut. If you cut editorial, the product suffers, and before you know it, you don't have a product to sell." Neil Perlman was named senior vice president/group publisher of the entertainment group of Cahners in June. Previously, he was president of Cahners Exposition Group in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. and executive vice president of Reed Exhibition Cos. In September, Steve West Steve West can refer to:
Morning daily newspaper. Established in 1881, it was purchased and incorporated in 1884 by Harrison Gray Otis (1837–1917) under The Times-Mirror Co. (the hyphen was later dropped from the name). , took over as executive editor of Daily Variety. The paper's editor, Peter Pryor, was reassigned to the post of "editor-at-large" in charge of expansion activities. In addition to changing the logo, the redesign of Daily Variety included the addition of a front page index, with fewer stories on the front pages and fewer jumps. The paper also started "sectionalizing where possible," said Silverman. Along with the redesign, the paper switched over to a new computer system that allows the paper to be produced electronically. The paper's graphics were changed to make them more "readable read·a·ble adj. 1. Easily read; legible: a readable typeface. 2. Pleasurable or interesting to read: a readable story. " also. Daily Variety has a circulation of about 23,000. Its chief competition is the other entertainment daily based in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , the Hollywood Reporter, with a circulation of about 22,000. Although it has a slightly smaller circulation, the Hollywood Reporter carries more advertising on a daily basis than does Daily Variety. Robert Dowling Robert Dowling may refer to:
"We've gone through a revolutionary process, rather than an evolutionary one," said Dowling. "We've got what I call stability. I hear all the changes that are taking place at (Daily) Variety, and there's a lot of excitement about that, and these are things we've had for years. My counterpart at Variety has changed three times in past four years." Recently the Hollywood Reporter has added computer graphics, photo spreads, a column called Hollywood & Vine, a Week-ender section, special sections and special series. "We've strengthened all the beats; we've changed foreign bureau chiefs; we've added people," Dowling noted. He said his paper has been allowed to grow during the recession because of the investment commitment of its parent company, BPI (Bits Per Inch) The measurement of the number of bits stored in one linear inch of a track (storage channel) on a disk or tape. Bit density on magnetic disks has reached 800,000 bpi (800 Kbpi). See tpi, areal density and magnetic disk. BPI - bits per inch Communications, which is owned by Affiliated Publications Inc. of Boston. BPI also owns the music industry publication Billboard, so the Hollywood Reporter has been able to run the Billboard research department's statistics on such things as top video rentals. "Advertising is soft, but we carry more than (Daily) Variety. Advertising is down, but we're still investing in the book. Of course, we have to be more careful (in spending)," said Dowling. "We still feel the need to enhance the publication. . . . Profit is down, but we're continuing to invest in the editorial product." In coming months, Dowling said, the Hollywood Reporter likely will further improve its design, and make additions to its international news coverage. "The paper follows the market," he said. "Entertainment worldwide is still centered in Los Angeles. Where the growth is (in foreign countries) . . . we're going to be more aggressive." Daily Variety leaves the foreign circulation market to its weekly New York-based sister publication. |
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