Big City Magazines -- Why They're Still Standing

Larry Platt, who runs Philadelphia and Boston magazines, says in an interview with Forbes magazine that big city books like his are still thriving when their newspaper neighbors are closing, laying-off and facing bankruptcy because they provide service and long-form narrative. Plus, they recognize that their audience is "smarter than we are" and makes sure to cater to that locally-focused, media-savvy. well-educated and wealthy audience. Basically, they're capitalizing on the vacuum created by the death of the newspapers who used to cater to this audience.

Question by Forbes: Philadelphia magazine pioneered a mix of long-form investigative work with short service pieces even before Clay Felker took a similar approach at New York. Is this formula still relevant for magazines?

Platt's Answer: Yes. Our magazines are field guides to their regions. That includes "Best Of" lists, which were invented by Boston magazine in 1974. Service packages go to the heart of readers' lifestyles interests. We couple that with long-form narrative--each issue I run 5,000 to 7,000 word pieces about things people really care about in Philadelphia. Every town in America not named New York and L.A. is run by about 250 people. The idea is to find those 250 and write about them. Felker used to say, "They'll buy you for the service, but love you for the narrative." That's what we want to do. I think of our magazines as throwing a cocktail party in print--we want people to feel like they can't afford to miss it.

Some other good tidbits from the Q&A in Forbes:

Q: You've said editor Adam Moss is "kicking ass" at New York magazine. How so?

The genius of New York magazine is that it summons the feeling of being in Manhattan. The design has lots of cramped spaces and small type, it's like being on the subway. When we redesigned, I wanted to do the same thing. I've talked with Adam a lot; I bounce ideas off him and generally pick his brain. There's a tension in Philadelphia between old and new. On one hand, a vibrant 20-something influx to Center City, which has become a young Upper East Side. On the other there's an old stranglehold on Philadelphia. It's still a union town and still leads the nation in political corruption.

Q: In the new issue hitting newsstands this weekend, are there examples that demonstrate what you're up to?

We have a long story about a mysterious financial firm, Susquehanna International, a major player on Wall Street. The company planted itself in suburban Philadelphia to stay under the radar. They trade in options, so if you want a job there you have to pass a poker test. There's also a one-page open letter to Bill Marrazzo, chief executive of WHYY, the PBS station in Philadelphia. He's the highest-paid PBS executive in the country. When they do their beg-a-thon this month, the pledge goal will be $700,000, which is approximately Marrazzo's compensation. That is an outrage. So in our story, you can cut out a "non-pledge" card and send it to him, saying you support the mission of WHYY, but won't contribute until he takes a pay cut.

Q: That's pretty mean.

No doubt we'll get a lot of sh-- for that. But as our chairman, Herb Lipson, says, 'In the media business, the worst thing to be is to be ignored.' "