Talk a done deal
Hearst, M'max firm deal on Brown's new mag
Under the terms of the agreement, Hearst will gain 50% ownership in the general interest startup and will oversee its circulation, newsstand distribution and subscription fulfillment. Talk Media, the company that Brown and Galotti created with Miramax, will be responsible for Talk's editorial content, advertising sales and marketing.
Brown and Galotti's equity deal, the details of which remain secret, will not be affected by Hearst's participation, as their percentage comes from Miramax's stake in the venture. That interest has little meaning, however, until the mag moves into the black.
Talk marks Hearst's first significant foray into the high-end general interest field, where it will compete with two magazines formerly edited by Brown, Vanity Fair and the New Yorker. Bringing Talk under the Hearst umbrella is the first high-profile move for Cathleen Black, who has topped Hearst Magazines since 1996.
"We began negotiations this past Thanksgiving," Black told Daily Variety. "Things got really serious when I got to look at a dummy and saw how exciting this is going to be. It will bring a whole new generation of readers into general interest magazines."
World-class resources
Galotti also sees advantages to the partnership. "Hearst offers us world-class resources. We needed the best in terms of subscription base and newsstand relationships to launch a magazine of this size."
Joint ownership seemed in the stars long before negotiations were made public a month ago, since Hearst has a long-standing relationship with Disney, which owns Miramax.
Hearst has numerous joint ventures with ABC, which is also a subsid of Disney. Ten of the 26 Hearst-Argyle owned television stations are ABC affils, and the publishing Goliath shares ownership of A&E, ESPN and Lifetime with the Alphabet net.
"From the top down, these are two companies that know each other very well," Black said.
History on his side
In addition, Galotti has a long history with the company: He was publisher when Hearst launched the successful Country Living 20 years ago.
"I find myself working with many of the same executives," Galotti said. "It's a real Valentine's Day love fest going on over here."
As for Brown, the provocative English editor says she has everything in place for Talk's first issue, scheduled to bow in mid-August. Starting circulation will be 500,000.
Talk is expected to move into new offices in the coming weeks, and Brown has completed her search for editors.
"I have hired a full complement of editors," Brown told Daily Variety. "I have cherry-picked stars from mastheads all over town -- the New Yorker, the New York Observer, Penguin Books. All we have left to hire is support staff, which will be done when we approach the launch date, and six remaining staff writers."
