Mr. Magazine

Publishing During A Pandemic (10)

“The message that I would send to the readers and the sponsors of Inc. is what’s contained in my CEO letter, which is published on Inc.com and Fastcompany.com. And the gist of the message was on the Inc. side, that we have stood by small business owners and fast-growing entrepreneurs for 40 years and we will stand by them now and do whatever it takes to help them through this crisis. No one understands them better than we do. And when we get to the other side of this, Inc. will be there with them once again.”… Eric Schurenberg

“On the Fast Company side, it’s the same message for that different audience. We have helped define a cadre of creative, innovative, tech-forward, socially-conscious businesspeople who imagine a future of business in which all of those characteristics come to the fore. And we know that those characteristics will help people succeed during this terrible crisis. And that Fast Company will be standing shoulder-to-shoulder with those readers, helping the imagine a better future.” … Eric Schurenberg

Two titles that have their finger on the pulse of all things business, Fast Company and Inc. magazines, are staying true-to-form during this pandemic: they’re standing shoulder-to-shoulder with their readers.

Eric Schurenberg is CEO of  Mansueto Ventures, home of Fast Company and Inc. I spoke with Eric recently to discuss this tragic pandemic and what it’s doing to our nation and the world, both health-wise and economically. And while Eric remains optimistic about our economic future, he does believe that the quicker the pandemic is over, the sooner our economy will be able to rebound. He said that he is hoping for a V-shaped recovery rather than a U-shaped as many economists call them: “I’m hoping for a V-shaped recovery and I think that the odds of that remain better than even as long as things are resolved quickly.”

But Eric also puts a lot of faith in the readers of his products, the entrepreneurs who he believes will find the innovative solutions to get our country back on its feet promptly, and the small business owners who are the backbone of our financial system.

And now please enjoy this tenth installment in the series of Publishing During A Pandemic, in the Mr. Magazine™ interview with Eric Schurenberg, CEO, Mansueto Ventures, Fast Company & Inc.

But first the sound-bites:

On how he is operating during this pandemic: We sent everyone home on March 11, so a few days after your school did. We’ve been working from home since then. Occasionally, people ask when I think we’ll go back and of course, no one knows, we’ll be out indefinitely. Certainly not this month. Like everybody else, we’re doing a lot more Zoom meetings and doing less email and more Slack, and reviewing other technology platforms that might make remote working easier and getting advice in that regard.

On whether being from the editorial side of the magazine business instead of the business side has helped him as CEO during this crisis: It’s different. Better in some ways, not better in other ways. I think that the Town Hall thing was an example of one of the ways in which it helped. I had contacts at the Chamber of Commerce dating back to my days as editor, so I communicated with a partner over there and conceived how the town halls might work the way an editor might conceive them. So that was a big success.

On whether he’s had to make any changes to his publishing schedules due to the pandemic: We’ve made no changes, and so far the one issue for each brand that we’ve closed since the emergency hit has been above goal. That could be a reflection of the fact that we just had a really strong start to the year and advertisers stuck with us rather than pulling out because of the crisis. Or it could be that budgets that were set for live events have moved to print partly, some of that money has moved to print. But so far, so good on the print side.

On how he views the relevancy of Inc. and Fast Company magazines today during this pandemic:  The magazines and the titles, we are certainly magazine brands, and paper is not the only way that we convey information and serve our readers. But I would say that the brands are more important than they have ever been and you can see that just in the kind of contact we have with our readers. As I said, the town halls we have to help people understand how to get loans from the government  help people with small businesses, assist entrepreneurs in getting loans from the government, these have been huge successes. And we’ve drawn in people from all over. And what that says to me is when you’re in distress, as many small business owners are now, you turn to the brands that you trust most. And for many small businesses that’s Inc. and Fast Company.

On whether he ever envisioned something like this happening, even in his worst nightmares: In many ways I think that 2008 was worse for the industry, just because the financial system was in danger of collapse. And I don’t think we’re there yet. We know that many people are out of work and many industries are hugely challenged, but we also know that this will end. And that the infrastructure itself is not threatened if it ends within a reasonable amount of time. So unlike the financial crisis in 2008, where people were discovering how rickety the financial system was, how overleveraged and how it was balancing on the head of a pin and no one knew that before, and wasn’t really sure of what it meant, those were scarier times.

On any message he has for his reader, advertisers or staff: The message that I would send to the readers and the sponsors of Inc. is what’s contained in my CEO letter, which is published on Inc.com and Fastcompany.com. And the gist of the message was on the Inc. side, that we have stood by small business owners and fast-growing entrepreneurs for 40 years and we will stand by them now and do whatever it takes to help them through this crisis. No one understands them better than we do. And when we get to the other side of this, Inc. will be there with them once again.

On what keeps him up at night: The biggest worry is that the recession will be deeper and longer than I think it will be. I’m not an economist in any way, and most economists are wrong anyway in their prognostications as we know. If this is longer and deeper than I now imagine, then that would be bad. Economists talk about U-shaped recoveries in which there’s a long period where the economy is in a depressed level. And V-shaped recoveries, where the economy rebounds promptly off a low point. I’m hoping for a V-shaped recovery and I think that the odds of that remain better than even as long as things are resolved quickly.

And now the lightly edited transcript of the Mr. Magazine™ interview with Eric Schurenberg, CEO, Mansueto Ventures, Fast Company & Inc.

Samir Husni:  How are you operating during this pandemic?

Eric Schurenberg: We sent everyone home on March 11, so a few days after your school did. We’ve been working from home since then. Occasionally, people ask when I think we’ll go back and of course, no one knows, we’ll be out indefinitely. Certainly not this month. Like everybody else, we’re doing a lot more Zoom meetings and doing less email and more Slack, and reviewing other technology platforms that might make remote working easier and getting advice in that regard.

The events business, of course, was the most hard-hit and most directly hit. We had high hopes pinned to our activations in South By Southwest (SXSW), where we were setting up content panels and keynotes and everything like that, activations, for both Inc. and Fast Company, and they were very popular. There was a lot of interest and sponsors and registrants, and when that went down, that was a blow. On the other hand, I’m so glad that we didn’t go because that would have been terrible now that we understand how widespread and communicative this disease is.

We managed to rotate most of the sponsors from South By into another platform, either postponed events or digital events or other media, like a page of the magazine or a place during conventional advertising on Inc.com or Fastcompany.com, so while it was a blow, we didn’t go down to zero.

In the meantime, we’ve been having significant success with our digital events. Recently, we had a Town Hall, we called it, about the “CARES Act” and how business owners can access that money that the government made available to small businesses to help them preserve payroll and get loans to get through this emergency. We’re doing that in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce. We’ve maxxed out at 10,000 registrants for both of the weeks that we’ve done it and basically have had to turn people away at 10,000. Inc.’s largest physical event, the Inc. 5000, runs around 2,000 people, so this is a multiple of that event, in terms of its attendance. Interest and sponsors is running strong, so that has been a success story for us in the wake of the crisis.

Samir Husni: You’re one of the few CEO’s who came out from the editorial ranks, not from the business ranks. During this crisis, has being from that side of the magazine world helped you at all in your role as CEO?

Eric Schurenberg: It’s different. Better in some ways, not better in other ways. I think that the Town Hall thing was an example of one of the ways in which it helped. I had contacts at the Chamber of Commerce dating back to my days as editor, so I communicated with a partner over there and conceived how the town halls might work the way an editor might conceive them. So that was a big success.

But I have really good editors in charge of both Inc. and Fast Company, and anything I do as editor in chief without portfolio, if you will, is on top of what they do there. They’re totally competent and wonderful editorial leaders and it’s not like they need my help.

Samir Husni: Have you made any decisions in terms of the publishing schedules or frequencies, are you continuing to publish the print editions as usual  or you’ve had to make some changes due to the pandemic?

Eric Schurenberg: We’ve made no changes, and so far the one issue for each brand that we’ve closed since the emergency hit has been above goal. That could be a reflection of the fact that we just had a really strong start to the year and advertisers stuck with us rather than pulling out because of the crisis. Or it could be that budgets that were set for live events have moved to print partly, some of that money has moved to print. But so far, so good on the print side.

Samir Husni: You deal with the business, with the economy, small businesses with Inc., the economy as a whole with Fast Company. And two of the main topics that the world is talking about right now is health and the economy. How do you see the relevancy of those two magazines now, during the pandemic, and as we eventually move out of the crisis?

Eric Schurenberg: The magazines and the titles, we are certainly magazine brands, and paper is not the only way that we convey information and serve our readers. But I would say that the brands are more important than they have ever been and you can see that just in the kind of contact we have with our readers. As I said, the town halls we have to help people understand how to get loans from the government  help people with small businesses, assist entrepreneurs in getting loans from the government, these have been huge successes. And we’ve drawn in people from all over. And what that says to me is when you’re in distress, as many small business owners are now, you turn to the brands that you trust most. And for many small businesses that’s Inc. and Fast Company.

Fast Company’s traffic on Fastcompany.com has been as much as 80 percent above its usual pace. People are truly finding the information they need, the comfort, and the advice that they’re looking for at this time.

Samir Husni: As a journalist and as a CEO, have you ever envisioned, even in your worst nightmares, anything like what is happening today with this pandemic? Where the entire country and basically the world has shut down?

Eric Schurenberg: In many ways I think that 2008 was worse for the industry, just because the financial system was in danger of collapse. And I don’t think we’re there yet. We know that many people are out of work and many industries are hugely challenged, but we also know that this will end. And that the infrastructure itself is not threatened if it ends within a reasonable amount of time. So unlike the financial crisis in 2008, where people were discovering how rickety the financial system was, how overleveraged and how it was balancing on the head of a pin and no one knew that before, and wasn’t really sure of what it meant, those were scarier times.

You remember, for example, the stock market went down for more than 20 percent three years in a row during that crisis as more of a financial weakness became evident. Today, the stock market went down dramatically right away and then began to rebound. Now the stock market obviously is an imperfect measure of the health of the economy, but it is a good measure of the state of mind of investors. And I think what you’re seeing is a sense that this catastrophe is serious, but it’s circumscribed. We know what’s causing it and we know that it’s going to end within some timeframe that we can imagine.

It’s awful for some industries and in many ways the entire economy will be changed, we know that too and we can’t exactly predict how it will be changed, we just know it will happen. I also think it’s a lot easier to imagine how things will return to a semblance of normal and that will happen in a matter of months, not years.

Samir Husni: What message would you like or are you already communicating to your employees, your readers, and your advertisers? Is there any specific message?

Eric Schurenberg: The message that I would send to the readers and the sponsors of Inc. is what’s contained in my CEO letter, which is published on Inc.com and Fastcompany.com. And the gist of the message was on the Inc. side, that we have stood by small business owners and fast-growing entrepreneurs for 40 years and we will stand by them now and do whatever it takes to help them through this crisis. No one understands them better than we do. And when we get to the other side of this, Inc. will be there with them once again.

On the Fast Company side, it’s the same message for that different audience. We have helped define a cadre of creative, innovative, tech-forward, socially-conscious businesspeople who imagine a future of business in which all of those characteristics come to the fore. And we know that those characteristics will help people succeed during this terrible crisis. And that Fast Company will be standing shoulder-to-shoulder with those readers, helping to imagine a better future.

To my employees the message is, what we have always done at Inc. and Fast Company matters now more than ever to our readers. They are looking to us for information, validation, for recognition of the sacrifices they’re making and for reassurance that they’re not alone. That they have Inc. and Fast Company standing right beside them as they find their way through this.

Samir Husni: My typical last question; what keeps you up at night?

Eric Schurenberg: The biggest worry is that the recession will be deeper and longer than I think it will be. I’m not an economist in any way, and most economists are wrong anyway in their prognostications as we know. If this is longer and deeper than I now imagine, then that would be bad. Economists talk about U-shaped recoveries in which there’s a long period where the economy is in a depressed level. And V-shaped recoveries, where the economy rebounds promptly off a low point. I’m hoping for a V-shaped recovery and I think that the odds of that remain better than even as long as things are resolved quickly.

I also have tremendous faith in the creativity and power of innovation of entrepreneurs, and in the kind of people who read Fast Company and Inc. I think that they are going to come up with a solution. And if it’s not a vaccine, it’ll be achievements. And before that they will find a way to manufacture the tests in the volume that we need and get them distributed in the way we do. Entrepreneurship is the vehicle for delivering innovation in a dynamic economy, I’ve seen it happen many times before. And I know our readers at Inc. and Fast Company, and I have a lot of faith that a solution lies with them.

Samir Husni: Thank you.  

Publishing During A Pandemic (9)

 “For our magazine business, we’re keeping our print publishing schedule the same as always. And I will say, there was a technology task to get our editorial for our magazine product development to work remotely, because the designers work with such big files and important technology systems. So, that was also a transition that I’m happy to say we’re on the other side of. But we’re keeping our print schedule the same.” … Kent Johnson

 “My overall message and the way I’m trying to lead through this crisis is with transparency and much more frequent communication to our company. But the main message is we will get through this and we’ll get through it together. In a time of crisis and stress, we have to double-down on our values and we have to double-down and emphasize the purpose of our company.” … Kent Johnson

Faith and learning to adapt, two things that CEO Kent Johnson and his teams at Highlights for Children are having and doing to continue to publish during this pandemic. I spoke with Kent recently and he was candid and very grateful for his team’s ability to continue with quality content despite the stress and disruption of this terrible crisis. He said nothing would change about their publishing schedules for now and was very thankful for the online products that Highlights offers for children and that they were doing so well in this day of homeschooling and isolation.

Having a degree in physics, Kent said he believes and enjoys data-driven thinking and decision-making, but with the pandemic, his idea of leadership for himself and his company is through transparency and much more frequent communication to the company.

“I try to focus all of us on our mission and remind us all that however hard it is today, we’re going to get through this as a country. We’re going to get through this as a global, interconnected human population. We have to keep our faith, but be realistic and do the best we can every day.”

Indeed, Kent. We will get through this together.

And now please enjoy this ninth installment in the series of Publishing During A Pandemic, in the Mr. Magazine™ interview with Kent Johnson, CEO, Highlights for Children.

But first the sound-bites:

On how Highlights for Children is operating during this pandemic: All things considered, we’re operating pretty well. We have great leadership from our governor here in Ohio. We jumped on the idea that we had to be fully remote pretty early in the process. We trusted our teams and empowered our IT and leaders to get us working remotely. I was just amazed at how fast they did it. After the initial adrenaline of the change, we’re now in the stage of trying to figure out how to get used to it, be productive and be well-balanced in this virtual office environment. I’m impressed with our team and happy that we’re adapting as well as we can.

On whether the work-from-home move was easy or hard for everyone: I would say that we were lucky and it varied by function. We made the decision on a Wednesday morning that we should do a dry run of work from home on Friday, but by Thursday night we decided we would just go fully to work-from-home. So, it took us about maybe 72 hours due to some of the tougher positions. And that includes getting customer service, our contact centers, getting those people who deal with customers to be able to work from home too. So, there was a technology piece to that as well.

On whether he is considering any changes to publishing schedules or frequencies due to the pandemic: For our magazine business, we’re keeping our print publishing schedule the same as always. And I will say, there was a technology task to get our editorial for our magazine product development to work remotely, because the designers work with such big files and important technology systems. So, that was also a transition that I’m happy to say we’re on the other side of. But we’re keeping our print schedule the same.

On the message he has for his staff and readers during this pandemic: My overall message and the way I’m trying to lead through this crisis is with transparency and much more frequent communication to our company. But the main message is we will get through this and we’ll get through it together. In a time of crisis and stress, we have to double-down on our values and we have to double-down and emphasize the purpose of our company.

On whether his degree and background in physics has helped him during this pandemic in running a major magazine media company: It’s interesting, because I do have training in science and I love to be a data-driven decision maker in business and our company thrives on data. We, as a leadership team, have been very conscious and very explicit that in a time of crisis we say all our crystal balls are sitting shattered on the floor. We’re trying to use our intuition, use our heart and lead more like a general than a rational thinker. We take all of the data we have, but we have to make decisions in a time of crisis more rapidly. We remind everyone that we can’t be perfect, that we have to move quickly and make decisions in a decisive manner. And communicate why we’re doing it and what we’re doing, and adapt.

On whether Highlights’ worldwide publications have been impacted by the pandemic: Our international business is really important to us from a mission perspective. I think we’re still trying to understand the impact globally on our business. I will say that maybe as a company we had sort of an early insight into the impact of this pandemic. One of our key customers, a really valued partner for us is based in Wuhan. And we’ve worked with them for many years to get our Highlights/High Five content and other early childhood content to preschool kids in China. So, we both had the early view of what happened to business as Wuhan and Hubei province shut down in China.

On what keeps him up at night: Uncertainty. It’s probably keeping us all up at night. We have to take this day-by-day with faith that the purpose of our company is important today and will be important on the other side of this. I lose a lot of sleep thinking about our people, hoping our people are keeping a  balance in their lives so that they can perform well and maintain their mental and physical health and an effectiveness in their lives as a whole, across their families, extended families and their colleagues at work.

And now the lightly edited transcript of the Mr. Magazine™ interview with Kent Johnson, CEO, Highlights for Children.

Samir Husni: With everything that’s going on today, how is Highlights for Children operating during this pandemic?

Kent Johnson: All things considered, we’re operating pretty well. We have great leadership from our governor here in Ohio. We jumped on the idea that we had to be fully remote pretty early in the process. We trusted our teams and empowered our IT and leaders to get us working remotely. I was just amazed at how fast they did it. After the initial adrenaline of the change, we’re now in the stage of trying to figure out how to get used to it, be productive and be well-balanced in this virtual office environment. I’m impressed with our team and happy that we’re adapting as well as we can.

Samir Husni: Was the work-from-home move easy or hard for everyone?

Kent Johnson: I would say that we were lucky and it varied by function. We made the decision on a Wednesday morning that we should do a dry run of work from home on Friday, but by Thursday night we decided we would just go fully to work-from-home. So, it took us about maybe 72 hours due to some of the tougher positions. And that includes getting customer service, our contact centers, getting those people who deal with customers to be able to work from home too. So, there was a technology piece to that as well.

Samir Husni: With the pandemic, are you considering changing any frequencies or any of your publishing schedules or is everything status quo for now?

Kent Johnson: For our magazine business, we’re keeping our print publishing schedule the same as always. And I will say, there was a technology task to get our editorial for our magazine product development to work remotely, because the designers work with such big files and important technology systems. So, that was also a transition that I’m happy to say we’re on the other side of. But we’re keeping our print schedule the same.

We’ve seen a pretty significant increase in demand for the products from Highlights that aren’t our magazine. Our Highlights Learning line of products, things like workbooks, summer workbooks, get ready for Pre-K, getting ready for K, kind of fun with a purpose with more explicit learning objectives. Those have sold incredibly well on Amazon and through our site as parents are looking for help with their kids home now and with everyone trying to be a homeschooler across the country. We’ve been working very hard to keep ourselves in inventory and market those products appropriately, let customers know. That’s been a bright spot in our service to customers.

The other thing I would say is that where we have changed from the old role of content is we’ve just launched this week a program we call “Highlights At Home,” which is a frequent publication of helpful digital content that has inspirational messages from our chief purpose officer, Chris Cully. It has humor and activities that you can do at home. And we’re both launching that to our consumers directly through social and email, but we’re also making that content available to partners who want to provide it to other companies, other nonprofits who want to provide it directly to their customers.

So, we’re totally changing the rules about intellectual property and how we partner just to try and be of help to families and parents stuck at home during this pandemic and this crisis.

Samir Husni:  You’re a physicist by education, did you in your worst nightmares ever envision something like this happening, not only in the United states, but across the entire world?

Kent Johnson: Many of us have contemplated this in the realm of fiction. I was trained as a physicist and between finishing my degree in physics and coming into the magazine industry, I spent six years in the medical diagnostics industry, including working on some assays for biotoxins. So unfortunately, I have run in the circles that think about the technologies we use to detect viruses and disease. I have been exposed to people who have worried about this, but you don’t take that risk seriously in your day-to-day life. But I do think this kind of pandemic was anticipatable and it’s just horrible that it’s here. I’m rooting for every family, for every company, and for every government as we try and adapt and get through this together.

Samir Husni: What message do you have for your staff and your readers during this pandemic?

Kent Johnson: My overall message and the way I’m trying to lead through this crisis is with transparency and much more frequent communication to our company. But the main message is we will get through this and we’ll get through it together. In a time of crisis and stress, we have to double-down on our values and we have to double-down and emphasize the purpose of our company.

I’ve been talking a lot to our employees about what we do, whether it’s in education in our magazines, across all our products. We’re not the frontlines; we’re not the medical providers who are the heroes right now, but what we provide is a really important service to families as they try to broker the disruption and the stress. I try to focus all of us on our mission and remind us all that however hard it is today, we’re going to get through this as a country. We’re going to get through this as a global, interconnected human population. We have to keep our faith, but be realistic and do the best we can every day.

Samir Husni: During this pandemic, does your degree and background in physics help you in any way running a magazine media company?

Kent Johnson: It’s interesting, because I do have training in science and I love to be a data-driven decision maker in business and our company thrives on data. We, as a leadership team, have been very conscious and very explicit that in a time of crisis we say all our crystal balls are sitting shattered on the floor. We’re trying to use our intuition, use our heart and lead more like a general than a rational thinker. We take all of the data we have, but we have to make decisions in a time of crisis more rapidly. We remind everyone that we can’t be perfect, that we have to move quickly and make decisions in a decisive manner. And communicate why we’re doing it and what we’re doing, and adapt.

I think a crisis like this has caused me and our leadership team to adapt our style. And it adapts a little bit away from the scientific and the rational to the more intuitive and the heart, leading with values and best judgements, given what we know at the time.

Samir Husni: I know you have worldwide publications also; have those been impacted by the pandemic?

Kent Johnson: Our international business is really important to us from a mission perspective. I think we’re still trying to understand the impact globally on our business. I will say that maybe as a company we had sort of an early insight into the impact of this pandemic. One of our key customers, a really valued partner for us is based in Wuhan. And we’ve worked with them for many years to get our Highlights/High Five content and other early childhood content to preschool kids in China. So, we both had the early view of what happened to business as Wuhan and Hubei province shut down in China.

But what’s inspiring for our people and it reminds me of our message point that we are going to get through this is, right now we’re constantly talking to our partners in China and watching China’s economy come back on line. We’re very worried about our friends in China and worried about the impact on their economy and their society just as we’re worried about the impact this will have on all of us.

One of the things we did early on when they shut down schools in China is we had a pilot going for our Highlights Digital Library, which is a digital platform with thousands and thousands of stories that have been published in Highlights and  High Five over the years. Early on we rolled that out as broadly as we could through our partners for free. We expanded the pilot to reach as many kids as our partners could at home, because they were stuck in the homeschool environment early and in isolation and with social distancing.

So, I’m very concerned about the impact on the global economy and we’re just trying to support our partners and work with them as their businesses get back on line.

Samir Husni: My typical last question; what keeps you up at night?

Kent Johnson: Uncertainty. It’s probably keeping us all up at night. We have to take this day-by-day with faith that the purpose of our company is important today and will be important on the other side of this. I lose a lot of sleep thinking about our people, hoping our people are keeping a  balance in their lives so that they can perform well and maintain their mental and physical health and an effectiveness in their lives as a whole, across their families, extended families and their colleagues at work.

I believe we’re all kept up at night thinking about the public health and all the pain and suffering, first in the public health, second in the economy, and for all those people this impacts directly and indirectly. We will get through this, but it’s hard.

Samir Husni: Thank you.

Publishing During A Pandemic (5)

“It’s time for us to be leaders. We have to be insanely creative in how we work and how we understand value as we’re creating. We have to be more innovative than ever, and there are going to be times that it’s really hard. We need to fuel that emotion and then move on.” Troy Young

“We’re seeing people want to consume lifestyle content because in some ways it’s an alternative to just the relentlessness of hard news. So, people want our content, they love our brands. And figuring out how we deliver against that and how we pay for it is one reason why we’re going through a period of so much change.” Troy Young

In this fifth installment of publishing during a pandemic, I reached out to Troy Young, president of Hearst Magazines, to see how Hearst was managing during this tragic and uncertain time. As we continue to see the gloom and doom in the news media, and very rare mention of anything uplifting or positive, Troy and his team are determined to shed some bloom and brightness with quality content. The glass can be viewed as half full as easily as it can half empty, and Hearst is pushing forward with serving their customers where they are and via any platform they like.

I spoke with Troy very recently and we talked about how magazines and magazine media content is more relevant today than ever before. People are looking for valued and trusted information  from those credible brands that they have come to know. Troy pointed out that in one month alone,  the Hearst Magazine brands published 1,900 health-related articles.  Amazing indeed.

Trusted content will always come from trusted brands…

So, please enjoy the fifth installment of the Mr. Magazine™  series: Publishing During A Pandemic with Troy Young, president, Hearst Magazines.

But first the sound-bites:

On how Hearst Magazines is operating during this pandemic: The first thing we had to do is move our workforce into collaborating and connecting in an entirely new way. Fortunately,— because we have a fairly large composition of very technically sophisticated workers, be it engineers or digital editors — it’s been relatively seamless. And, we have been using digital tools to connect with each other for a while now, so the transition to working remotely has been less disruptive than you’d expect. I’ve heard that from many others too, so I think the world is adjusting well.

On when the pandemic is over if he thinks there will be a pause for consideration in the traditional office environment:  I’m actually hopeful that we can use this as an opportunity to create some more lasting change. One of the bright spots for many people and for many senior executives is — for example — how efficient we can be when we create a virtual meeting. We set up a Zoom link and five people can be looking at each other and we can run a very productive meeting in 25 minutes. That gives us more flexibility in a lot of ways, in terms of our personal lives and our professional lives.

 On whether Hearst is considering any publishing schedule or frequency changes: What’s really important to me is wherever we’re creating a product —whether it’s a print, digital, video or experiential product — it has to be a great product and consumers have to value it. I think you’ll see us look critically at frequency across some of our titles, as we’ve been doing for a long time. We made the decision to change frequency on Esquire months before the pandemic crisis — you may see more of that.

On whether he had ever envisioned a crisis situation like we have today and how he might have prepared for it: I don’t know if you can prepare for it, but I feel like the fundamental structural transformation that we have gone through in magazine media was hard work and we had to make a lot of hard decisions. To an extent, that prepared us for the next set of hard decisions that are coming at us so quickly because of this pandemic. But, I don’t think any of us could have seen this coming as quickly as it did and as aggressively as it did.

On whether he thinks magazines and magazine media are relevant today: I think that we should separate two sides of magazine media: What is the content and how is it being packaged and distributed? To me, magazine media never goes away. And to me, magazine media is not the news. It is point of view; it is passions; and it is perspective; and it moves in and around the news and the things that people care about, but it brings more perspective to that conversation. And that’s what is so wonderful about it. And all of the journalism that surrounds it.

On any message he would like to send his advertisers, readers or staff: The first thing for our advertisers right now is we’re thinking about them, because I know that their businesses are incredibly difficult. And whether you’re in retail, luxury, fashion, beauty, or the automotive space, your business is facing many significant challenges. As a partner, I’m worried about them and their businesses and want to know how we can help them.

On what he tells his teams when they get together for a meeting: It’s time for us to be leaders. We have to be insanely creative in how we work and how we understand value as we’re creating. We have to be more innovative than ever, and there are going to be times that it’s really hard. We need to fuel that emotion and then move on.

 On what keeps him up at night: What keeps me up at night is that, as a society, we need to stay connected to our better angels. Cuomo said it best, and I totally agree: How do we keep positive; how do we keep helping one another. And I worry sometimes that in a crisis like this, we can let it get the better of us. And I think that we have to be like that on every level. With our families; with our coworkers; and in society. And if I worry about anything it’s, how are we reacting to these challenges and are we staying positive?

And now the lightly edited Mr. Magazine™ interview with Troy Young, president, Hearst Magazines.

Samir Husni: There’s so much doom and gloom taking place currently, not only in the world, but in the media circles. How are you as president of Hearst Magazines operating the company during this pandemic?

Troy Young: The first thing we had to do is move our workforce into collaborating and connecting in an entirely new way. Fortunately,— because we have a fairly large composition of very technically sophisticated workers, be it engineers or digital editors — it’s been relatively seamless. And, we have been using digital tools to connect with each other for a while now, so the transition to working remotely has been less disruptive than you’d expect. I’ve heard that from many others too, so I think the world is adjusting well.

We’re starting to see some of the challenges though, in terms of the effect it can have on mental health. We’re seeing the challenges of parents who are having to balance managing a school in their home and doing their work simultaneously. These types of changes are concerning given that they have the potential to put more stress on our employees.

The other question is how — during these unusual circumstances — do we move bigger projects forward and implement bigger initiatives that we were planning. How do we get those going. I think this might be a little harder to do in the remote workforce.

On top of that, we have real challenges across the industry. We have a varied portfolio, from women’s services to luxury to men’s publications, but some of those worlds are being hit tremendously hard — fashion and luxury, in particular. It will impact everybody’s revenue in the industry. I’ve spoken to many across the magazine industry and the sentiment is pretty consistent, this is going to be a really challenging time.

Our point of view is that the effects of coronavirus will accelerate trends that we’ve already been working on for quite some time. And those trends are managing rate bases more aggressively: growing our digital business, growing consumer revenue, becoming a leader in the commerce space and further developing our video production capabilities. But those are challenges that we were facing before —they are now just coming at us really fast.

Samir Husni: When the pandemic is behind us, do you think there’s a possibility that, as in education, where universities are rethinking how they’re teaching online, considering how well your teams are working remotely, do you think there will be a pause for reconsideration of the traditional office environment?

Troy Young: I’m actually hopeful that we can use this as an opportunity to create some more lasting change. One of the bright spots for many people and for many senior executives is — for example — how efficient we can be when we create a virtual meeting. We set up a Zoom link and five people can be looking at each other and we can run a very productive meeting in 25 minutes. That gives us more flexibility in a lot of ways, in terms of our personal lives and our professional lives.

So, I do think some of the learnings will rewire how we think as workers and certainly as a media company. And some of those will be really positive.

Samir Husni: Are you thinking of changing any publishing schedules, any frequencies for the print products? Are you concentrating more on digital or is everything for now still status quo?

Troy Young: What’s really important to me is wherever we’re creating a product —whether it’s a print, digital, video or experiential product — it has to be a great product and consumers have to value it. I think you’ll see us look critically at frequency across some of our titles, as we’ve been doing for a long time. We made the decision to change frequency on Esquire months before the pandemic crisis — you may see more of that.

Some of these changes may be short-term, given the lack of ad-demand right now, some may not be. But what’s really important underneath all of it is that you still create a product that the consumer really desires.

Samir Husni: Did you ever, in your worst nightmares, envision a situation like this? And how do you prepare for it?

Troy Young: I don’t know if you can prepare for it, but I feel like the fundamental structural transformation that we have gone through in magazine media was hard work and we had to make a lot of hard decisions. To an extent, that prepared us for the next set of hard decisions that are coming at us so quickly because of this pandemic. But, I don’t think any of us could have seen this coming as quickly as it did and as aggressively as it did.

Samir Husni: In the midst of all that’s happening, why do you think that magazines and magazine media are relevant today? Or are they relevant today?

Troy Young: I think that we should separate two sides of magazine media: What is the content and how is it being packaged and distributed? To me, magazine media never goes away. And to me, magazine media is not the news. It is point of view; it is passions; and it is perspective; and it moves in and around the news and the things that people care about, but it brings more perspective to that conversation. And that’s what is so wonderful about it. And all of the journalism that surrounds it.

I think that will persist. How a model of delivering that content on the printed page in a package through a set of distributors and retailers and how that gets reshaped are different questions. But I believe there will be demand for the printed product for a long time and it will hold up better in some categories than others. I think it holds up really well in shelter and fashion.

And in other places like lifestyle media for men and in health — we see a strong demand and consumers really like the product. It’s changing and as it changes, our job is to evolve how we distribute content. And if you look at what magazine publishers have done over the last decade, we’ve become incredibly nimble at creating content for ten different distribution points. And creating multiple different types of content from short Tweets to new video formats to online features — and we still continue to produce magazines. I think our industry is really resilient, and our job as leaders is to follow how consumers want to consume our content.

Samir Husni: Is there any message you want to send to your staff or your readers or to your advertisers during all of this?

Troy Young: The first thing for our advertisers right now is we’re thinking about them, because I know that their businesses are incredibly difficult. And whether you’re in retail, luxury, fashion, beauty, or the automotive space, your business is facing many significant challenges. As a partner, I’m worried about them and their businesses and want to know how we can help them.

The second thing that I would say is, I just looked at our March digital performance — in terms of the content we created and how it was read, and I can tell you that people still want to hear from us. The distribution of our content continues to grow; year over year we’re up. Our teams have been incredibly responsive.

Last month, we published 1,900 articles around Covid-19, but found different ways to talk about it that was relevant to our different audiences. And we’re seeing people want to consume lifestyle content because in some ways it’s an alternative to just the relentlessness of hard news. So, people want our content, they love our brands. And figuring out how we deliver against that and how we pay for it is one reason why we’re going through a period of so much change.

Samir Husni: What do you tell your team every time you meet for a meeting? What’s your message of encouragement?

Troy Young: It’s time for us to be leaders. We have to be insanely creative in how we work and how we understand value as we’re creating. We have to be more innovative than ever, and there are going to be times that it’s really hard. We need to fuel that emotion and then move on.

And, most importantly, we have to care for our coworkers.

Samir Husni: My typical last question; what keeps you up at night?

Troy Young: It’s so funny that you ask that, Samir, because our executive team meets every morning at 9:00 a.m. and sometimes we talk about a broad range of things. This morning, it started with how many people right now are waking up in the middle of the night? And I made the joke that maybe we should shift the call to 3:00 a.m.

But what keeps me up at night is that, as a society, we need to stay connected to our better angels. Cuomo said it best, and I totally agree: How do we keep positive; how do we keep helping one another. And I worry sometimes that in a crisis like this, we can let it get the better of us. And I think that we have to be like that on every level. With our families; with our coworkers; and in society. And if I worry about anything it’s, how are we reacting to these challenges and are we staying positive?

Samir Husni: Thank you.