Martha's latest to debut Monday

[Steve Klc]

http://www.newsday.com/business/printediti...0,6152385.story

An excerpt:

"The publication, which is a size similar to Reader's Digest, will target harried homemakers with easy and fast recipes for meals, using ingredients readily available in supermarkets. Its small size is designed for the highly visible magazine racks at grocers' checkout stations.

Everyday Food, which will sell for $2.95 per copy, is the first publication from Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. not to prominently feature Stewart's name. The inaugural issue's cover has the word "food" in large capital letters with "everyday" overlaid in smaller type. Underneath, in still smaller type, is "from the kitchens of Martha Stewart Living."

I have the issue in my hands and it is, frankly, not awful. Let me be the first to say it is impressive--it's not just a perfunctory low-end recipe rag but very sensibly designed with clean direct photography supported by clean unintimidating text. Also, a surprising stylishness or deftness sneaks up on you every few pages or so which readers of other much more expensive food magazines will recognize. Given the small Reader's Digest format, the pictures still seem large enough--paper quality decent enough--and may actually have more impact on the target audience by seeming less like inaccessibly-styled food porn. Much less pretense and artifice than "Martha Stewart Living" or Martha herself. No tiresome "Chefs Recipes Made Easy" blather a la "Food & Wine" magazine. Just very simple but not too simplistic recipes with little overt personality--imagine a Sara Moulton "lite" if you will--and if given a chance I think the magazine could raise the standard of everyday food in the US in ways other glossies have not been able to.

(Yes, I realize I just said "the magazine could raise the standard of everyday food in the US.")

There are ads but they aren't obnoxious, nor are there too many of them. The usual gimmicky Reader service card is attached but we're spared a long list of credits, thank yous, and "created by" tags. It's not that kind of mag. So you're out of luck if you want to find out where the production assistants wandering around Manhattan found the rectangular plate that the very cool caramelized pineapple is presented on.

The Food Editor for "Everyday Food" is Stephanie Lyness, who I believe is writing a cookbook with Suvir. I wasn't aware of her involvement with this project until I checked the masthead. All in all, it's a hard job well done. Congratulations Stephanie.

[Skawt]

I'm still waiting for her new series, "Martha Stewart Dying (preferably in tremendous agony)".

[srhcb]

Although Martha Stewart's company's stock has plummeted, (although it's hardly alone in that regard), the ratings for her television show and readership of her newspaper and interent venues has hardly suffered at all.

The general public correctly sees this as just another example of the infotainment media's fixation on easy target stories; although it is unusual to see them turn on somebody who may have been considered "one of their own".

Ms. Stewart will probably have the last laugh because if all publicity really is good publicity, her name is very easy to spell.

[hollywood]

If Martha has a sense of humor, when this chapter is closed, she'll have Chris Isaak on her show singing Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing. It would be a good thing.

[Rail Paul]

The NY Times has an article about Martha Stewart in Sat's biz section.

General conclusions: She's still got her finger on the pulse of American women's needs. Stock has doubled in the past three months. K-Mart's the biggest risk to the financials right now. Advertising is down (whose isn't?) but relatively OK.

I'm surprised the Feds haven't brought charges. Gotta believe they are having trouble getting enough to support an indictment, since she got a "target letter" four months ago, if you believe the leaks.

[srhcb]

I'm surprised the Feds haven't brought charges. Gotta believe they are having trouble getting enough to support an indictment, since she got a "target letter" four months ago, if you believe the leaks.

And I AM NOT a lawyer, but probably with the laws pertaining to "insider trading" being as vague as they are Ms Stewart's circumstance makes her situation more useful to the government for it's publicity value, (and inherrent political associations), than as an actual criminal case that could be successfully tried or used to set precedents.

SB (but, live by the sword .... )

[chefette]

Buit back to this new magazine. I received it unrequested in the mail and initially blew it off as another annoying heap of junk, but decided to leaf through it the other night. Its pretty cool since it really is just a compilation of recipes. Admittedly I haven't even thought about any of them seriously yet, would need to take a look through it again, but it seems to me that this little magazine gives you what you are primarily looking for in Bon Appetite, Food & Wine and Gourmet that keep slipping away from you. - Recipes with nice photos of the final dishes. I used to subscribe to Martha Stewart Living but felt that it was really drifting away from most of the reasons that interested me in the magazine initially.

Might even be worth getting a 1 year subscription to see how it goes...

Steve, since you have immediate access to the magazine, how much is the 1 year subscription?

Much as we all enjoy disliking Martha she has a great organization and has good instincts about what the public is interested in. I guess her success is her greatest flaw.

[Steve Klc]

$18 for 10 issues--though from the press coverage it seems the firm commitment is for 4 issues and then they'll re-consider going forward.

[Lesley C]

I'm a huge Martha fan and have been since day 1 -- or maybe day 2. She works at getting things right instead of wasting people's time with half-assed interpretations. The only part of the Martha enterprise I'm disappointed in are those Weddings magazines, which have become an elitist bore. The rest is still terrific. I look forward to this fun little magazine.

[maggiethecat]

I'm a huge Martha fan and have been since day 1 -- or maybe day 2. She works at getting things right instead of wasting people's time with half-assed interpretations. The only part of the Martha enterprise I'm disappointed in are those Weddings magazines, which have become an elitist bore. The rest is still terrific. I look forward to this fun little magazine.

Lesley: I agree with you completely, including what you have to say about her take on weddings.

Remember Life Before Martha? "Womens" and cooking mags were uninspired, ugly and blah. Her influence on simply the look of a magazine, let alone the contents, has been wonderful.

My husband is a huge fan. We have almost the complete set of the mags, but he decided to use a couple of dozen to level the ground under the patio. Within a week he remembered something he wanted to check out. Under the patio.

Apart from the food, we are gardeners, collectors and people who like to "do things with our hands." What a treat. She has an enormously talented staff.

Lou almost had me talked into repapering the powder room with the monthly "what to Have for Dinner" insert cards. Almost.

BTW: If you have young children I recommend Martha Stewart Kids. It is so enchanting that I actually buy it at the newstand, although my only kid is herself of childbearing age.

[Jinmyo]

Amanda Hesser has an article on Everyday Food in the NY Times Dining and Wine section today.

[howard88]

It's a little difficult reading about the Martha Stewart love fest.

Are people really that naive to buy into the shameless self-

promotion of this wretch of a human being. The masses of

people who follow her may be compared to the masses of

people who follow other self important, self proclaimed gurus

who have nothing to truly promote but themselves. Try reading

Just Desserts and Martha Inc. and get back to me.

[Jinmyo]

Howard, we've seen and said and heard it all before. Run a search on Martha Stewart, read the many threads, have a good laugh, and then get back to us.

[howard88]

Jim. The "get back to me"... part was

rhetorical. However I will do the search

for threads on Martha. Thanks, I think.

[chefette]

This has nothing to do with Love Martha/ Hate Martha. This is about a little magazine. Not a bad little magazine.

[Jinmyo]

Jim.  The "get back to me"... part was

rhetorical.  However I will do the search

for threads on Martha.  Thanks, I think.

You're welcome. But it's "Jinmyo" or "Jin", not "Jim".

[Lesley C]

I read all those books and still like her. She has a wicked staff to back up her style and ideas (and vice versa) and she's out there on all fronts at all times.

Howard88, if Martha were a man, would you hate her as much? Bet not.

[Ron Johnson]

if Martha were a man, would you hate her as much? Bet not.

Are we sure that she isn't?

[Hopleaf]

Steve, I wonder if you have any info on distribution of Martha's new digest-sized magazine? We put out similar publications and haven't found it yet in Chicago. I wonder if it was tested first on the east coast?

[guajolote]

Hopleaf - I saw it a Dominicks a couple of weeks ago

[maggiethecat]

Hopleaf - I saw it a Dominicks a couple of weeks ago

Thanks! Haven't seen it either.

[KatieLoeb]

I read all those books and still like her. She has a wicked staff to back up her style and ideas (and vice versa) and she's out there on all fronts at all times.

Howard88, if Martha were a man, would you hate her as much? Bet not.

If I had a staff of 70 professional chefs, botanists, gardeners and stylists at my disposal, I suppose my humble home would look like Ms. Stewart's as well...

As it is, although I wish I could have gotten as rich as she is spray painitng pine cones, I do give Ms. Stewart credit for brilliant repackaging of the same concept over and over and over. The lowly carrot will be a gardening segment, a carrot recipes segment and a carrot wedding cake segment on or in various TV shows and magazines. She really is brilliant at squeezing every last drop of "juice", so to speak, out of any given topic.

I have just seen the new magazine at my local newsstand. I'll have to pick it up and give it a look-see.

[Steve Klc]

Hop--I have not looked for it on the newstand. I actually don't hang out in offline bookstores too much and rarely browse the racks. We got it in the mail as a Living subscriber.

[Hopleaf]

Hopleaf - I saw it a Dominicks a couple of weeks ago

which one? I haven't seen it in the one I go to.

[guajolote]

Howard Street - right by the El stop

Edit: If you want a copy I'll buy one & mail it to you

Edited February 11, 2003 by guajolote (log)