In the daily scrum of vying for scoops and working in regular digs at the rival tabloid, the New York Daily News, Keith J. Kelly, the New York Post media columnist, rarely writes of the big-picture of the besieged industry, which is a shame. Nothing against a beat that traffics in granular details, but reading Ashley Baker’s very good Fashion Week Daily Q&A with Kelly makes me wish he had an outlet for more long-form analysis of the business. He clearly has plenty to contribute on that end that never sees the light of day. Two excerpts from the interview follow.
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Question:
Do you expect to see the departure of a lot of print titles in the next five to 10 years?
Keith J. Kelly:
The good ones will survive, but if you were hanging in third of fourth place…in the boom time, you could have done it, but not now. At the same time, I think a lot of digital titles will go away, too. It used to be that you could put something up and just get traffic, but that’s not the case anymore—you need to have quality traffic, and results. On the ad front, which will help print, is the propensity for ad blockers on the digital side. It’s a bigger problem in Europe; it’s coming here. They’re thinking that, like, 15 percent of the ads now don’t get seen by anybody—some of them are only seen by robots. In the past year, advertisers have really stepped up the need to prove that these ads are going to be seen. That’s going to put pressure on digital. The other problem that I think a lot of digital sites and ad agencies have is that they’re all enamored with the latest technology—Snapchat and Instagram—and I think to some extent, they’ve lost track of the purpose of an ad. The purpose of an ad is to make you want to buy something—a watch, a car, a pair of shoes. A three-second view of something you’re clicking off of isn’t going to create that desire. Secretly, the ad agencies know that’s one of the problems; that’s why they’re not paying a lot for the ads.
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Question:
Do you think Anna Wintour’s [at Condé Nast] for the long-term?
Keith J. Kelly:
If she goes, it will be her choice to go. If she wants it, it’s hers to keep. Fashion being such an important part of the Condé empire, she’s the No. 1 fashion person. Bob Sauerberg is a person in a suit who worked on consumer marketing and circulation—he’s not going to impress anybody in a fashion meeting. He’s well-dressed and everything, and he’s a nice guy, but Anna’s the person they want to see. As long as that’s the case, she’s there.
Question:
Or as long as the Newhouses still own Condé Nast.
Keith J. Kelly:
Well, if the Newhouses sell, all those high-priced editors will go. There’s no way they’re sticking around. If an outside investor comes in and looks at those salaries, he’s going to say, “Here’s a way to get rid of 10 or 20 million in cost.”•