It might be difficult to remember, at least for our younger listeners, how vast the Time-Life empire was. At its height, during the John Huey dynasty of the late 1990s/early 2000s, the company published over 100 magazines.

Quite a rise from its humble beginning in 1922, when Henry Luce launched Time as the country’s first newsweekly. It was followed shortly by Fortune in 1930, Life in 1936, Sports Illustrated in 1954, and, finally, People in 1974. It was the largest and most prestigious magazine publisher in the world—and those five titles were the bedrock.

In 2006, Huey became the sixth editor-in-chief of Time Inc., overseeing more than 3,000 journalists.

In an interview with New York magazine, Huey described Time Inc. as having a “public trust” and perhaps “an importance beyond profitability.” But not even a giant as powerful as Time Inc. was immune to the financial havoc brought about by the new digital age.

Huey retired in 2012, the last emperor of a vastly downsized and damaged empire. “Google sort of sucked all the honey out of our business,” he lamented then. In 2017, after Time was sold to its bitter rival Meredith Corporation, Huey tweeted “RIP, Time Inc. The 95-year run is over.”

Our George Gendron talked to Huey about Fortune’s battles with Forbes—and their pet names for each other, about giving Graydon Carter and Kurt Andersen at Spy a taste of their own medicine, about not hiring Tina Brown, and about what his mother really thought he should’ve done with his life.

Magazines: The original influencers.

Print Is Dead. (Long Live Print!) is a podcast about magazines and the people who made — and make them. In this series, we talk to the legendary designers, editors, writers, publishers, photographers, illustrators, photo editors, and more, who conceived and produced the publications that have dominated our conversations and covered our desks and coffee tables for decades. And many who still do.

We go deep — beyond the heds & deks, captions, sidebars, pull quotes, and factoids — into the lives and careers of this astonishingly talented group of creators.

If you’re in the magazine business — if you’re in ANY business focused on content creation — this podcast is for you. We hope you’ll join us.

HOSTS

Patrick Mitchell, creator & host, is the principal and creative director at MO.D, an award-winning content design and strategy practice offering bespoke design, consulting, and turnkey solutions for media brands. He is the former creative director at Fast Company (one of the most successful media launches in history), O, The Oprah Magazine, Nylon, and Inc. Winner of two National Magazine Awards as well as SPD’s Magazine of the Year.

Debra Bishop, contributing cohost, is the cofounding art director and visual lead of The New York Times for Kids. She worked with the legendary Fred Woodward at Rolling Stone, designing special issues. She has since lead several redesigns including, More, Whole Living, and Parents. In her 12 years at MSLO, Bishop led teams that launched Martha by Mail, Martha Stewart Baby, Martha Stewart Kids, and Blueprint. Martha Stewart Kids was awarded the prestigous ASME National Magazine Award for Design. Kids and Blueprint were both awarded Magazine of the Year by the Society of Publication Designers (SPD).

Print Is Dead. (Long Live Print!)

Episode 37: John Huey (Editor: Fortune, Time Inc., more)

Magazines: The original influencers.

SPONSORS

THE SOCIETY OF PUBLICATION DESIGNERS INC.