Welcome to Technology for Publishing’s roundup of news about women’s roles, contributions, and achievements in the evolving media business. This latest installment highlights what’s ahead for Vanity Fair’s new editor, how InStyle’s special projects director and her team drive video success, a Q&A with HarpersBazaar.com’s editor, Bloomberg’s first-ever chief product officer, and more.

 A New Era

The Vanity Fair Radhika Jones will lead into the future will be very different from the one shaped by her predecessor, the legendary Graydon Carter, says a recent NBC News report. Jones, who’s taking on her new role as VF and other Condé Nast titles undergo transformation, is expected to bring new ideas and steer the publication in a new direction to counter what former Variety EIC Peter Bart says happens to all entrenched magazines: predictability. While still early to know the specifics, in a recent VF interview Jones laid out some areas of focus, including the brand’s website and events.

Video How-To

InStyle has seen spectacular growth in video in the past year, quadrupling its number of unique video viewers and generating 215 million video views on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, according to MPA numbers. Behind that success is special projects director Ruthie Friedlander, who works with EIC Laura Brown and InStyle and Time Inc. (now Meredith) digital teams to incorporate video in all of InStyle’s web posts and tie it into other editorial content as well. “We’ve worked hard to create series that we know our audience will continue to respond to,” says Friedlander. “We also have continued to invest our efforts into service-related videos—how-to’s, explainers—which we know our audience loves.” In a Q&A with Folio, Friedlander offers insights on which formats and subjects work well on various channels, the secret to InStyle’s popular Golden Globes “elevator” videos, and what she says is the foundation of great video content.

Keeping It Modern

During her seven-year tenure at HarpersBazaar.com, editor Joyann King has been instrumental in growing the reach of the iconic luxury pub to 10 million monthly unique visitors and an additional 25 million views through social media. Her team is also credited with transforming the traditional fashion and beauty brand into a top destination for popular articles, features, and videos on everything from entertainment and travel to women’s and social issues, according to a HuffPost interview with King. As a veteran of other top beauty and fashion magazines—including Self, Glamour, Elle, and InStyle—King offers some perspective on learning from the trenches: “The ELLEgirl gig had zero cache, but it had boundless opportunity. I learned to speak ‘Internet,’ I launched a blog, I starred in my own video series, I partnered with the ad team on editorial packages, I appeared on TV as a talking head.” She also shares her thoughts on leadership, maintaining work/life balance, mentorship, and more.

It’s Personal

Content personalization is a top priority today, and at Bloomberg Media, that effort will now be driven by Julia Beizer, who was just hired as the company’s first chief product officer. Beizer, who previously worked for The Washington Post and HuffPost, will oversee Bloomberg’s desktop and mobile site and its growing number of over-the-top (OTT) apps and video products, as well as coordinate licensing and distribution among Bloomberg Digital departments, according to Digiday. While Bloomberg and other publishers are increasingly focused on creating personalized user experiences—in the hopes of boosting ad revenue—Beizer says there’s more work to be done: “There’s real user service there that doesn’t run into the risk of filter bubbles, that I don’t think we as an industry are nailing yet.”

Hiring News Roundup

  • Samantha Barry is taking over the editor in chief post at Glamour, with Cindi Leive stepping down last fall after 16 years. Prior to the appointment, Barry was executive producer for social and emerging media at CNN and had worked for BBC World News and the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
  • Nicole Carroll was named editor in chief of USA Today, previously serving as the editor of Gannett’s Arizona Republic.
  • Julie DeTraglia was named vice president and head of research at Hulu, where she previously had been head of ad sales research.
  • Emily Dougherty, previously beauty and fitness director at Elle, is the new editor in chief of NewBeauty.
  • Maureen Hoch was named editor of HBR.org, where she had been serving as acting editor since August. Prior to that, Hoch worked at World Bank, PBS NewsHour, and The Washington Post.
  • Sally Holmes is leaving her executive editor post at Elle.com to become the next digital director of MarieClaire.com.
  • Mandy Jenkins was promoted to editor in chief at Storyful. Jenkins has worked at the News Corp. aggregator for the past three years, most recently as head of news.
  • Becky Lang was appointed editor in chief at Discover. Lang, who has been a senior editor at Discover since 2013, previously was a health and science editor at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  • Samhita Mukhopadhyay became the first executive editor of Teen Vogue, heading the brand’s editorial team and developing brand strategy. Previously, she was senior editorial director of culture and identities at Mic.
  • Courtney Murphy joined Reader’s Digest as creative director. She has served as creative director at Prevention magazine, Good Housekeeping, and AARP The Magazine.
  • Jessica Pels is the new digital director of Cosmopolitan.com. She previously was website director at Marie Claire.
  • Liz Plosser succeeded Amy Keller Laird as the next editor in chief of Women’s Health. Prior to the move, Plosser was senior vice president of content at Well+Good.
  • Jennifer Salke was appointed president of Amazon Studios, which creates shows for Amazon’s streaming video service. Salke had served as president of entertainment at NBC.

Let us know in the comments if there are any other recent stories or career moves you’d like us to include in our next Women in Media roundup.

Photo: Vanity Fair/Casey Kelbaugh, The New York Times, Redux

Technology for Publishing’s Women in Media blog highlights the news and achievements of female leaders and role models in the publishing and media industry. Look for our in-depth profiles and interviews of top women to watch. Is there someone you’d like to nominate for an upcoming Q&A? Drop us a note!

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Posted by: Margot Knorr Mancini

Margot Knorr Mancini
A thought leader in the publishing industry, Margot Knorr Mancini has helped numerous publishers redefine their missions to become nimble content generators with the ability to repurpose content easily and efficiently. As Founder & CEO of Technology for Publishing, her analytical mind allows her to remain a step ahead of the industry, recognizing early trends and developing pivotal best practices.
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