Postcards

Fortune nabs some prizes

I spent the last part of yesterday attending the Henry R. Luce Awards--the annual bestowal of prizes for the best work that comes out of my company, Time Inc.

I walked downstairs to the Time & Life Building's 8th floor auditorium reluctantly, feeling that I hardly had time for two hours of hobnobbing with colleagues or celebrating an industry under fierce pressure to stay profitable.

Well, I left totally jazzed. If you MORE

Ten signs of recovery and renewal

I'm an optimist. Always have been. So take with a grain of salt--or sugar, perhaps--these signs of hope across the board:

1. Maybe print isn't dead. My new Kindle 2 makes me think that even though we may not be reading magazines and newspapers on paper a decade or two from now, long-form stories and beautiful page design can endure. (My Monday Postcard, "Amazon: Thinking beyond the Kindle," stirred debate about MORE

Amazon: thinking beyond the Kindle

We love companies that underpromise and overdeliver. Apple (AAPL) is one. Another is Amazon.com (AMZN). Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos thrives on overdelivering.

I had my own Jeff Bezos multimedia experience last night as I sat in my living room and played with my new Kindle 2 while watching Bezos on the Charlie Rose show. (Click here to see the show from late February--yes, I was playing DVR catchup.) The Amazon MORE

Hope amid retail's rough week

It was, to steal a Malcolm Gladwell term, a "tipping point" in my outlook on the cratering economy. I call it my "That Girl" moment.

It was the fourth Monday in November last year. I was at a Thanksgiving party at the home of Cathie Black, the president of Hearst Magazines. Marlo Thomas was there, too. "Saks is selling shoes for 75% off. It's incredible!" TV's onetime Ann Marie was crowing, MORE

Power Point: Feel the power of 50

"Fifty is not the new 30. Instead, I think 50 is the new 50. Today, 50 can be whatever you want it to be."

- Nancy Graham, just-named editor of AARP, the world's largest-circulation magazine. Nancy, a dear friend, worked with me at Fortune 20 years ago. And after winding her way through Time Inc. (TWX)--at Money and then at People--she's in a sweet spot, serving America's largest demographic and reaching MORE

In defense of the expense-account lunch

I went out to lunch today. Really. Even as you've read this week about the slashing and shrinking inside my company, Time Inc. (TWX), and across the magazine industry (even Conde Nast, the proud, privately-held protector of privilege and perks is axing), I have to eat. I have to schmooze. My job depends upon it.

Allow me to defend the expense-account lunch. Here are my rules of (lunchtime) engagement, honed over MORE

Book boom: the Twilight phenomenon

Am I out of it, or what?

Not until last weekend did I hear of the Twilight series. You know it? Twilight is the young-adult phenom that is the sagging book industry's greatest hope since Harry Potter. The last in the three-year-old, four-book series, Breaking Dawn, got a 3.2 million-book run. In the first 24 hours after its release last Saturday, Borders (BGP) reportedly sold 250,000 copies. Barnes & Noble (BKS) MORE