Buzz Magazine
Founded by Allan Mayer, Susan Gates, and Eden Collinsworth, Buzz is a glossy magazine with double-spaced text that launched in 1990 with Carrie Fisher on the cover.
Admiring its tone and format, the L.A. Times called Buzz “the best journal yet on the local scene.”
But the magazine had a precarious start. Original investor Lawrence Ellison pulled out, and Buzz folded after three issues. However, the “Talk of Los Angeles” returned when Thai media mogul Sondhi Limthongkul invested around $4.5M (the Utah State University graduate had recently failed in his bid for United Press International).
Two years later, Buzz acquired the troubled L.A. Style magazine from American Express (previously purchased from L.A. Weekly in 1988). It was reported that Los Angeles Magazine was offered a deal to snap up L.A. Style but declined.
Ownership changed in 1998. After Limthongkul cut losses, technology investor Sharon Chadha arrived with fresh capital. Despite a solid talent roster that included Hubert Selby Jr., Harlan Ellison, George Christy, Cheryl Crane, Catherine Seipp (as Margo Magee), and Sandra Tsing Loh, Buzz faced difficulties.
The magazine that rarely turned profitable soon filed for bankruptcy (and declined an offer from troubled Detour magazine), and newsstand nemesis Los Angeles Magazine purchased its assets for approximately $5.3 million.
To make matters worse, Buzz had nabbed two “Maggie” awards from the Western Publications Association—one for best city magazine and another for best consumer publication.
Egg Magazine
A publication that could best be summed up as fleeting, the Egg was described by Spy magazine as "targeted at a readership of free-spending urban insomniacs."
Announced in mid-1989, the square-shaped title from Malcolm Forbes chronicled New York nightlife and launched in early 1990 (soon after the death of its wealthy publisher). Forbes' son Timothy and Hal Rubinstein, as editor, oversaw the magazine for nightcrawlers.
Regarding his latest creation, Forbes remarked, "Symbolically, the egg is the source of everything new." The bard of business added, "Psychologically, you can never be sure what's inside an egg. You have to open it. It might be a Fabergé egg."
Whatever protein lurked in the pages, the Egg hoped to compete with Rolling Stone, L.A. Style, Spin, GQ, and Andy Warhol's Interview (which the Babe Ruth of business tried unsuccessfully to purchase for a reported $18M). With much fanfare, the newsstand nutrient launched with a circulation of approximately 40,000 and a robust number of ad pages. One review called the premiere issue "A bit overcooked."
Reporting on the magazine's hasty demise, the culinary quips in the press were put to good use: "Scrambled Egg," "the cracking of the Egg," and "fried before it ever had a chance to soufflé."
Executives cited "the deteriorating economic climate," and the Egg spoiled within a year. Boston-based P.O.V. briefly revived the bi-coastal magazine in 1997.
WigWag Magazine
In an era where opulence was considered out, soft-spoken Wigwag magazine arrived in late 1989 (following a test issue a year earlier).
Designed to celebrate everyday life, Wigwag was the brainchild of former Yale Law School student Alexander Kaplen. Assisting were editor Nancy Holyoke and publisher Samuel Schulman (formerly with the New England Monthly). The magazine about "hometowns all across America" explained its editorial policy, saying it won't "engage in celebrity worship, long-winded examinations of esoteric subjects, meanness for its own sake..."
Early reviews were positive.
With a dollop of the New Yorker's sophistication, a dash of Spy's unpredictability, and a spritz of water from Lake Wobegon, Wigwag wants to be, and may well be, the magazine that defines the 1990s.
- Bob Sipchen, Los Angeles Times.
Despite critical acclaim, the publication suffered financial losses (one figure listed $3M), faced reluctant advertisers, and saw unwilling investors deal with their troubles. The magazine ceased publication in early 1991, joining a host of other titles that succumbed to the downturn in the economy: Seven Days, Taxi, Savvy Woman, Psychology Today, and the Yale Review. Even two formidable favorites experienced hardship; National Lampoon had been losing money and readers, while E. Graydon Carter's Spy magazine sold a controlling interest to European investors.
Wigwag's managing editor, Nancy Holyoke, hit the 7-10 demographic with American Girl magazine in 1992. Co-founder Alexander E. Schulman was associated with several titles, including In Character, Commentary Magazine, and The American.
Alexander Kaplen moved on to charitable causes, notably with the New York Philharmonic, and passed away in 2015.
LA Style
Along with philanthropist and music manager Pete Kameron (co-founder of L.A. Weekly), editor and publisher Joie Davidow launched L.A. Style Magazine in 1985. The new magazine that celebrates Los Angeles, LA Weekly's sister publication, was bestowed with five awards from the Western Publications Association in 1987, including Best City and Metropolitan Magazine.
The following year, American Express Publishing paid roughly $4M to purchase L.A. Style, which was added to their roster of titles, including Travel & Leisure, Food & Wine, D Magazine, and New York Woman — the last two folding in 1992 and 1993. With the sale complete, American Express looked to double circulation of L.A. Style, then at 50,000.
After Davidow departed, Buzz magazine acquired the assets from American Express. The celebrated L.A. Style folded for good soon after. Founder Joie Davidow focused on the Latino market, launching Sí Magazine in 1995. After that magazine folded, Davidow wrote several novels.
My thanks to Degen Pener for kindly donating a number of issues.
Exposure
Founded in 1986 by USC grad Henry M. Shea Jr., Exposure was a large format, bi-monthly magazine. Up for sale in 1989, Exposure was purchased by Fairchild Publishing but folded in 1990. Shea later published Shop Lift Magazine.
