Gray Hair? Pink Slip!

At Condé Nast, If You're Postmenopausal, You're Dead

Comments (0) By Cynthia Cotts Tuesday, Sep 7 1999

More power to her. But if marrying up is the ticket, isn't it time for some winsome gal to drag Truman to the altar? That would seem to be the best insurance policy of all.

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Before quitting Fortuneto freelance in June, Nina Munk salvaged a story that had died in-house and sold it to P.O.V., which published it in the September issue. The story was supposed to be about the success of The Candyskins, a band that had been signed to the Velvel label by record executive Walter Yetnikoff. But when the band's latest release went nowhere, Fortune editors allowed the story to languish with the rest of its backlog. "I was fond of that piece," says deputy managing editor Rick Kirkland. "But it was always a bit offbeat for Fortune." Meanwhile, Munk showed the piece to P.O.V. editor Randall Lane, who "thought it was terrific," even though the band had fizzled and Yetnikoff sold the label. The result, "Death of a Minor Rock 'n' Roll Band," reflects "the typical band experience," says Lane. "Most people never make it." . . .

On September 5, The New York Times and the Daily News both ran pieces on the "presidential mulligan," that is, Bill Clinton's habit of giving himself permission to swing again. But whereas Don Van Natta Jr.'s piece was rich with anecdotes and structured like the Maidstone golf course, Mike Barnicle's was discursive and soggy. Is it possible that Barnicle picked up the "golf as a metaphor" conceit from The New York Times News Service, which announced it in a news summary as early as Friday? The Daily News's Sunday editor, Michael Kramer, says Barnicle proposed the idea eight days before the column ran.