Bill Shapiro: 'Magazines Have Got to Evolve'
The managing editor of the newly revived Life magazine -- now distributed in newspapers -- vows to resurrect the "wow factor" of the legendary Time Inc. title as it aims to "own the weekend."

By Patrick Phillips
I Want Media, 09/28/04

Bill Shapiro is the managing editor of Life magazine, which returns to life this Friday as a weekend magazine in more than 70 U.S. newspapers reaching some 12 million readers -- touted as "the biggest magazine launch in Time Inc.'s history." Life magazine, one of the publishing world's best-known brands, was first published as a weekly in 1936. It ceased publication in 1972, but returned as a monthly, from 1978 to 2000.

Shapiro previously was managing editor of Time Inc.'s custom publishing unit, where he worked on several magazine projects, including the prototype of All You, the new women's magazine distributed in Wal-Mart stores. Earlier in his career, Shapiro served as executive editor of Details and Maxim, and has worked at Self and Parenting.

Shapiro says that Life founder Henry Luce would be "thrilled" with the magazine's return, has harsh words for magazine observer Samir Husni, and notes that magazines are experimenting with nontraditional distribution in order to "go with the times."

I Want Media: You're now the steward of one of the publishing industry's most iconic brands. Are you nervous?

Bill Shapiro: I am so excited, I can literally barely sleep. I'm completely thrilled to be in this position, and in no small part because it means I get to work with a fantastic team. I get to work with the most talented writers and photographers, because everybody wants to work with Life.

IWM: How is the new Life different from the old Life, besides the obvious difference in distribution?

Shapiro: Let me first talk about how it's the same. It's built on the same DNA as the old Life. It's a photo-driven magazine. We also are viewing this magazine with the same sense of curiosity, wonder and humanity that made the old Life so popular.

It's different in that there is more of a weekend focus. Which means that we're going to help readers who receive Life on Friday to make the most of their next 48 hours. As we all become busier and busier, those days are becoming more precious to us. So we'll provide useful, practical information and suggestions that are geared for the weekend -- entertainment, weekend projects, Sunday dinners.

IWM: Will the new Life be primarily visual or text-driven?

Shapiro: The bias is clearly towards photography. It's important to us to try to break the next generation of great legendary photographers. We're not going to be running a lot of old Life pictures. We want to discover the next Alfred Eisentaedt, the next Carl Mydans.

George Pitts, our director of photography, has one of the best eyes for new talent. He most recently spent 11 years at Vibe magazine. He doesn't have a staid, conservative eye. And I think Life was never a conservative magazine in that way. In 1936 Life was doing stuff that at the time was making people just say "Whoa!" So we're going to try to have that same wow factor.

IWM: Why is Life being distributed on Friday rather than Sunday like a traditional newspaper magazine?

Shapiro: Because we want to -- and we will -- own the weekend. When I get a Sunday magazine, I may kind of open it up at noon, 1:00 on Sunday. And I might get to it, but I might not. Usually it just sort of sits on my couch, kind of making me feel guilty for the week because I didn't get to it.

By getting it on Friday, readers have at least 48 hours to take advantage of everything that's in the magazine, like the entertainment ideas: "Oh yeah. There's a great DVD. Maybe I can't get to it Friday night, but I can get it on Saturday." It's a terrific way for us to get out ahead of the weekend so readers can make plans.

IWM: How is the new Life different from the other leading newspaper magazines, Parade and USA Weekend?

Shapiro: I honestly think there's no comparison. When you open Life magazine, it is going to drop like a pearl onto your living room table. The paper quality is very close to the stock used by the New York Times Magazine. So that will stand out right away. We want the photography to really represent well.

We're making a magazine that's built for the weekend. The other guys have a magazine that merely comes out on the weekend. They could just as well come out on a Tuesday. Our magazine will have information that people are going to find useful for weekend activities.

IWM: Another new Time Inc. title, All You, is being distributed initially at Wal-Mart. Both Life and All You have nontraditional distribution. Is this a trend?

Shapiro: There are a lot of new things going on in magazines. Many of the successful ones are trying all sorts of new approaches. Just like any business, magazines have got to evolve and go with the times.

IWM: Early versions of Life have died off a few times already. Do you fear that some readers may regard the new Life as less than contemporary -- even stodgy?

Shapiro: When you look at our cover and look at our inside, there will be no mistaking the new Life as a stodgy magazine. Sarah Jessica Parker is on our first cover, case closed. She just won an Emmy. She's today. And Life has always been today. Like I said, in the '30s Life was cutting edge for that time. We're going to be "on" the culture.

IWM: Journalism professor Samir Husni said recently that Life founder Henry Luce "is turning in his grave to see his showcase of the world next to some Wal-Mart insert. When you bring someone back from the dead, bring them to a nice neighborhood, don't bring them to the ghetto." What's your response?

Shapiro: There are many newspapers in this country that have exceedingly high levels of journalism and photography. I can't imagine that he would call those newspapers "a ghetto." That's a very disparaging comment. He loves his quotes, so I'll leave it at that.

IWM: What do you think Henry Luce would say about the new Life magazine?

Shapiro: I think he would be thrilled that it's coming back. Of course, I never knew him. But I think that he would be excited that we're doing something that at its backbone is so true to his original mission statement, which ... Can I read you his original perspectives for the magazine? I have it on my wall:

"To see life. To see the world. To eyewitness great events. To watch the faces of the poor and the gestures of the proud. To see strange things, machines, armies, multitudes, shadows in the jungle and on the moon. To see man's work, paintings, towers, discoveries. To see things thousands of miles away ..."

That's part of the mission statement. I kind of boil that down to be a magazine for the curious, a magazine for people who want to be amazed.

IWM: Maintaining that credo will be a big responsibility.

Shapiro: Yeah, but it's so much fun and what every editor wants to do.



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