To my friends, colleagues and correspondents:
Normally I do not send my own editorials, but this time I have really had it with the French. This last couture week was really too much–the rudeness towards Americans that is so much a part of Paris life has escalated. I am sick of spending my time and money to report back to our international audience about the fashion industry of a country as flagrantly rude and uninformed as France. Please read my editorial, published this month in www.fashionlines.com, and pass it on to others if you wish. By the way, the former secretary of state mentioned in the piece is George Shultz, a friend and Stanford colleague of ours.
all my best,
Christine Suppes
editor in chief
New York Post Drops Fashion Wire Daily Content
Bad news sure travels fast. We heard a rumor that the Post ended their deal with FWD. Sure enough, when we went to the Page Six website all mention of Fashion Wire Daily or articles written by them were no longer to be found. Frankly, we could never understand why the NY Post would pay to run the same articles that could be found on so many other sites. And certainly it must have occurred to paying subscribers of FWD that they were paying for the same articles that were running on other sites for free or for far less cost.
FWD is certainly facing increased competition since WWD went up with their new site last month. Which would you rather subscribe to for $99: WWD or Fashion Wire Daily? We think the answer is a “no brainer.” Frankly, the NY Post dropping FWD content may actually be the best thing to happen to this struggling website. What can be more stupid that to give out the same content for free on one popular website that you are charging subscribers for on your own!
We sent an email over to FWD for their comments. But as has been our relationship with this site in the past, they will probably just ignore us.
And this just in from a source familiar to the situation:
FWD content deal was originally struck with NY Post when there were far fewer reporters covering fashion and retail (only Libby Callaway and Evelyn Nussenbaum, instead of LC, Lisa Marsh, Farrah Weinstein, Jared Paul Stern and so on). I understand the company wanted to get into fashion coverage and this was an easy quick fix. It also helped that James Murdoch’s wife was working for FWD at the time.
If you look at blind items on Hintmag’s Chic Happens, I think you’ll notice mention of a certain online fashion editor. It seems this editor who also seems to be doing the selling for his site switched in to catty fashionista mode when he found he wasn’t being renewed and started disparaging the above mentioned reporters. Not very professional … And not a very good karmic move in an industry where you can be asking your intern for a job in five years, huh?
