New Money magazine editor talks the future

The new editor of Money magazine wants to expand its college rankings coverage, boost online traffic and roll out new franchises.

Diane Harris, who replaced Craig Matters on Tuesday at the top of the Time Inc. personal finance magazine, told Talking Biz News on Wednesday morning that she also has an interest in boosting coverage of women and money while maintaining the magazine’s core philosophy of delivering information to individuals and families so that they can build better lives.

“I definitely have a vision and ideas I would love to pursue,” said Harris, who had been executive editor, in a telephone interview. “One of the great things about working with Craig, we really had a great partnership. I’m still a little misty of what he calls the breakup of the buddy act. But he has given me room to work on projects that are great for Money’s future. So I have a head start.”

Harris is the first woman editor of Money. She joined Money in 1983 as writer, left in 1992 as a senior editor and rejoined the magazine as a top editor 10 years ago. Harris has won a National Magazine Award for her coverage of the 1987 stock market crash, edited several award-winning series and features, and worked  to develop extensions for the brand.

A clear priority for Harris is continuing to build content and traffic for Money website, which launched last summer after being part of CNNMoney.com. It attracts more than 4 million unique visitors a month.

Money rolled out coverage in 2014 of college costs, and Harris was the editor in charge of that project. Money is now looking to expand that coverage and perhaps partner with other media properties that also cover higher education. “We got a lot of attention for it because we brought something unique for families to help them figure out colleges that deliver real value.”

Harris would not discuss in detail any of the new “franchises” being explored by the 42-year-old magazine, but she said some of those could appear by the end of the year.

“The magazine has transformed over the course of many years and many editors, but that basic mission remains the same,” said Harris. “We want to help people lead better lives by having them better manage their money, whether they want to retire early, send their kids to college, launch their second act. It all takes the ability to do it financially.”

Harris also expressed an interest in working with other Time Inc. magazines. “I am a big fan of cross-title collaboration,” said Harris.

She added, “I’m excited and enthusiastic. These are ideas that I have just begun to talk about with my bosses at Time Inc. But conceptually, things have gotten a great response.”