Categories: OLD Media Moves

Bickering between Portfolio and Fortune

Amy Wicks of Women’s Wear Daily writes Wednesday that there’s been some snippy comments back and forth between business magazines Fortune and Conde Nast Portfolio about stories.

Wicks wrote, “And that’s not the only story the two business magazines share. Both cover the New York Yankees, with Portfolio proclaiming ‘Crisis at Yankee Inc.,’ and Fortune’s cover line reading, ‘Why the New York Yankees Could be Sold.’

“Once again, a Portfolio staffer claimed Fortune’s piece was a ‘rush job,’ after it heard about Portfolio’s story. Both magazines posted articles within hours of each other on Aug. 2, although Fortune was the first to report the YES Network, which airs Yankee games, could be up for sale, with Goldman Sachs & Co. testing the waters on its stake in the network.

“A Portfolio spokeswoman declined to comment, while the Time Inc. spokeswoman said, ‘At Fortune we’re too focused on putting out our biweekly magazine and breaking news on our Web site to ‘steal’ stories from another publication.’

“Responding to those who might question Fortune’s story selection in its most recent issue, an insider at Time Inc.’s biweekly quipped, ‘With Portfolio’s continued staff departures and troubles putting out just two issues, it’s not surprising they would try and change the subject.'”

Read more here.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.