@ EconCeleb: Bonnie Fuller: Celeb Content 'May Be Even More Succesful Than P*rn'
This story was written by Staci D. Kramer.
Work in progress. We're kicking off the afternoon with a chatty keynote interview by Kara Swisher of All Things D with Bonnie Fuller, most recently EVP and chief editorial director of American Media, Inc. and now the head of a self-named digital startup. For a little context on how serious Fuller takes celeb content, when Swisher suggested something might be doing better online, she quickly replied: "It may even be more successful than porn at this point." (I was going to suggest that celeb content is the gift that keeps on giving for Fuller but really it wouldn't exist as we know it without her work so can't call it a gift. Then again, Britney Spears might as well come with a bow.)
Fuller's new ventureshe's coy about scope and funding just nowwill start in the digital realm. She's particularly intrigued by the potential for interaction: "I want to be able to not just connect I want to have conversations, be interactive." She says she's always learned a lot as an editor by interacting with her readers"I'm going to be able to do (it) on a daily basis, an hourly basis."
POV: Will her new effort be bitchy? Snarky? Fuller: "I put my self in there as a best friend. I've always been my readers' best friend ... I'm a welcoming person to my audience. They're not going to be afraid of me. You can be fun without being nasty." Swisher reminded her about Star and US but no real response to that.
Back to print?: Will print go away? "I don't think it will ever go away. I love magazines but like TIme and Newsweek they're going to have to adapt." She wouldn't rule out a magazine emerging from her new venture.
Growth industry?: "I think it's going to absolutely continue ... because human beings since the dawn of time have been born with the gossip gene" especially about the rich, powerful and famous. "Think of high schooleverybody was obsessed with the 'in' crowd Hollywood's our 'in' crowd. We cant help being obsessed with them."
Q&A: How will you stand out from the competition? Fuller: "Look, design, accessibility and mix if I do it rightand I have a history of doing it right with this audience."
More to come
By Staci D. Kramer