Condé Nast giant Newhouse dies at 89
He turned ‘Vanity Fair’ into a mustread, presided over the expansion of ‘Vogue’ and purchased ‘The New Yorker’ and Random House
S.I. Newhouse Jr., chairman emeritus of Condé Nast, which for decades has published some of the most iconic magazines in American journalism, died Sunday at the age of 89.
Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter called Newhouse one of “the last of the great visionaries of the magazine business’’ in a tribute on VanityFair.com.
“In a career that spanned more than six decades, he placed the Newhouse family name firmly in the pantheon of American publishing, alongside those of Luce, Sulzberger, Graham and Hearst,’’ wrote Carter, who epitomizes the editors tapped by Newhouse — leaders who became as famous as the gilded titles that they headed up.
Bob Sauerberg, president and CEO of Condé Nast, said in a statement that “today, we lost a giant. Si embodied creativity, curiosity and a commitment to excellence unlike any other, and he will forever be remembered as the man who built the most influential media empire in the world.”
In the course of his career, Newhouse turned Vanity Fair into a must-read for all things worldly and chic, presided over the worldwide expansion of fashion bible Vogue, purchased The New Yorker and birthed a collection of titles including Allure and Teen Vogue. He also purchased the publishing giant Random House. Newhouse cultivated a team of editors who were as celebrated as the writers, celebrities and artists who appeared in their magazines’ pages. They included Pulitzer Prize-winning writer David Remnick, editor-in-chief of The New Yorker, and legendary Vogue editor and Condé Nast Artistic Director Anna Wintour.
They were among the many paying tribute to Newhouse Jr. on Sunday.
“This humble, thoughtful, idiosyncratic man, possibly the least judgmental person I have ever known, preferred family, friends, art, movies and his beloved pugs over the flashiness of the New York media world,’’ Wintour said in a statement. “And his personality shaped the entire company.’’
“He loved magazines,’’ Remnick said. “He loved everything about them … and that passion, that commitment to excellence, free expression and imagination radiated in every direction.”
Newhouse Jr. was born Nov. 7, 1927, in New York City. His father, Samuel I. Newhouse, purchased the Condé Nast publishing company in 1959, and Newhouse Jr. began working with him two years later. In 1975, the son became chairman of the company, which ultimately produced 128 magazines.
Newhouse Jr. sat at the helm of Condé Nast, as well as newspaper publisher Advance Publications, until last year. After several heady decades in which his publishing empire was preeminent in pop culture — not just chronicling it but often setting its tone — Condé Nast began suffering from some of the pressures crippling the print industry as a whole: Ad revenue tumbled as readers increasingly read online.
Newhouse’s death comes at a time when many pillars of the magazine world are leaving the stage. Hugh Hefner, the founder
of Playboy, died last week. Jann Wenner, co-founder, editor and publisher of Rolling Stone, is looking to sell the iconic music title. And Graydon Carter, stepping down from Vanity Fair at the end of the year, is one of several prominent editors within and outside of Condé Nast who have said they will be leaving their positions.
“S.I. Newhouse’s passing today reminds us of a time when the swagger in America could be found more in its media than in its political leaders,” says media analyst Ken Doctor, who writes about the news business at his site Newsonomics.
Publications like Vogue and Condé Nast Traveler were more than magazines, he says — they were “cultural and political trend and idea leaders. As their businesses have ebbed, most ... have lost not just profit, but confidence.”
Newhouse is survived by his wife, Victoria, son Samuel, daughter Pamela and brother Donald E. Newhouse, as well as five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
“He will forever be remembered as the man who built the most influential media empire.” Bob Sauerberg, president and CEO, Condé Nast