Love Conquers All
Page 60
Chapter 51
The magazine was small and old-fashioned, but Talia pounced on the new project with great enthusiasm, fascinated by the possibilities it opened before her. At first, her impulse was to change its name, but then she thought better of it and decided to keep the old name because it fit right in with a concept that was evolving in her mind: a new, revolutionary, thoroughly modem publication, with a smattering of ideology—just enough to prove that ideologies are not yet a thing of the past. Apart from news items and tough-minded opinion columns, the magazine would include essays, criticism, social and literary discussions, as well as a feisty, bubbly, slightly vulgar and slightly vicious gossip column. “Everything in the appropriate amount,” as Jonathan used to say.
Now, more than ever, she needed Jonathan at her side; once again she was oppressed by loneliness. But this time, it was loneliness of a different kind—it was the loneliness of a woman who had attained a position of power and was wielding it. Deep in her heart, Talia felt that she was on her way to the top yet, at the same time, she was keenly aware of the fatuousness and pretentiousness of expressions like “the top,” “climbing up the ladder,” “power,” and the like. That was why she felt she needed Jonathan; only he could provide her with the right balance; she could discuss everything with him; he would counsel her inspire her, help her maintain her power and influence.
Her longing for Jonathan was at the bottom of her strange desire to own a magazine of her own. Jonathan was the first businessman to discover the media as a fascinating, effective tool, particularly suited to his creative energy and intelligence. Jonathan established an economic magazine to which he was extremely attached because he believed in the great commercial and social potential it represented. He created “Capital” at a time when newspapers and magazines were owned and operated by political parties and corporations or belonged to certain influential families. Talia had realized the extent of her husband’s influence, and she saw herself as his disciple. To her, “Society” was what “Capital” had been to Jonathan — a source of hope and a focus of power and influence.
And like Jonathan, Talia didn’t expect to make as much profit when she first embarked on her new adventure There was no doubt in her mind that a good, reliable paper, to which the best and brightest journalists contributed, would soon attract a large readership.
She thought long and hard about whether she should appoint Nahum Rimmon as editor of the magazine. True, Nahum was a very good newspaperman and the only one of Jonathan’s friends who did not let him down, but he was, in essence, an economic reporter; he lacked the ardor and vividness that she wanted the editor of her new paper to display. In the end, she chose Mooly Caspi, a talented, iconoclastic Bohemian, whose personality and temperament accorded well with her concept of the magazine—young, unbiased, brash and provocative. She accepted Caspi’s advice to retain Mr. Berliner, a lawyer specializing in libel suits, for a fee of five thousand dollars a month. His job was to real all the articles before publication and to warn her incase thee was a possible cause for libel suit.
“Remember,” Caspi admonished her, shaking his reddish, curly mane that reached down to his shoulders, “You are ‘only’ the publisher of the magazine, I am the editor. You cannot interfere with my work, no way, o how. Your job is to provide the money, maybe to decide the overall policy of the paper, but nothing more. If you stick to this, everything between us will be hunky-dory, but if you don’t, it’s goodbye and good luck.” Talia asked herself if Caspi meant what he said or was being merely facetious. His language was strewn with English expressions and with slang and underworld terms, that tended to undercut and flatten the import of his speech, which was probably what he intended it to do. Talia decided not to gamble and took his words seriously.
Three months after the publication of the new version of “Society,” the financial reports showed that the paper was barely breaking even. Talia explained to Moshe Keiserman, a veteran accountant and an old and close friend of her father’s, that she did not expect to make any profit in the first year. She didn’t even want to know all the financial details. Keiserman shrugged and didn’t give her any arguments. “At this stage, you must do your best to make the magazine a success,” she repeatedly said at staff meetings that took place in her room on the office floor she had rented for the magazine’s headquarters. “You must attract good writers, and pay them good fees. The same goes for photographers and designers. Sign contracts with important newspapers overseas to obtain exclusive material. I want this magazine to be the best both in appearance and in content!”
Talia was filled with renewed energy. Even though her other business ventures were much more successful, she spent most of her time at the magazine office. She reported to her office early every morning, and she stayed until evening. Her children saw her only in the late afternoon, when she came home to change before going out to work-related events. The first days of each month, she got up early and went out to personally check the distribution of the magazine around town. The drivers would throw sheaves of warm, redolent papers by the newsstands, and Talia would shamelessly plead with the stand owners to place her magazine prominently in the middle of the racks to catch the customers’ eyes. “Whatever you say, lady,” the kiosk owners would reply obligingly,” just don’t forget us!” Talia smiled, she never neglected to give special bonuses to those who excelled: weekends at sea resorts, elaborate stands for their displays and invitations for two to restaurants.
At the end of the first year, Talia felt exhausted. She’d never worked so hard, giving up weekends, vacations and social life. The magazine workers, she knew, were not particularly fond of her; she walked into her office clanking her high heels, wearing dark suits, a sever expression on her face. She rarely came out of the office, ad when she talked to journalists and office workers, her tone was harsh. “What’s happened to you? Where is your joie de vivre? Ditty asked her. And the children complained. “How come we never have guests in the house, mommy?” “That’s what happens when you run a newspaper,” Talia mustered all her patience and explained. “A paper is like a baby; it needs feeding all the time. It demands interesting topics for articles. You have to make sure it’s healthy and good-looking and that nobody harms it. When there’s a baby in the house, the parents hardly ever go out or entertain company until the baby grows up and can take care of itself. When you publish a paper, you must watch out for the competition. You have always to be one step ahead. So there’s not much energy left for other things.”