• The New York Observer, Thursday, October 22, 2009 12:53 AM

Si Newhouse's Condé Nast has been all about big budgets, big splashy pictures and the best writers and editors with total creative control who became wealthy celebrities. No other publisher could compete. Can the empire be fabulous once again after the recession?

The company insists it can, but that attitude poses a huge risk. CEO Chuck Townsend, a money guy, is the company's new star. But his solutions are all tactical, without an overarching strategy. Many hope that with a better economy "a new vision can assert itself that is not just about how Chuck thinks. At some point, the company will need a new visionary," writes John Koblin.

So far the core belief of Newhouse's company -- even to this day -- is that print advertising will return, that everything will be O.K. For the famous pragmatic thinker who built the Condé Nast empire, that belief is his greatest risk yet.

P>

Read the whole story at The New York Observer »