• by John Gaffney , April 28, 2003

Old Folks Boogie: Reader's Digest is so old school that when you read stories about them tightening the belt, the first instinct is to think: trouble. Think the old building up on the hill off a two lane road in Westchester is just not hip enough to understand the cutthroat world of big magazine circulation and high finance. How could a magazine you only see in doctor's offices make money? Although RD is coming off a tough quarter and cut 200 people, I have learned that the folks that run RD and all its other properties are more expert at reading the marketplace than most people think. Their research department is bigger, sharper and more innovative than I thought. Their understanding of heartland America and the 55-plus marketplace in matched only by the AARP. If they are having a bad quarter it's not a sign of much more. Here in New York it's easy to throw rocks at those who aren't in the metro-mix.

Boogie They Will: Speaking of the AARP, I think their new TV spots are brilliant. If you haven't seen them, they poke big sarcastic holes at the bureaucracy that has frozen any reform in healthcare benefits for the 55-plus crowd. Example: In one spot a family invites three senators over for dinner and before serving, asks them if they could work out some kind of prescription drug benefit. The senators agree. It shows the power that an organization can have and it also drives the interest of people to join the organization. Great work.

At The Buzzer: Still don't have enough responses for our June issue "Rising Media Stars." That either means there are none or you guys haven't moved it to the top of the "to do" list. Please send info to adam@mediapost.com.