Describe noseweek in a nutshell.
Noseweek gives you information that, for all sorts of reasons, you don’t find elsewhere. It has the sort of news that takes trouble – most editors reckon too much trouble – to find. Or publishing it causes too much trouble. And it’s written in an irreverent style you won’t find elsewhere either. We are not afraid of publishing views and information that are likely to upset major advertisers. (Ask Standard Wank and SA Breweries.) Other publications are, to the extent that they have left the market in reporting critically about banks, insurance companies, SAA, SAB and certain vehicle manufacturers (who happen to be the biggest buyers of advertising space in the print media), entirely to noseweek. That’s our niche.
The mainstream media rarely report critically about the likes of Volkswagen and Mercendez Benz or casinos – because they are major advertisers. Last year, the former editor of Fairlady left because the marketing department refused to let her publish an article on how cosmetics actually don’t achieve what they claim to do. Why? Because cosmetic companies are the biggest advertisers in women’s magazines.
Who are your readers?
Our readers are the economic and social elite, the rich and famous. They are above LSM 11. Just to give you an idea, three quarters of them have traveled overseas in the last 12 months and half of them are directors of companies or own their own companies. Three quarters of them own a second car or house or both.
Why do you have no bylines on your cover stories?
Partly because of the image of the magazine; it has a mystique: Mr Nose gets his information from “God”. Also, I know that our content is rated as controversial and as the editor who chose to publish it, I take responsibility for it. There is no need to expose my reporters to possible legal action.
You have broken several major stories on politicians and ordinary citizens in the past. Do you have any regrets?
No. I’ve been in the trade long enough to know that the news, like fresh vegetables, is a difficult thing to handle. We are always running against time and we are dependent on a chain of people and this opens us up to a number of risks. We are not perfect.
What can we expect from noseweek this year?
We are about to cross the 20,000 mark in sales. In publishing, the funny thing is that when you cross certain barriers, like the 20,000 mark, it gets easier to go to 30 or even 40,000.
We rely on our readers for revenue and not advertising, which is also good because it is only their interests that we serve.
But I see us becoming much better especially in our writing. There’s much more effort now going into writing – to make it easier to read and understand. That’s a big part of our job. We are very good at collecting information; I just think we need to work on the writing. Then our magazine needs to acquire a more rounded personality. We are trying to become better looking, more articulate, somebody you would like to listen to as well as respect. And we’re always on the lookout for great cartoons. We’re famous for our cheeky sense of humour. We need to maintain that, now more than ever.