The Fall of Mike
It’s interesting to see how Mike has changed at Portrait over the years as shown by the letters, since the strip essentially goes from him being hired and his enthusiast early manager meetings to a short sequence where he tries to get Josef Weeder as the cover story, only to have it refocused to the model Sophia. Then after that, we have a long stretch of nothing until Buzzword Bingo. The letters show much more than that.
Here is the letter comment on the Sophia story.
Mike's Letter, Mid-May 2004
I'm not quite as agitated with work as I was at the beginning of the month. Portrait magazine has been nominated for an excellence in photojournalism award, which has lifted everyone's spirits and even though I wasn't happy about doing the article on "Sophia" it turned out well, the cover photo is exquisite - Weed is an artist!
Mike’s big change at Portrait is to interview the young in order to get a younger audience, but at the same time can’t avoid pushing forward Lynn’s perspective on the youth of today.
Mike's Letter, June 2004
We have been steadily changing Portrait magazine from a chronicle of the country's most accomplished and out standing individuals to one that appeals to a perhaps younger audience. Thus, we have been covering the exploits of certain youthful and outrageous performers who have been making the headlines on the music scene, in art and in film. Some are articulate but others are surprisingly dull, with little to say that is not written down for them by unseen handlers.
Now Weed is gone from Portrait, Mike begins to feel the draw towards doing freelance.
Mike's Letter, May 2005
Right now, I'm feeling a little trapped by one of my choices...the decision that I made to take a management position at Portrait Magazine. Sitting on the train each day, I ponder my existence as a worker. I feel like an ant, or like a cell flowing through the massive bloodstream that feeds the city.
Take note of what Mike does as editor. It will be a point of contrast later on.
Mike's Letter, September 2005
I'm a manager. I juggle deadlines, check copy, attend meetings, and help decide what goes on the cover and what goes inside. I interview freelancers, review page layouts and take people I have to talk to out for lunch. I'm a fixture at several of the local eateries and my buns are enlarged because of it. Business lunches happen at least four times a week. I see advertisers, photogs, sales reps, and now and then I get to do an interview which I'll write up with the giddiness of a kid who's scored the corner of the cake with the most icing.
The magazine moves away from doing portraits to including sexy advertisements. Mike disapproves, which is ironic considering his exposé started them down this path.
Mike's Letter, March 2006
We decided there were the "disgruntled" - us - people who want change, make an effort, get beaten down and enjoy grousing about it, and the "gruntled" - those who do their jobs, keep quiet and don't care.
The problem with the disgruntled is that most of us actually care. We'd like to put out a more sophisticated journal and provide portraits again! The most memorable portrait we've printed recently wasn't an interview, but an advertisement. Four pages, set in the front, middle and back of the mag, featured a sylphan lovely removing her garments - with the last page showing her holding a bottle of perfume in such a way that her obvious assets were obscured.
Here Mike thinks of himself as part of the creative team and not as the editor. We have another hint of immorality with the front desk girl, which implies she was not hired for her abilities for operating a front desk.
Mike's Letter, November 2006
Grub and grumbling keeps us going. It keeps us sharp - a force united against the owners of the magazine who ultimately steer its course, oblivious to the input of the creative team they've assembled. Yes, the power of negative thinking has made me what I am today and as I get on the train that heads for home I look out the window and I let it go. I forget all of it. The stories, the page assemblies, the cover shots, the new front desk girl whose cleavage (on both sides of her ample form) has been exposed to all.
Our most recent letter. Note that the people being parachuted in are handling the things which used to be Mike’s job.
Mike's Letter, February 2007
There have been so many changes made. We're being pushed to produce a slicker, sexier rag on a tighter budget. New people have been parachuted in to oversee advertising, sales and content. We're not a team, anymore - we're just teaming. Those of us who have stayed on, do our jobs as best we can, ignore the petty and time-wasting hassles and go home. It's less than satisfying and I look forward to the day I can comfortably sing out loud "Take this job and shove it!"
I snarked on this with a Mitch Frenum post. It was interesting to look back at the old strips to see how much of a player, Mitch’s assistant Francine is in getting Michael rehired. She states that “all the feature editors wrote to the publisher on” Mike’s behalf, but she also complained that she “literally did all the work” for Mitch Frenum. This, although Mike commented that not seeing Mitch at Portrait was unusual, because he was always in his office working. I also found it interesting that in Francine's office, there is a picture of Francine with only her in the picture, implying she is single.
The story about the feature editors was odd. If I were a feature editor, I might sign something which said Mike Patterson, our fired head writer, should be hired back. However, I doubt I would ask the publisher to hire Mike Patterson back to take the position of senior editor, which I want. Francine doesn’t say that’s what they did, only they wrote on his behalf. The idea of being hired as senior editor comes from Mike himself, who says he would only work for Portrait again if they offered him Mitch’s job. Francine, however, implies that is what they were thinking, by suggesting he asks for a raise when they do offer it. However, it is also possible that Francine passed that message on to the publisher who accepted the idea. We haven’t seen Francine since, and it will be interesting to see if she shows up again in the upcoming strips with Mike at work. I hope not. I had Mitch Frenum imply that she was fired by Mike for having a name that sounded like France, and my story works better if she does not reappear.
Oddly enough, with all his success in getting the job, the letters make it look like Michael’s career as a senior editor is a failure.
1. Portrait magazine hired a senior editor who managed to sell a few more copies of the magazine because he drifted from the magazine’s mission of doing sophisticated portraits by writing an exposé. Initially Portrait Magazine wins some photojournalism award from the Sophia article and pictures. This is amusing to me because, Mike's boss forced Mike to refocus the article about Sophia and not about Josef Weeder.
2. Mike steers them to focus on young celebrities. There are tons of magazines which do the same, and very few that focus on famous older people. We see Mike lose control over advertising approval, and this means that Portrait Magazine no longer trust his opinion on advertising, i.e. it has started losing money. Eventually, Portrait Magazine all but replaces Mike's position as senior editor with outside consultants, which is a sign of a magazine in deep trouble. The outside consultants’ advice is to put as much sex in the magazine as possible, in an effort to bolster the magazine’s sales.
3. Portrait Magazine is going down, but the question is: Did this happen because of Mike's poor decisions, or did this happen because the publisher disagreed with Mike's excellent decisions? The simple fact of the matter is Mike is hired to increase sales, and if he did that, then the Portrait Magazine publisher would be a fool to get in his way. I can only come to the conclusion that this downturn in Portrait’s fortunes initially comes from its foolish decision to hire Michael Patterson, a man completely inexperienced in sales, advertising, and editing; and then following his vision for the magazine. That is the way it appears from the letters.
In the strip, who knows? Mike is upset with not having his own parking space, paid for by the magazine? The possibilities are endless, and the only thing you can be assured of, is that Lynn Johnston, in her effort to try to make Michael Patterson look good, will end up accomplishing the exact opposite.
Tomorrow: Like Howard and Becky, my boy will be skiing (I will actually sitting around the ski area base camp as a point of contact for Boy Scout skiers) with the Boy Scouts and leaving very early in the morning and getting back very late. So, aprilp_katje, there will be no overnight Mike post from me. Sorry. It's my son's first attempt at skiing, and I fear broken limbs. He will be on the bunny slope and he will go to ski school for 2 hours before he starts, but my parental paranoia reigns supreme.
Here is the letter comment on the Sophia story.
Mike's Letter, Mid-May 2004
I'm not quite as agitated with work as I was at the beginning of the month. Portrait magazine has been nominated for an excellence in photojournalism award, which has lifted everyone's spirits and even though I wasn't happy about doing the article on "Sophia" it turned out well, the cover photo is exquisite - Weed is an artist!
Mike’s big change at Portrait is to interview the young in order to get a younger audience, but at the same time can’t avoid pushing forward Lynn’s perspective on the youth of today.
Mike's Letter, June 2004
We have been steadily changing Portrait magazine from a chronicle of the country's most accomplished and out standing individuals to one that appeals to a perhaps younger audience. Thus, we have been covering the exploits of certain youthful and outrageous performers who have been making the headlines on the music scene, in art and in film. Some are articulate but others are surprisingly dull, with little to say that is not written down for them by unseen handlers.
Now Weed is gone from Portrait, Mike begins to feel the draw towards doing freelance.
Mike's Letter, May 2005
Right now, I'm feeling a little trapped by one of my choices...the decision that I made to take a management position at Portrait Magazine. Sitting on the train each day, I ponder my existence as a worker. I feel like an ant, or like a cell flowing through the massive bloodstream that feeds the city.
Take note of what Mike does as editor. It will be a point of contrast later on.
Mike's Letter, September 2005
I'm a manager. I juggle deadlines, check copy, attend meetings, and help decide what goes on the cover and what goes inside. I interview freelancers, review page layouts and take people I have to talk to out for lunch. I'm a fixture at several of the local eateries and my buns are enlarged because of it. Business lunches happen at least four times a week. I see advertisers, photogs, sales reps, and now and then I get to do an interview which I'll write up with the giddiness of a kid who's scored the corner of the cake with the most icing.
The magazine moves away from doing portraits to including sexy advertisements. Mike disapproves, which is ironic considering his exposé started them down this path.
Mike's Letter, March 2006
We decided there were the "disgruntled" - us - people who want change, make an effort, get beaten down and enjoy grousing about it, and the "gruntled" - those who do their jobs, keep quiet and don't care.
The problem with the disgruntled is that most of us actually care. We'd like to put out a more sophisticated journal and provide portraits again! The most memorable portrait we've printed recently wasn't an interview, but an advertisement. Four pages, set in the front, middle and back of the mag, featured a sylphan lovely removing her garments - with the last page showing her holding a bottle of perfume in such a way that her obvious assets were obscured.
Here Mike thinks of himself as part of the creative team and not as the editor. We have another hint of immorality with the front desk girl, which implies she was not hired for her abilities for operating a front desk.
Mike's Letter, November 2006
Grub and grumbling keeps us going. It keeps us sharp - a force united against the owners of the magazine who ultimately steer its course, oblivious to the input of the creative team they've assembled. Yes, the power of negative thinking has made me what I am today and as I get on the train that heads for home I look out the window and I let it go. I forget all of it. The stories, the page assemblies, the cover shots, the new front desk girl whose cleavage (on both sides of her ample form) has been exposed to all.
Our most recent letter. Note that the people being parachuted in are handling the things which used to be Mike’s job.
Mike's Letter, February 2007
There have been so many changes made. We're being pushed to produce a slicker, sexier rag on a tighter budget. New people have been parachuted in to oversee advertising, sales and content. We're not a team, anymore - we're just teaming. Those of us who have stayed on, do our jobs as best we can, ignore the petty and time-wasting hassles and go home. It's less than satisfying and I look forward to the day I can comfortably sing out loud "Take this job and shove it!"
I snarked on this with a Mitch Frenum post. It was interesting to look back at the old strips to see how much of a player, Mitch’s assistant Francine is in getting Michael rehired. She states that “all the feature editors wrote to the publisher on” Mike’s behalf, but she also complained that she “literally did all the work” for Mitch Frenum. This, although Mike commented that not seeing Mitch at Portrait was unusual, because he was always in his office working. I also found it interesting that in Francine's office, there is a picture of Francine with only her in the picture, implying she is single.
The story about the feature editors was odd. If I were a feature editor, I might sign something which said Mike Patterson, our fired head writer, should be hired back. However, I doubt I would ask the publisher to hire Mike Patterson back to take the position of senior editor, which I want. Francine doesn’t say that’s what they did, only they wrote on his behalf. The idea of being hired as senior editor comes from Mike himself, who says he would only work for Portrait again if they offered him Mitch’s job. Francine, however, implies that is what they were thinking, by suggesting he asks for a raise when they do offer it. However, it is also possible that Francine passed that message on to the publisher who accepted the idea. We haven’t seen Francine since, and it will be interesting to see if she shows up again in the upcoming strips with Mike at work. I hope not. I had Mitch Frenum imply that she was fired by Mike for having a name that sounded like France, and my story works better if she does not reappear.
Oddly enough, with all his success in getting the job, the letters make it look like Michael’s career as a senior editor is a failure.
1. Portrait magazine hired a senior editor who managed to sell a few more copies of the magazine because he drifted from the magazine’s mission of doing sophisticated portraits by writing an exposé. Initially Portrait Magazine wins some photojournalism award from the Sophia article and pictures. This is amusing to me because, Mike's boss forced Mike to refocus the article about Sophia and not about Josef Weeder.
2. Mike steers them to focus on young celebrities. There are tons of magazines which do the same, and very few that focus on famous older people. We see Mike lose control over advertising approval, and this means that Portrait Magazine no longer trust his opinion on advertising, i.e. it has started losing money. Eventually, Portrait Magazine all but replaces Mike's position as senior editor with outside consultants, which is a sign of a magazine in deep trouble. The outside consultants’ advice is to put as much sex in the magazine as possible, in an effort to bolster the magazine’s sales.
3. Portrait Magazine is going down, but the question is: Did this happen because of Mike's poor decisions, or did this happen because the publisher disagreed with Mike's excellent decisions? The simple fact of the matter is Mike is hired to increase sales, and if he did that, then the Portrait Magazine publisher would be a fool to get in his way. I can only come to the conclusion that this downturn in Portrait’s fortunes initially comes from its foolish decision to hire Michael Patterson, a man completely inexperienced in sales, advertising, and editing; and then following his vision for the magazine. That is the way it appears from the letters.
In the strip, who knows? Mike is upset with not having his own parking space, paid for by the magazine? The possibilities are endless, and the only thing you can be assured of, is that Lynn Johnston, in her effort to try to make Michael Patterson look good, will end up accomplishing the exact opposite.
Tomorrow: Like Howard and Becky, my boy will be skiing (I will actually sitting around the ski area base camp as a point of contact for Boy Scout skiers) with the Boy Scouts and leaving very early in the morning and getting back very late. So, aprilp_katje, there will be no overnight Mike post from me. Sorry. It's my son's first attempt at skiing, and I fear broken limbs. He will be on the bunny slope and he will go to ski school for 2 hours before he starts, but my parental paranoia reigns supreme.
posted by howard at 2:27 PM
1 Comments:
Have a great (and safe) trip--we'll miss you! :)
I agree Mike's career trajectory at Portrait looks bad. I don't know whether you ever had a chance to read my Foobfic, but one detail I threw in was that Mitch Frenum resumed his position at Portrait after Mike quit, much to the magazine's benefit. ;)
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