l'ress
Sudden death
Robert Ashley
The cover of the current issue of Nova shows, in titillating close-up,
a distinctly female hand unzipping a distinctly male pair of trousers. It also tells us that inside the magazine we will find a series of .mouth-watering articles on such subjects as 'What every man should know about stripping' and 'There's nothing wrong with sex if it feels good'. Guaranteed to sell a million, you might have said. And you would have been right. At least you would have been right if you had said it in 1965, the year Nova was born. Because at that time we had not gone noticeably permissive. And then Nova came along, daring, sexy, sophisticated, original, uninhibited and so outspoken that it was not only likely to mention forbidden words like 'masturbation', but tell you how to set about it. But now permissiveness has swept the land and Nova has been overtaken, with the result that IPC have decided to close it down after the October issue.
At least, that is one interpretation. But I think it is wrong. Nova was far more than a pornographic magazine. In fact it never was a pornographic magazine at all. It may have carried articles that were unlikely to be reprinted in the parish magazine, but it also carried other articles which were masterpieces of investigative journalism. It was extremely intelligent, it was not afraid of controversy, it was aimed at educated men and women (it had many male readers, which may come as a surprise to those who thought of it solely as a women's magazine), it made an enormous initial impact, and could, by any standards, be called a very important element in the creation of that odd animal, the climate of public opinion. The fact that it also provided good writers with a place to display their wares (and collect a life-sustaining cheque or two while they were at it) may be by the way, but shouldn't be forgotten.
Gillian Cooke, the editor, is quite sure that Nova isn't pornography. "We pulled out of that ages ago," she told Me. She is sad that the serious Provocative articles the magazine published never seemed to get talked about, whereas sexy ones did. She does not feel that the decline in sales — from 150,000 at its peak, to 80,000 at the present day — is due to any falling-off in editorial standards. In fact, the IPC spokesman who told Miss Cooke of the decision to close the magazine assured her it had nothing to do with editorial quality, but was simply due to a fall in advertising revenue. That may be true: Nova's losses in the last financial year were about £80,000, which is getting on for £7,000 an issue, and the way things are going, they would almost certainly have been heavier this year. But Miss Cooke says that the real reason was that Nova is a minority magazine being sold by a company orientated to mass sales. Each Nova is a one off. There are no romantic serials, there are no "The rest of this thrilling knitting pattern will appear in our next issue" hookers. Nova readers were unlikely to break down and cry if they couldn't get the magazine one month, whereas the readers of some of the other IPC women's magazines were as addicted to their regular ration as any opium smoker. And IPC's marketing methods simply did not suit Nova. Result — fairly sudden death. Gillian Cooke was informed 'of the date of execution just fifteen minutes before her staff were.
I really cannot find it in my heart to accuse IPC of inconsistency just because, two years ago, they said the existence of the magazine was assured; though not the success that had been anticipated, it was not a heavy loss-maker and served a very useful purpose as a sort of test bed for IPC to try out all sorts of new ideas. Two years ago, you will not be surprised to learn, is two years ago, and things are different now. Inflation had not broken into a gallop then: indeed, it was hardly cantering. But now, as we all know to our cost, the beast is out of control and nobody seems to know how to get hold of the reins again. The newspaper industry, with its soaring costs, particularly of newsprint, has also been thumped by the shrinking of advertising budgets. 'And Nova was one of the chief sufferers. So I do not blame IPC for having to go back on their word of two years ago. Life is like that. Circumstances alter cases.
But won't Nova's death leave a gap? It will. And Miss Cooke is determined the gap shall be filled. All the contributors and members of_ the 'staff are, not unnaturally, with her. She tells me that a new magazine will be appearing sometime in the autumn, not, of course, under the IPC imprint. She was reticent about the details, especially the financial ones, _ but she dkl tell roe that she has pre-pare-d' three different packages. Her backers will do their sums and decide which format they prefer, after which it will shortly burst on to a waiting world. This is one hell of a time to be launching a new
journal — two other magazine deaths were announced at the same time as Nova's: TV Life and Ad Weekly — but I've got a feeling that Miss Cooke, to judge by the quietly determined tones in which she spoke to me, is as likely as the next man or woman to make a go of it. I wish her all the luck she will undoubtedly need.
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