Play
Mark Bryant, editor, PLAY:
1. What do you consider the single most important achievement your magazine has accomplished in today's marketplace?
That we seem to have been able to cut through the 24/7 chatter about sports-about last night's game, today's rumored trade, tomorrow's athlete behaving badly-and (hopefully) offer something new and smart, a fresh, fun take on sports and their enormous impact on our lives.
2. Looking back at your history, what was the most important hurdle you were able to overcome?
Proving that there was room out there for an intelligent, visually sophisticated, and occasionally irreverent magazine on sports, one that speaks to the seriously obsessed fan and the more casual observer alike.
3. What was the biggest pleasant surprise?
The reaction to our September 2006 cover story on Roger Federer, by David Foster Wallace. It was extraordinary, both for the speed of the response (David's story immediately became the most e-mailed story on the New York Times website, and remained so for a couple of days), and for the outpouring of enthusiasm for that kind of ambitious, long-form narrative. The reception to that story told us a lot about our readership and its appetites.
4. What is the biggest challenge you are facing today?
The editorial challenge is to continue to evolve the magazine, both in terms of the scope of its ambitions and the execution on the page. As we all know, that job is never close to done. No good editor ever reads his or her own issues with complete satisfaction. The reaction is always, "This could be better," alternating with the occasional cringe-inducing "What were we thinking?"
5. Imagine you have a magic wand, and you can strike the magazine and make it a human being. Describe that human being.
A smart, fun-loving man or woman who is curious about the world and enjoys both following and playing sports. Someone who looks at sports for terrific entertainment, sure, but also for something more. Sports consistently provide the ingredients of great storytelling-heroes, villains, greed, self-sacrifice, beauty, triumph, failure, redemption- and this person loves the deeply human drama of all that.
6. The number of new magazine launches has been on a steady increase. What advice do you offer to someone wanting to start a new magazine?
Be certain that there's a very real appetite among both readers and advertisers for your magazine. And be sure your vision for the magazine-how you're going to serve that audience-is exceedingly clear.
7. Finish this sentence: in 2010, your magazine will be...
A vital part of more and more readers' lives, and a great environment for our advertisers. Also watch for PLAY to break the story of Tiger Woods retiring from the tour to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a mime.
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