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| Press Room |
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| LAUNCH OF THE YEAR |
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The Transom
By Elisabeth Franck
New York Observer
May 13, 2002
On the evening of Monday, May 6, under a plastic canopy that covered the garden at the back of his 57th Street townhouse, bantam-like publisher Harold Evans welcomed some 70 guests to the “first birthday party of The Week,” a somewhat humorous newspaper digest of current events that was imported from his native Britain by the publishers of Maxim. Standing on a pedestal before a crowd that included Bianca Jagger, Salman Rushdie, Ralph Fiennes and Candace Bushnell, Mr. Evans—who consults for the publication—extolled its many virtues, which mainly had to do with his assertion that there was always something in The Week that he didn’t previously know.
Then the editor of The Week, William Falk, took his turn on the small pedestal for a mercifully brief talk that, nonetheless, had Mr. Fiennes chit-chatting with his neighbor the whole way through. Finally the mistress of the house, Tina Brown, who was dressed in a light-blue getup, took her turn on the box.
“This newspaper was named ‘Launch of the Year,’” she said excitedly. “By a publication that probably trashed Talk magazine, no doubt!” Suddenly Ms. Brown disappeared from sight. She had lost her balance and quite literally fallen off her pedestal. A chorus of choked laughter rose up and died quickly. For a moment there was silence, as neck craned and glances were exchanged.
Mr. Fiennes stopped talking. Then the sound of Ms. Brown’s voice could be heard again, though she still could not be seen. She had decided to resume her speech while keeping her feet planted on terra firma.
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