This morning, Eddie Alterman was named the new Editor-in-Chief of Car & Driver, Hachette's slightly-tarnished-but-still-storied automotive enthusiast magazine. Interestingly, Hachette insiders tell us Jalopnik's readers helped make this a reality.
My dad gave me my a subscription to Car & Driver when I was just nine years old. Every year after, I would save up money made doing chores just to re-up that subscription. The magazine meant enough to me I even saved almost six years of issues before my mom made me throw the lot of them away. I remember crying when she made me toss them. It was, I'm sure, like that for many other Jalopnik readers. Well, maybe not the teary-eyes part.
But, like many of us here at Jalopnik, we found, at some point between now and then, the buff book we once loved became tarnished, losing that magical shine. I stopped reading it regularly almost a decade ago, now only picking it up in airports or when I see a friendly name on the cover.
Until today. You see, we haven't heard much good news these days. The Carpocalypse has seemingly consumed almost everything we cover. Which is why we're actually joyfully shocked to be announcing Eddie's appointment.
Just as proudly, our sources at Hachette inform us that Jalopnik, by highlighting Eddie, and highlighting the painful misstep of a pretender to the throne of the auto buff books, played a major role in getting Alterman's name in front of the right people. But we feel confident it was Eddie who took it from there.
Eddie's a man who we consider to be a friend. But more importantly to the task at hand, Eddie has the strength of ideas necessary to restore Car & Driver to the top of the auto buff book food chain. Which is why our warmest wishes go out to Eddie AltermanI'll be signing up for a subscription again because I want to see what Eddie does to the place — but also because I hope to one day have the same feelings I once felt when I received my copy of Car & Driver in the mailbox each month.
Why is Eddie so great? In a changing media environment he's one of the few people who has found success in car mags, newspapers and online. He isn't just familiar with the automotive community online, as so many frightened buff book editors claim to be, he's actually helped establish Motive as a player in the new media world of car journalism. For instance, he knows how to properly credit stories to websites, a basic skill few on the other side of the media world understand. Car & Driver and CarAndDriver.com currently function as two separate organizations to the detriment of both the publication and its readers. Eddie can bring them together where they belong.
Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. Names Eddie Alterman Vice President, Editor In Chief of Car and Driver
New York, N.Y. (February 25, 2009) - Alain Lemarchand, President and
CEO, Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. (HFM U.S.) announced today that
Eddie Alterman has been named Vice President, Editor In Chief of Car
and Driver. Alterman will report to Lemarchand will begin his new
position on Monday, March 2, 2009. HFM U.S. Group Editorial Director
John Owens has served as acting editor in chief since Csaba Csere's
departure two months ago."We are fortunate to have Eddie Alterman joining us as the editorial
head of one of our largest and most important brands. He is a
respected journalist and has extensive experience in automotive both
in print and digital content. He and John Driscoll, Vice President,
Publisher Automotive Group, will make a great team," said Lemarchand.
"We're confident that Alterman and his group will be able to create
outstanding content that will accelerate the growth of the brand by
enlarging the audiences of automotive enthusiasts as well as consumers
who look to Car and Driver and CarandDriver.com for credible advice
and reviews when they are buying a car."In 2006, Alterman was founder and Editor In Chief of Motivemag.com, an
online car magazine combining original editorial and user-generated
content. Before that Alterman founded and served as Editor In Chief
of MPH's magazine and website. He also coordinated advertising and
marketing effort for print and online and was named one of Crain's
Detroit Business's "40 Under 40" young leaders. Alterman worked for
Men's Journal and began writing the magazine's car column and
automotive feature stories from 2006 to present. During his tenure
with Automobile, he developed and supervised the brand's web site and
maintained writing, editing, and custom-publishing responsibilities.About Car and Driver
Car and Driver's expert editorial team is recognized by car
enthusiasts and automotive manufacturers as credible journalists who
practice to the highest standards. The magazine is published by
Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. twelve times each year delivering an
audience of over 11 million readers monthly (source: MRI Fall 2008).
With a circulation of 1.3 million copies (ABC Jan-June 2008), Car and
Driver is the world's largest monthly automotive magazine. The
magazine is a leading publication for in-market buyers, and the Car
and Driver brand extends to many platforms including a web site,
mobile site, radio, custom marketing programs and an integrated
marketing database. CarandDriver.com
relaunched last year with an easy-to-search format for the consumer
which combines Car and Driver's credible car reviews with improved
searchability and tools for people who are in the market to buy a car.
CarandDriver.com's advertising is sold by Jumpstart Automotive Media,
an HFM U.S. company.Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. (www.hfmus.com
) enthusiast brands and targeted media products reach nearly 60
million consumers through magazines, online and mobile content. The
company's editorial hallmarks are trusted expert content along with
independent product testing. Our prestigious brands fall into five
sectors and include: Fashion (ELLE, ELLEgirl); Automotive (Car and
Driver, Road & Track, Jumpstart Automotive Media); The Luxury Design
Group (ELLE DECOR, Metropolitan Home, PointClickHome); Women & Health
(Woman's Day and Woman's Day Special Interest Group) and Enthusiasts
(American Photo, Boating, Cycle World, Flying, Popular Photography,
Premiere and Sound & Vision). HFM U.S. Total Solutions marketing
initiative packages these assets across brands and platforms with
customized marketing programs. HFM U.S. is part of Lagardère's
(www.lagardere.com) media division Lagardère Active, a producer of
special interest content in over 40 countries.