The staff at Vanity Fair, I am told, is up in arms.
To succeed editor in chief Radhika Jones, Anna Wintour has chosen her daughter’s childhood friend — who has no experience running or editing a major magazine.
Mark Guiducci, sources say, is a childhood friend of Wintour’s daughter, Bee Shaffer. They have been friends for years. There are pictures of them all over the internet. Guiducci has also written at least one feature about Shaffer.
Guiducci is currently creative editorial director at Vogue, Wintour’s main concern.
A source says: “He’s the most disliked person in the Conde Nast building. Staffers went to Anna begging her not to hire him.”
According to the NY Times: Guiducci started his career at Vanity Fair as an assistant and held a number of roles at Vogue, before becoming the editor in chief of Garage, an art publication owned by Vice Media. He returned to Vogue in 2020 as creative editorial director, where he helped to start Vogue World, an annual fashion and cultural show.
At Vogue World, I am told, Guiducci had a rocky time and wasn’t very popular in the Conde Nast building.
There were so many top editors to choose for the new “global editor” of Vanity Fair. This reeks of low pay, and total subservience to Wintour. Guiducci has no Hollywood connections, which is also a problem. Entertainment editor Jeff Giles, much respected in the business, is also on his way out.
Vanity Fair is now known more for parties than journalism. This choice won’t help their circulation, either, which has been in a nosedive since Jones took over.
