Fernando Is the Man, Yo

If you live in Charlotte or the surrounding area, you likely heard the big news yesterday that Chiquita is relocating its headquarters from Cincinnati to Charlotte. The multibillion-dollar company that's most known for bananas will bring 400 jobs to the city next year, with its corporate office being housed in NASCAR Plaza in Uptown. The news of Chiquita's relocation was the talk of last evening's Charlotte Chamber Annual Meeting, and was the focal point of about a third of the formal program.

Chiquita CEO Fernando Aguirre took the stage and talked about why his company chose Charlotte over remaining in Cincinnati or moving to one of the other cities that were courting them--the two biggest reasons were the financial incentives package the city and state put together and the appeal of the high number of daily, direct, and international flights that operate out of Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Based on the 15 minutes or so that Fernando spoke, I believe he's going to do well in Charlotte and add to the city's long lineage of savvy, forward-thinking, civic-engaged corporate executives (think Hugh McColl, Leon Levine, Jerry Richardson). I like the guy.

Fernando Aguirre appeared on CBS's Undercover Boss last year.

My first impressions of Fernando is that he's sharp, witty, and an avid tweeter (@FdoAguirreCEO). And he was thoughtful enough to don a yellow bow tie he says was sent to him by Charlotte-based High Cotton Ties in what was one of the many ways people in the city came together to help lure them here (#bananas4CLT / #bananasforCLT). But out of all the things he stated at the event, to me, one of the most important announcements was that Chiquita will be donating 15 salad bars to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools so students will have more access to fresh fruits and vegetables. The salad bars will be donated through the Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools program.

Fernando is the man, yo.

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Cam Newton Covers Premiere Issue of 'NFL Magazine'; It'll Be a Collector's Item One Day

I've worked in the magazine industry for the past decade, and there's one thing I know that many casual observers don't seem to comprehend: the magazine business is a business. I've seen entirely too many glossies launch and fail over the last few years, largely because the people behind them either have no publishing experience or don't fully understand all of the pieces that must be put in place for a magazine to have a chance to succeed. Furthermore, I feel that post-2008 has not been a good time to launch a new magazine. I'm sure you've seen some of your favorite titles fold or continue to publish at 50 to 75 percent of the size (number of pages) they once were. This is mostly attributed to the decline in advertising revenue that magazines--and most media outlets--have experienced since the recession. Companies aren't making the money they used to--retail stores, fashion brands, airlines, car companies, electronics, record labels, etc.--so they aren't advertising like they used to. Fewer ads mean fewer magazine pages for stories, and fewer ads mean less revenue for a business to operate.

So before I go too long on my soap box, please know that I love magazines, they're partly how I make my living, and I hope they thrive for another century (even if it is on iPads, Kindles, and tablet PCs). It's just that I was surprised to learn that the National Football League is launching a new magazine in December. But then again, I'm not.

The inaugural edition of NFL Magazine is scheduled to hit newsstands nationwide on December 13. Most magazines make most of their money off of subscriptions, newsstand sales, and paid advertisements, which is the largest chunk of revenue. NFL Magazine is coming into the game facing the same challenges as other more established mags and will be fighting for a share of the advertising dollars, but my guess is that the NFL believes that publishing a monthly magazine year-round centering on a five-month season will make good business sense.

The league launched the NFL Network eight years ago to give fans around-the-clock, year-round television coverage of professional football, and that's been going well, right? Not necessarily. Most fans who subscribe to NFL Network have satellite TV or one of a few major cable companies. But some of the nation's largest cable companies, like Time Warner Cable and Cablevision, don't offer the NFL Network to their customers. And documents that leaked over the summer while the league was locked out over a collective bargaining agreement with players showed that NFL Network is one of the few league products that loses money. The league operates NFL Ventures, which oversees its sponsorships, marketing, media properties, sales, and satellite rights, and I assume is where NFL Magazine will fall under. NFL Ventures' operating profit reportedly grew by 29 percent from 2009 to 2010 to $1.8 billion, which is a sizable chunk of the league's $8 billion in revenue.

So basically, folks, the NFL is being greedy. It is making so much money that it can afford to launch another media property--this time a magazine--that I'm betting will never become profitable. It loses money on NFL Network, but continues to operate it because it wants its own network, despite the fact that ABC, ESPN, FOX, and NBC pay it billions to broadcast games. Now it wants a magazine, to compete with the likes of ESPN The Magazine (owned by ESPN obviously) and Sports Illustrated (owned by Time Warner). NFL Magazine might draw a decent number of subscribers early on because it has so many vehicles in which to market it, but I'm curious to see how great of an editorial product it will be. ESPN The Magazine and Sports Illustrated are both lauded for their fan appeal as well as their thorough reporting and journalism. While each of them cover several of the major sports and not just the NFL, they're not afraid to criticize the sports leagues. Will NFL Magazine offer criticisms of the league? Roger Goodell isn't always right, you know.

But I digress. You might want to pick up a copy of the first issue of NFL Magazine next month. It features our guy Cam Newton on the cover. That's a big deal for Cam and it's great national exposure for the Carolina Panthers. You might want to read it since leading-rookie-of-the-year-candidate and rookie-records-breaker Cam hasn't done much press this season--access is something the magazine is touting: "Go where no other magazine can," one of its taglines reads. And you might want to own this copy because it could one day become a collector's item when NFL Magazine no longer exists.

UPDATE: April 2012

NFL Magazine has folded after only four issues. Below is the statement posted on thenflmagazine.com.

Information Regarding NFL Magazine Subscriptions
Thank you for your interest in NFL Magazine. We regret to inform you that at this time NFL Magazine is not accepting any new or renewal orders for this product and will not be publishing additional issues after the Special 2012 Draft Issue, dated April 2012.

If you are a current subscriber with a fully-paid account and have a balance of unserved issues after the Special 2012 Draft Issue, you will be refunded for all unserved issues.

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'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition' Returning to Charlotte Area, Volunteers Needed

Production for ABC's acclaimed Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is returning to the Charlotte area in December, with local builder Bellamy Homes selected to oversee the construction. The builder and the show are currently organizing the local efforts and you can get involved.

To get the community excited about this opportunity to build a new home for a family in need, there will be a pep rally on December 1, 7 p.m. at Belmont Abbey College in Belmont (only 20 minutes from Uptown Charlotte). The event will be hosted by KISS 95.1's Otis and Brittney of The O Show, and you'll meet the builders and members of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition team. The Carolina Panthers' TopCats will also be on hand and there will be ticket and prize giveaways. Admission to the pep rally is free but seating is limited. Get more details at www.bellamyhomes.com/extreme-makeover-home-edition.

The actual location of the build will be announced on December 11. You can get involved as a volunteer--the project needs more than 3,000 volunteers for general labor, food servers, and clean-up workers, as well as skilled trade professionals. The reason so many people are needed is because the entire build will be completed in one week, and all products and labor will be donated by partnering trades and suppliers. The episode will air next year in a two-hour broadcast on ABC. Get more details at www.joinextreme.com/nc.

The most recent time I recall Extreme Makeover being in Charlotte is 2008, when the show built a new home for the King family in the Windsor Park neighborhood. As you can see in the before-and-after photo below, and as is usually the case, the new home was a drastic improvement.

[Source]

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Winner of the Windows Phone Giveaway Announced

On Friday I kicked off a contest to give away a new Windows Phone to a Grown People Talking reader, courtesy of Microsoft, allowing you four days to enter to win by interacting with me via social media (and then posting your entries in the comments section). I originally said I would announce the winner on Wednesday, which was yesterday, and I'd planned to do it once I returned from the Windows Phone Party at Mez last night. But I ended up having too much fun and bounced around to a couple of places in Uptown after and was in no condition to do any blogging when I returned (you too can keep up with fun things to do in Charlotte nightlife on my Dusk Till Dawn blog).

So, without further ado, the winner of my Windows Phone giveaway is...Andrew Buchanan! Congratulations Andrew! Email me your mailing address and contact phone number and I'll let you know the process for receiving the phone: JarvisH@grownpeopletalking.com.

Just so you guys can have faith that the contest was legit, I recorded how I selected the winner. It's a riveting five minutes of footage of me undergoing the process of putting slits of paper in a bag and pulling one out.

As for the Windows Phone Party last night at Mez, it was filled with mingling, free food and drinks, music, and prize giveaways--my favorite recipe for social events--all courtesy of Microsoft. I only knew a few people there, but met a few interesting people as well that I conversed with throughout the night. There were several tech geeks there also, which, from my understanding, was an important demographic, since we were, after all, there to try out and experience a new line of smart phones.

You can get a recap of the night's events on Twitter by searching the hashtag #WPCHR (Windows Phone Charlotte). Microsoft gave away several phones and other prizes last night (my friend Jameka won a customized skateboard) and one of the ways people were eligible to win was by tweeting about the event with that hashtag. The phone party tour is in Dallas, Nashville, and Phoenix tonight.

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Youth Expressions Summit (Y.E.S.) this Saturday

If you have teenage children, relatives, or encounter them in youth groups or activities, you should encourage them to attend the Youth Expressions Summit (Y.E.S.) taking place this Saturday, November 19. It's a free event for students ages 12 to 19 that will allow them to discuss and engage in many of the issues they face as young people growing up in this crazy, fast-paced world today.

Here's an excerpt of the official description of the event:

Levine Museum of the New South, as part of its New COURAGE project, invites students ages 12 to 19 to come show your courage at the Youth Expressions Summit (Y.E.S.). Join hundreds of fellow students as you explore the issues today and the guts to face them—the things that matter to you as individuals, in your schools, in your communities, and in your world. Designed by teens, the summit focuses on a host of hot topics, from cliques to bullying, dating-violence to sexting, immigration to re-segregation, peer pressure to personal advocacy, and much more.

Levine Museum is partnering with ASPIRE Youth Leadership and Development Program, Girl Talk Foundation, Inc., Planned Parenthood of Charlotte/Teens Taking Action, and UNC Charlotte's Department of Public Health Sciences to present the Y.E.S. Summit.

Youth Expressions Summit (Y.E.S.)
Saturday, November 19, 2011
9 a.m.-2 p.m.
UNC Charlotte, College of Health and Human Services Building, 9601 University City Blvd.
Free; registration required at www.yessummit.eventbrite.com or the morning of the event.
www.facebook.com/NewCourage

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