Journalist and editor Tina Brown's name is inextricably linked with the word buzz. The stories and photos she assigned and ran as editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker certainly contributed to that reputation, but Brown has always been savvy to the power of events both large and small, too—most famously the celebrity-filled launch party on Liberty Island for the short-lived Talk magazine in 1999. Now Brown is making the rounds of parties promoting her first book, The Diana Chronicles, and she will receive the first BizBash Achievement Award at the BizBash Event Style Show Expo and Awards in Los Angeles this Wednesday. (Information about the show is here.) So we emailed her some questions about her take on events.
Your new book looks at how Princess Diana became media savvy and learned to manipulate her public image. How did she use her appearances at events?
Diana was brilliant at using her dazzling public entries to boost her favorite causes. She turbo-charged philanthropy in the U.K. because everyone wanted to associate her style and glamour with their companies. They donated the money to the cause and Diana showed up wearing one of her high-glamour gowns.
You've lived and worked in London and New York, and spent time in Los Angeles. How do parties differ in those three cities?
London is much more casual, and right now it is super hot, flooded with cosmopolitan money. New York is much more buttoned-up, heavily booked in advance, not big on spontaneity. Los Angeles is the earliest town I have ever been to. The most complimentary thing you can say in L.A. is "Fabulous evening, I was in my car by 9:45."
Your reputation is that you don't care much about food. What does matter to you when you're putting together an event?
I don't care myself, but I know my guests do, so I try to make sure I feed them. Food in Motion is a company that does a great job in New York. What matters most to me is conversation and friendly seating. I always have small tables of six because it means everyone talks to everybody, and they are never seated for longer than an hour and fifteen minutes. Long cocktail hour, move for coffee.
The launch party for Talk was one of the most buzzed-over events of the last decade. Looking back now, did it create an unreasonably high expectation for the magazine? Would do you it differently today?
No, I'd do it all over again. Yes, it created expectation because it had a joyful momentum of its own and was a magical night no one who was there will ever forget.
Surely you get plenty of invitations. What makes you decide to go out to an event?
Obligation, affection, or curiosity.
