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Brown v.Board of Washingtonian
The struggle to integrate the newsroom of D.C.'s city mag

Cover Story

It was a story that no local media outlet could ignore. The 1990 Census showed D.C. undergoing a massive racial makeover, with Hispanics leaping in number by 85 percent. The city’s titular magazine, the Washingtonian, knew that somehow, some way, the Hispanic boom affected its proprietary demographic.

In due time, a story appeared. “The Nanny Generation,” which ran on the cover in March 1995, featured a photograph of a smiling Hispanic-looking woman protectively positioned behind a young boy. “Teens look back at the good and the bad of being raised by a nanny,” read the headline. “Plus—how to find the right child care.”

Weeks later, stacks of the issue were still sitting at the news stands.

“It was one of the worst-selling covers, and [the publisher] was angry about it,” says Chuck Conconi, the magazine’s former editor at large. Conconi blames the poor sales on poor news judgment, saying the story wasn’t what the Washingtonian’s audience was interested in. And how: Years later, the publication was still smarting from the nanny flop. One former intern, who requests anonymity for fear of burning a bridge, says the magazine’s brass brought up the Hispanic cover story in a meeting on what and what not to cover. “There was also a general understanding...[that] the issue sold horribly and that they learned a lesson from that,” says the intern.... Continued

Issue of Mar. 3 - 9, 2006

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