View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

  1. Archive content
October 7, 2004updated 22 Nov 2022 12:13pm

She adds hard news to glamour

By Press Gazette

Gritty: She editor Terry Tavner (centre) has focused on hard-news features

Women’s lifestyle magazine She is looking to balance its coverage by introducing hard-hitting news features.

The monthly has attracted huge media interest after running a feature about the “extraordinary friendship” of Brighton Grand Hotel bomber Patrick Magee and Jo Berry, the daughter of MP Sir Anthony Berry who was killed in the blast.

It was the first time the pair were interviewed together since the IRA bombing left five people dead and many injured 20 years ago during the Tory Party conference.

The Press Association contacted She’s editor Terry Tavner asking to use quotes from the piece and The Independent ran parts of the interview, with a credit, as a page lead.

Tavner believes women are becoming disillusioned with too much celebrity culture. “Women’s magazines can be so celebrity orientated and I think women are bored. Of course women want fashion and beauty pages but as well as wanting them to go away knowing what shoes and clothes to wear I want them to have been intellectually challenged.”

Content from our partners
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it

The layout and design of the feature was different to separate it from the rest of the magazine.

Tavner added: “The photograph of the two of them together is so arresting, you can see that Pat can barely meet Jo’s gaze. We have a newsy font, the idea is to make it look more compelling.

It has every part of a human interest story, but with knobs on.”

Recently She ran a story about OJ Simpson’s sister-in-law and a feature on infanticide. According to Tavner, lots of readers wrote in expressing their interest in such stories and she intends to include them in every issue.

By Sarah Lagan

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network