Talk of the Town - Editorial ambitions July 22 2000

Back in the day, when I was at the now-defunct North Fulton High School, we were told that each of us would probably change jobs seven times during the course of our adult careers. Howard Lalli, the departing executive editor at Atlanta magazine, seems to have a bit of a head start, announcing last week that he’ll leave Atlanta to join Gina Wright’s local Leader Publications empire. After stints in New York City working at Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and Talk, Lalli came to Atlanta seven months ago to join the Atlanta masthead. “Actually,” says Lalli, “I talked to Lee Walburn [Atlanta’s editor-in-chief] a while ago about coming to Atlanta, but Lee let me know that he was going in a different direction, and that’s when he hired Doug Monroe, who, like me later, was trumpeted as Lee’s successor.”

But with the venerable Walburn not showing any signs of slowing down, Lalli’s short stay at Atlanta would seem to suggest that he was uncomfortable with waiting for Walburn to step down. Lalli says that’s not true.

“I can honestly say I had a good relationship with Lee, and it only got better in working with him. So, there’s no problem between Lee and me. Ultimately, I guess the way I’d describe it is that looking ahead, Gina Wright has greater editorial ambitions for her magazines, and I have greater entrepreneurial ambitions in Atlanta for myself. And Leader was the best place to do it.”

Atlanta’s Cosmo-naut: While the magazine industry gives employment to some, it brings fame to others. Peter Siaggas was living a nice, quiet existence here in the ATL, until his sister, CL account exec Carrie, nominated him for a spot in Cosmopolitan magazine’s annual list of most eligible bachelors.

Fast forward to this month’s Cosmo, which includes Siaggas. According to Siaggas, the highlight thus far was a magazine-sponsored trip to New York, where he made appearances on “Today” and “Entertainment Tonight,” partied at a Miramax film premiere and “went bowling with a Victoria’s Secret model, which was pretty kick-ass,” he notes. “The whole experience was wild, like being a rock star or something.”

Atlanta-san: Toshinao Urabe, consul general of Japan, held a traditional Japanese luncheon for local media last week at the Japanese Consulate General’s residence in Buckhead. Urabe, who moved to Atlanta June 9, led a rap session that centered on the upcoming Kyushu-Okinawa Summit 2000, in which the leaders of the world’s major industrial democracies will assemble in Japan for three days of discussion.

Once the sake began flowing and the courses of raw fish were served, conversation turned to educating Urabe on some of Atlanta’s more peculiar elements. The journalists in attendance, including the Atlanta Journal’s Richard Matthews, the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Erin Moriarty and the Marietta Daily Journal’s Becky Smith, satisfied Urabe’s curiosities on everything from moonshine to Nascar.

Wave your hands ... : CityCares, an Atlanta-based volunteer umbrella organization that counts Hands On Atlanta among its members, has unveiled a new logo to better reflect their national involvement. The logo, which features a cityscape resting in an open palm, was designed by Atlanta firm FUSE Inc.

This and that: Braves’ hurler John Rocker was shopping in a Buckhead-area Publix this week when he was approached by an older woman. But instead of a tongue lashing, she told Rocker how proud she was of him for the way he handled himself while in New York City. ... If you’re looking for a last-minute dinner reservation, Opentable.com recently kicked off its service in Atlanta. Log on and eat out. ... I’m out.

What’s up, Atlanta? Hit me up at 404-688-5623 x.1502 or lang@creativeloafing.com.