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Everything you've always wanted to know about Cosmopolitan but were afraid to ask.38 global editions. 100 countries. 24 languages. And that's just one magazine within Hearst Magazines' empire. According to the president of Hearst's international division, George Green, Cosmopolitan is the best-selling women's magazine, and Hearst was the first American company to publish outside U.S. borders. Those who have perused "Cosmo" understand that it's built a reputation on frank discussion of women's health and beauty issues, under the wings of such notable matriarchs as Helen Gurley Brown and, at present, Kate White, editor and chief. Since its founding, Cosmopolitan has gone from being a small, Rochester, NY-based literary publication to one of Hearst's widely read global commodities."We publish in partnership or under license in various countries," Green says. He also explains that, with plans in motion to release two new editions in Italy and Greece starting in March, and Korea and maybe Singapore later in the year, Cosmopolitan has advanced well beyond the frontiers of global publishing; its name is recognized around the world. According to Green, "We have a lot more circulation outside the U.S., rather than in," tallying Argentina at 500,000, Australia at 220,000, China at 250,000 and Hong Kong at 50,000. Minding the global gapWhile many countries favor the magazine's sometimes controversial flavor, every local culture has its unique needs. As a result, Cosmopolitan works independently around the world, with separate production and editorial staffs responsible for editorial and ad content. Green adds, "Once in a while we tend to look at printing contracts to see if there's something we can help [international editions with] in terms of content." He explains that some countries are relatively conservative, such as in America, where material run in the U.K. couldn't possibly be published in the U.S., "Because they are far more open, far more aggressive, far more specific and graphic [in England]." Despite cultural contrasts between editions, "The touch, the feel, the look, the color, the printing is equally as important to what's in the magazine," Green adds enthusiastically. "And when we have a problem, we speak up very quickly." In Argentina, Green was disgruntled with the work that one printer was providing, calling it sloppy and temporally challenging. A short time later, Cosmopolitan had a new printer. Virtually every international edition of Cosmopolitan has a different printer. In Europe, it's German-based Bertelsmann. R.R. Donnelley, Chicago-headquartered, prints Chinese Cosmo. And Quebecor World, Greenwich, CT, is currently being considered for future contracts abroad. Green explains that, first and foremost, Hearst demands reliability and quality from its print partners. He also considers price and equipment to be fundamental deal-breakers. Another example he shares not only demonstrates Hearst's clout, but also its pressing international objectives: "We print with Donnelley in China," he begins, "but they don't have any web presses." Green explains that after much debate, Donnelley is planning to install a web press to meet Hearst's needs. He charges that, "We've worked very hard to convince them that it's a good idea." Judging a magazine by its coverHearst may encourage cultural independence among its many editions of Cosmopolitan worldwide, but this isn't to say that the corporation grants publishing rights without having strict guidelines and quality controls in place. Every issue printed passes Green's desk, for he determines which suppliers to keep—and which to trade. Setting sail for foreign landsThe first of Cosmopolitan's international editions set sail in the U.K. in March of 1972. This overseas launch also prompted the purchasing of National Magazines Company, one of the U.K.'s largest publishing houses (founded in 1910) and a synonym for Hearst, explains Green. A wholly owned company, National Magazines publishes Cosmopolitan abroad, as well as many other international titles distributed throughout Europe. The benefit to establishing foreign publishing houses, staffs and distribution centers, become more tactile when determining how to hurdle language barriers. In certain non-English speaking countries, for example, font sets for written language vary from those commonly owned in the States. In Thailand, for example, the alphabet is composed of more than the 26 characters recognized by English-speaking countries, requiring that a greater amount of layout space be devoted to text rather than graphics. Easy steps to better communicationIn recent years, Hearst has paid special attention to how it has shared graphics with its international counterparts. Approximately two and a half years ago, the New York City-based creative group sat down with members of Hearst's International Division and started making plans that would revamp digital file exchange.Amre Youssef, Hearst's director of publishing technology, insists that up until then, the process by which Cosmo in the U.S. communicated with editors abroad was rudimentary. He describes that someone would literally sit in front of fax machine all day to distribute image samples used in the recently published U.S. edition. The internationally based design staffs could then choose to ascertain material for their own editions. The process, notes Youssef, was particularly time consuming and didn't facilitate accurate image reproduction."Let's say that London says 'I like that image you just faxed over to me,' " Youssef explains. This request required that the U.S. division contact its separator and have the particular image sent over. The image was transmitted to the U.S. headquarters, where it was finally uploaded to a diskette destined for overnight delivery to London."There were problems getting the FedEx on time," Youssef confesses. "There were also problems storing that image on a disk, copying it, sending it … and sometimes they wouldn't even use it." Realizing that there had to be a more effective means for sharing digital assets, Hearst looked for a new solution. Youssef and two programmers—Harry Jeffery, solutions manager, and Mark Dunmire, projects manager—set up a new system that would allow Hearst to maintain a stronger grip on how its global empire would communicate. "What [Jeffery] came up with," outlines Youssef, "was to find a way to get images to 13 different locations in a timely basis, on a cost efficient basis, but also to make sure that we could track the usage of those images."For digital file transfer, Hearst considered WAM!NET, Eagan, MN, but decided against it, claiming that, "WAM!NET was not in 30 percent of locations we wanted to send to." Denise Gibson, senior vice president of global marketing and development for WAM!NET, clarifies that the company's browser-based Internet Gateway solution, announced in 1999, has shattered international barriers since the time that Hearst analyzed its capabilities. The art of the JPEGAfter running several comparisons that tested various means of file sharing, a home-grown solution was established, which promised to solve many of Cosmopolitan's global woes. Youssef says that the secret behind the process had to do with the color consistency of JPEGs and file compression. Under the system, digital images are now exchanged in the following fashion:As soon as the printer completes Cosmopolitan's U.S. edition, all high-res images are copied to six CD-ROMs. These are sent to the publisher's headquarters in New York City. There, they are downloaded to a workstation and converted from their native file format to JPEGs. The graphics are compressed again, using AppleScript, and burned to a single CD-ROM, and encryptions are preserved in FileMaker Pro. These electronic records can, in turn, be updated and amended in the U.S., when a global facility opts to use the images. Finally, the master CD-ROM is duplicated and shipped to Hearst's 13 international production facilities, along with a read-only version of San Francisco-based Canto Software's Cumulus digital asset management application. If the user wishes to download a high-res image, he or she is required to key in a password assigned by the NYC headquarters. Transactional information is recorded in New York, allowing the publisher to better track image use and dependable royalty records. Youssef believes that not only does this process ultimately save money on fewer color corrections, it streamlines the entire production process for each of the international publishing entities. "It has also resolved the issues of rights," he affirms. "No one can use those images without someone requesting to use those images." The process for exchanging images has also afforded Cosmopolitan the assurance that the publication's global brand image is upheld. The truth about ads Now that Cosmopolitan has tackled the process of file transfer, the question of CTP and digital advertising arises. "Regrettably, there is a lot more talk than action [about CTP]," dismisses Green, who adds that predominantly, advertisers handle foreign contracts independently from insertion agreements made with the U.S. edition. "You have your Estée Lauders and your L'Oreals in just about every edition, but they are not buying at the same time, [nor] with the same methods."Youssef confirms that Hearst is not currently pursuing CTP, citing that 90 percent of ads received are submitted as film. While computer-to-plate may not be in Cosmopolitan's horoscope for the near future, Hearst International is nevertheless proactive about developing its Web presence.Green wholeheartedly believes that "business will go forward" as far and fast as the superhighway will travel. In fact, Cosmopolitan has a recently developed Web site that offers previews of newsstand content and special cyber features, such as surveys and quizzes that have made Cosmo famous among newsstand-browsing fans. As for George Green, he welcomes those monthly tell-alls as much as anyone. "I take [the quizzes] all the time," he confesses. "I only wish I read the magazine when I was younger. I would have had a better, more interesting life."-Natalie Hope McDonald

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