Jenny Fine: Covering the Beauty Biz

Jenny Fine still remembers her first assignment for Prof. Michael Norman’s Journalistic Tradition class. Her explication on Thomas Paine’s Common Sense was ripped apart with red ink and her fluffy introduction was deleted. Today, Fine reflects with fond memories and says that she appreciated Norman’s harsh comments. “He was the highpoint of my experience at NYU,” she said. “He taught me how to read.”

Fine, a Kentucky native and double alum of New York University, earning both her B.A. in Art History and her M.A. in Journalism has come a long way from her first assignment for Norman in 1991. Now the editor of Women’s Wear Daily’s “Beauty Biz,” the successful spinoff of WWD’s monthly beauty supplements, Fine is the guru for all things fashion and beauty related. And she has used her training at NYU as a basis for her career. “NYU provided me with a laboratory of topics to report on that were right at my fingertips,” she said.

Fine began covering the beauty industry as an associate editor of Salon News, when published by Fairchild Publications, the company that also owns WWD Beauty Biz. It is obvious that Fine has an appreciation for her roots. Not only did Fine return to NYU for graduate school because she thrived on the downtown energy, but she also developed a personal affinity for Fairchild. After a 10-year hiatus working at Conde Nast’s Self, ivillage.com’s Beauty Channel and the consumer shopper’s guide, Lucky, Fine returned to Fairchild in the fall of 2001 as the editor of Beauty Biz.

Although Beauty Biz doesn’t match the circulation of Self and Lucky, it doesn’t bother Fine. She says there are certain trade-offs to working at a smaller trade publication, and she has used those to her advantage. “A less well known publication gives you the opportunity to write and report more,” she says.

Fine says she never tires of the constantly changing and evolving industry. She says also reads everything dozens of magazines to keep informed, including The Atlantic, The New Yorker, and art and fashion publications. . One would suspect that Prof. Norman would be proud because, as Fine learned at NYU, good readers become good writers.

–Lauren Rosenblum, G’03