Backgrounder: Christopher Napolitano
Christopher Napolitano.
Photo courtesy of Playboy Magazine.
© Playboy Magazine 2006.
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When Christopher Napolitano, 42, joined Playboy Magazine in 1988, he didn’t realize he’d found his calling. “I had no journalism background,” he confessed, in an interview with this reporter in February 2006. “I had no desire for anything journalistic. [Playboy] was just a great place to be.”
Such a great place, in fact, that Napolitano stuck around. Starting at the bottom, he worked his way up the masthead, earning a promotion to associate editor in 1994. Seven years later, he was named Playboy’s executive editor.
Napolitano’s career at Playboy began when he landed a job as editorial assistant to then fiction editor Alice Turner. A berth at a softcore magazine might seem counterintuitive for someone with a degree in comparative religion (Napolitano had graduated from Columbia University in 1986), but according to him, sex and religion aren’t incompatible. As far as Napolitano is concerned, life is about learning how to be human, and Playboy’s mission is to teach men what they need to know about sex and romance. “[Playboy] is a moral place, because it has its own set of ethics—and religion and morality are often tied together,” he told this reporter.
Founder Hugh Hefner originally conceived of Playboy as an aspirational magazine aimed at a mass audience of would-be sophisticates. Under Napolitano’s guidance, the magazine has evolved to fit the needs of the modern reader. “We’re not a sex magazine; we’re a romance magazine,” Napolitano told this reporter. Playboy’s goal is teach a man not only how to please a woman, but how to woo her, he said. In large part, he noted, Playboy is “a lifestyle magazine, which is all about what drink to pour [and] what music to play to get the girl.”
Involved with the fiction department since his early days at the magazine, Napolitano has used his clout as executive editor to reinvigorate Playboy’s commitment to highbrow writing, showcasing literary icons such as T.C. Boyle, John Edgar Wideman, and Paul Theroux, all of whom Napolitano has edited personally.
These days, Napolitano is often praised for the way Playboy looks, but he’s reluctant to take credit, commending his design staff for Playboy’s graphic style. “I chide the person complimenting [me by] saying, ‘Yeah. Now, I’m not actually producing any of the material—that’s why it’s better,’” he said, laughing.
SOURCES
- Karem, Brian J. and Napolitano, Christopher, “In a Room with Madness.” Playboy. March 2003.
- Lazaroff, Leon, “Hefner pushes his man for Playboy revival.” Chicago Tribune. 10 Oct 2004.
- Napolitano, Christopher. In-person Interview. 02 Mar 2006.
- —, “No Sex, No Money, No Freedom, No Time.” FitPregnancy. 2006.
- —, “New-father Fears.” FitPregnancy. 2006
- —, “The Charmed Life of Tommy Lee.” Playboy. August 1995.