'Fearless' Black's Book Glosses Over Blunders

Cathie Black is "totally fearless" -- or so I learned by reading the back cover of Basic Black, which comes out today. The Hearst Magazines president will get a full hour on Oprah today to shill her combination memoir/self-help book, ensuring its future as a "virtual bestseller," according to Keith Kelly. That "fearless" blurb was supplied by Oprah pal Gayle King, by the way.

But how fearless is Black? Here are a few of the things you won't find mentioned as "case studies" in Basic Black:

-Lifetime magazine, R.I.P. 2004.

-Weekend magazine, R.I.P. 2006.

-Shop Etc. magazine, R.I.P. 2006.

-Kate Betts's radical makeover of Harper's Bazaar, R.I.P. 2001.

You will find a chapter on how Black and Hearst editorial director Ellen Levine pitched the idea of a women's magazine to Oprah Winfrey -- but you won't find any mention of Joanna Powell, the then-Good Housekeeping writer who, I'm told, had suggested the idea to Black and Levine.

In fact, the most fearlessly honest thing I've seen in the book so far is a quote from People Group editor Martha Nelson, who shares this passive-aggressive management tip:

I never really fired anyone. What I did was bring somebody in with the exact same title. Eventually the incumbent would realize they were being replaced, and move on of their own accord.

Why do I suspect Jack Welch would not approve?