Hef's Successor

[Donna Tavoso]

I found both Peggy and Brian's note on Hef needing a successor
interesting because in reading the Reuter's piece along with other
pieces quoting Jim Kaminsky himself and some inside source about the
magazine, I think Playboy has done just that with Jim Kaminsky.  He
seems to be someone who does respect the history of the magazine, has
a connection to it, believes in its orginal values and is most
importantly is not afraid to take risks and the heat for taking those
risks.  Much as Hef did early in his career.  And while every decision
may not be right, at least he seems willing to take some.  The only
thing I find missing from his equation is the lack of fiction in his
first few issues; Playboy's history in this is outstanding and my hope
is that while the magazine continues to evolve it will also return to
discovering and publishing works of fiction by a new generation of
writers.

And while I agree that disassociating the magazine from Hef would make
any successor's life a little easier, I think it is even more critical
now that Hef continues to work with Mr. Kaminsky so that the new ideas
can be shaped with the same Hef's original vision.  What I have found
interesting about writing here is that while there was a great deal of
debate about the PMOY not being on the cover, with the exception of a
few posts there was little comment on the other changes in the June
issue which I thought were quite substantial but maybe I missed those
posts.

Donna