July 23–30, 1998

20 questions

Marty Wombacher

interview by Neil Gladstone

Marty Wombacher has a love/hate relationship with magazines. After creating a hometown version of People magazine, People of Peoria (Illinois), he moved to New York five years ago to try his hand at the big time. After several rocky interviews and rejections, Wombacher decided to start his own zine, Fishwrap, and slam all of the moronic magazines out there. Luckily, he has a lot of material to work with. Fishwrap is filled with sophomoric snips at kiss-ass profiles, bottom-line-minded publishers and record review blather. It's only published twice a year because Wombacher needs to save up to pay for the 3,500 copies printed on glossy stock. He works nights in a film service bureau to pay for it. Wombacher, 40, was on the phone from his apartment/office in New York City.

What magazines have you interviewed with?

I was really excited when I interviewed at People. I went there with my portfolio filled with this wacky-ass stuff from People of Peoria. I remember the editor from People having a horrified look on his face, as if he was thinking, "What's wrong with you?" One story I did was about this homeless guy from Peoria who lives off of roadkill. We had pictures of this guy gnawing on a cat's paw. The editor said, "Why would you want to write about a guy like this?" He said there weren't any openings at the time, but maybe I should try over at Entertainment Weekly. I talked with two editors over there and they asked me what I thought of their magazine. I said I liked some of it, but it's overloaded with reviews and I hate those stories about the 100 Top Albums of All Time and the 50 Most Powerful Players in Hollywood. I said I'd like to see a story about the 50 Lowest People in Entertainment, featuring things like The Worst Standup Comic. I would rather read about a struggling artist than reading about Mel Gibson every week. Their jaws dropped. One of my problems is that I'll tell interviewers how much I hate what they're doing.

Are you sorry you were so honest?

At the time I was because I knew my savings would run out. But those rejections inspired Fishwrap. When the Entertainment Weekly thing didn't happen I went out and got a copy of the magazine, went to Strawberry Fields and read it. Because I'd never really read an Entertainment Weekly, just glanced through it. That week the cover story was on Jason Patric and it was really bad. The lead was something like, "I'm looking at Jason Patric's blue eyes and they match the sky." Then in the middle of it there was the line, "I'm sitting poolside with Jason Patric, his aqua eyes match the water now." And I'm reading this shit thinking, "These people wouldn't give me a chance?" Then I called an old friend and asked if she'd be interested in working on a zine making fun of all of the people who wouldn't hire me. That's how it started. Now I shudder to think what would have happened if People had hired me. I might have turned into the kind of scumball I hate.

When you started Fishwrap, were you hoping that editors from the magazine would see it and give you a job?

At the time I still wanted a job with Rolling Stone or some place like it. About two years ago, I sent an early issue of it to Sid Holt who was the managing editor of Rolling Stone at the time and he wrote me note back saying that he "liked/loathed" Fishwrap. He invited me to have lunch and he asked me what I thought of Rolling Stone. I said, "God, I can't stand what it's become." Around that time they had Mick Jagger on the cover and I was making fun of that. I said, "If you people are trying to get young people to buy your magazine, you think plastering Mick Jagger on the cover is going to do it?" So that situation went south.

What was Sid Holt's response?

He kind of agreed. He said sometimes the editor's hands are tied because Jann Wenner wants to do something. I do respect what Jann Wenner originally created, but I don't respect what it's become. Back in the '70s they occasionally had unknown people on the cover. I guess you can't stay that way and hit the numbers that they do.

There seems to be a part of you that's infatuated with Jann Wenner.

There is. He did what I'm trying to do. It's really only him and Hugh Hefner that started with a brand new idea and pulled it off. They both did it without the help of anybody. Those guys are kind of like my heroes.

What other magazines piss you off?

In Style I can't stand. It's just filled with celebrities and their stuff. They had a cover on Kelsey Grammer around the time that he had to go to court because he supposedly had sex with a 14-year-old. The guy's been busted for coke and drunk driving, married a stripper. This In Style piece was all about where his wedding was going to be and his car and it never mentioned anything else. That kind of stuff is just sickening.

What's in the next issue?

It's due out in August and I make fun of Steven Brill's new magazine Content, which is kind of like a serious version of what I'm doing with Fishwrap. He says he's going to be the watchdog of the media. He takes it a little too seriously. Plus, he wrote this 20-page cover story all about Clinton's "Pressgate" and it came out that the story is filled with errors and misquotes. Brill didn't use a tape recorder when he was talking to people. Some people he talked to actually taped the conversations and they could prove he had misquoted them. He just took notes, he didn't tape. I would think if I were going to do a story like that I'd have the tape going. To me it just seems that there are so many nitwits out there in places of power. It just boils down to numbers, as long as you're selling well, don't do anything to upset the apple cart. Everything's so safe these days.

Do people criticize Fishwrap as a sour grapes venture?

A lot of it is. Sometimes I liken it to a little kid having a tantrum.

Fishwrap costs $4 an issue. Write to: 2130 Broadway, #915, New York, NY 10023.