orthumberlan Straigh

DECEMBER 8, 1969

A CADRE SUPPLEMENT FEATURES/NEWS

Maclean's new editor

by Stewart SaXe Canadian University Press

“I think this is where I can change the world more than anywhere else I could be,” say Maclean’s newest editor-in-chief.

“And it’s fun — it’s where I want to be and it’s what I’m good a .”

It’s a long way to the sev- enth floor of what Maclean’s own writers would call the posh downtown Toronto loca- tion of the Maclean—Hunter building.

Up past the offices of the Financial Post, past the of- fices of Chatelaine Magazine, up post the offices of the more than fifty trade maga- zines turned out by Canada’s super-publishing house.

The editor of Maclean’s

gets a corner office—medium size, comfortable —— hardly overdone; about what you’d expect of a junior Ford vice- president.

The new man in the sev- enth-floor office is Peter Gzowski —— a man who is hardly new to Maclean’s.

In 1965 Gzowski was one of a group of high-ranking personnel that quit the mega zine in protest over editorial interference by the publish- er. Why is he back today?

“I wish reporters asking me that question would do a little more speculation on their own—what can I really say.”

He’s probably pointing to one thing he’s adamant about

“I haven’t compromised myself in the least.

“Before I took the job I

talked to the publishers —- particularly Ron McEachern (Maclean-Hunter’s viceepresi- dent in charge of consumer publications) —— I’m not say- ing anything about these dis- cussions — I’m editor now.

“It’s really a question of whether you’re ed i t or of Maclean’s or not —— I am the editor.”

But wasn’t Charles Temp- leton the editor too when he quit only a few months ago with a big «public flurry pro- testing the same kind of in- terfere-nee as prompted Gzow.

‘ ski’s resignation four years

ago ?

“The air was cleared by the Templeton affair —— I’m a different kind of editor—you have to know what your job is and what’s really import- ant.”

WES

U. P. E. l.

Gzowski’s vague a b o u t what his captainship will mean for the magazine. It’ll be six month, maybe a year, before he feels he has really affected it.

“It’s a long, slow process,” he says. “It’s evolution, not revolution.”

“It will mean more shit- disturbing, more muck -rak ing, — I believe in muck- raking journalism.”

“And I hope it takes the world more seriously and it- self less seriously,” he says of the coming change.

Muck—raking to Gzowski is one of the ways a journalist brings about social change.

“I think anyone who isn’t in favor of social change in this country is stupid,” he says, “but the problem is of- ten that they don’t know the facts.”

That’s the journalist’s role, he feels — the “exposition of trut .”

“Rolling back the curtains, breaking down the barri— cades” is how a writer goes about social change. “You keep laying the truth on them.”

“When the. Luce organiza- tion turns on Vietnam it does more to change U..S. Vietnam policy than all the protest marches.”

Gzowski feels that the U.S. is in Vietnam because it was misguided, misinformed and misled. He admits, though, that he can see economic rea- sons why they’re there as Well. The war does benefit certain economic interests.”

And, “the type of person who owns periodicals in the Us. is generally part of this group.”

But Gzowski feels “there are honest publishers in this country whose dedication is to the common weal.”

“Publishers a r e villains, but not as villainous as peo- ple think them to be.”

--out For social change

Much of the problem in news and information con- trol, Gzowski says, comes from what he calls “antici- patory censorship.”

Writers have a tendency to decide with little basis that they should avoid c e r t a in topics. Often this stems from old rumors and mistaken re- marks around the office.

Gzowski would like to see everyone write openly and freely — he believes they’d really encounter very little difficulty doing so.

And he adds, “there is no built-in contradiction be- tween a tough magazine and a successful advertising in- come.”

Advertising control is us- ually useless anticipatory cen~ sorship too, he feels.

All of which may be quite important for a magazine whose books only very re- cently returned to the black ink. It was only a year ago Maclean’s changed size to conform to Time magazine and hence be able to carry ads originally designed for Time.

And the French edition, still in the red, is to continue to, Gzowski says.

All together it’s going to be quite a task for a man who’s just getting used to wearing a tie and who calls himself a radical. Radical in the sense that he’s always asking why —— always seek- ing the root of the question.

It should be worthwhile to see if the next year of Mac- lean’s will produce the chang- es Gzowski’s leadership would seem to indicate are coming.

And it will be interesting to see if Gzowski can escape from a comment he himself made in 1965:

“The elite,” he said, “by and large protect their own, and their underlings know 1 . ’

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