Digest Without Polls

In a bumper year of magazine management flips & flops, the publishing world has come to expect anything. In June when the Albert Shaws, father and son, paid Robert J. Cuddihy, Wilfred John Funk and others some $200,000 for the 47-year-old Literary Digest, merged it with the venerable Review oj Reviews as The Digest, it could be supposed that the Literary Digest was permanently in the journalistic limbo. Last week, however, it emerged from temporary eclipse with a new set of owners who will again call it Literary Digest.

The buyers are Mr. George F. Havell & friends. Onetime circulation manager, business manager and then managing editor of The Forum, Mr. Havell is a magazine "doctor" well able to acquaint himself with The Digest's ailments. As soon as Messrs. Shaw bought the Literary Digest, Mr. Havell became its publishing consultant, put his own money into it.

Chief associate of Mr. Havell in forming the syndicate which paid approximately $200,000 for the Shaw's Review of Reviews Corp. is David P. Page, co-managing editor of The Digest. He will edit the new weekly. Mr. Havell thinks The Digest flopped because it reflected too much editorial bias. His remedy will be reversion to the classic neutrality of juxtaposed newspaper comment which characterized the Literary Digest of the late '20s when it had 1,400,000 circulation. Beginning Nov. 13 the Literary Digest's, cover will appear bedecked in action color photographs. Its interior will contain: 1) a review of the week's news, 2) special articles and big-name features, 3) something called "Reading around the world." Says Boss Havell: "Presidential polls are out."

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