And while the first issue was a blockbuster, the second is pretty much a standard sequel. The October cover story is about Liz Taylor. Not quite as thrilling as the September Hillary story. And George Pataki doesn't grab the reader's attention as much as George W. (What is this, the Governor of the Month feature?) And so the content will never be the same as the initial issue. Whatever buzz is left will die down very soon.

But for all of the problems, Talk is not completely irrelevant. The writing is good and the magazine does get big-name contributors who can get big-name celebrities to agree to interviews. And if the editors can follow up with periodic scoops, there will be casual readers who will make a point of buying it that month.

Talk also has a unique backer. It is co-owned by Miramax, the film studio. This makes for great cross-promotion opportunities. Already, some of Miramax's new home videos feature advertisements for Talk with Brown talking about--what else?--her new magazine! I'm sure Miramax movies will soon find a promoter in Talk, either in advertisements or in exclusive stories. Pretty soon, we'll probably even see a movie with first-issue cover girl and Miramax Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow as Tina Brown in "Talk: The Tina Brown Story." And I don't think it's a coincidence that the other Talk sponsor is Hearst Communications, the company whose patron saint, publisher William Randolph Hearst, inspired Citizen Kane, the famous movie about a self-centered media mogul.

But whether or not that happens, and whether we like it or not, Talk will be around for a while. One thing self-publicity does for itself is get the word out. And, for a magazine, self-generated talk is better than no talk at all.

William P. Bohlen '01, a Crimson executive, is a government concentrator in Pforzheimer House.