Former more! editor Fiona Gibson on girl power, and Position of the Fortnight

Something a little different this week… Franki and Lucy aren’t doing a magazine deep dive. Instead, they’re turning the spotlight on a woman with far more expertise in women’s mags: Fiona Gibson. 

Fiona is the former editor of Just 17 and more! magazines – not to mention the writer behind a Mag Hags’ favourite – “How to throw a disaster-free dinner party (New Woman, Sept 97) – and author of more than a dozen novels. In a Mag Hags first, Franki and Lucy sit down with her to find out about how she fell in love with magazines in the first place, editorial life in the 80s and 90s, and writing about sex when you’re not allowed to write about sex. 

And, of course, we’ll be finding out ALL about how she came up with that most iconic of magazine regulars – the one that has come to represent a shorthand for the Millennial adolescent unofficial sex education – Position of the Fortnight. 

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LINKS 

You can read more from Fiona – including memories from her magazine days – at her Substack: https://fionagibson.substack.com/ 

Or check out her novels here https://uk.bookshop.org/contributors/fiona-gibson 

CHAPTERS

02:24 – Jackie magazine, DIY beauty hacks, and kissing practice

15:17 - Becoming editor of More! magazine

21:19 – Whose idea was Position of the Fortnight anyway?

28:48 – Celebs, fashion, and features - writing for the 90s woman

40:49: – “Our reader is everything”

53:36 - What do we lose when we lose women’s mags?

1:00:16 – What’s hot and what’s not about being a magazine editor in the 90s? 

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Mag Hags is written and hosted by Lucy Douglas and Franki Cookney.

Editing and audio production by Franki Cookney.

Our theme music is Look Where That Got You, Mattie Maguire. Additional music: Leotard Haul, Dez Moran. Both courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

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