Conversation with Carlo Vittorini

Carlo Vittorini (Media Life Magazine)

Today in class we had a surprise visit from Carlo Vittorini. Mr. Vittorini worked for more than 50 years in the magazine business. Since his high-school years he had the dream of becoming an editor. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, and right after graduation he got his first job in which he learned the fundamentals of the magazine business.

Mr. Vittorini continued his conversation with the class by stating a life lesson that caught my attention. He stated, “Life is a learning thing, you must pay attention to the thing that will have an affect in your life”. Then he continued by saying that later in his early career he switched jobs and got hired as a copyrighter, which he enjoyed. Later in the conversation he shared with us more of his wisdom. He stated, “You can develop the ingenuity to solve problems in yourself”. He said this in order to open our minds that anyone can develop overtime the ability to any problem. Some people are born with that quality, but others have to learn and acquire it.

Later in his career, Mr. Vittorini was hired to work in the Parade magazine. When he entered the magazine the volume of circulation was about 19 million. Twenty years later, when he left the magazine, the volume of circulation had more than doubled. It all started when Mr. Newhouse invited him in 1977 to “build Parade from a tacky-looking insert” (Lindorff, Media Life Megazine).

After 20 years working for the magazine, Vittorini decided it was time for him to set back and relax. So he retired at the age of 70. I could notice how passionate he was when talking about his accomplishments and what he did to make Parade magazine famous. He end the conversation by saying, “”Be committed to what you are doing, things will not come overnight”.