"The magazine was being started by a company that had no experience in business magazine publishing. It was a little difficult to get people to sort of buy into it and to join the staff, but we did"
About this Quote
There is a quiet swagger in Daly's understatement: "a little difficult" covers what was probably a full-contact struggle for credibility. Coming from an actor, the line reads like an insider's admission that launching a magazine is less about glossy ideals than casting, chemistry, and collective belief. A company with "no experience" sounds like miscasting on paper; the real drama is whether anyone will agree to join a production that might close on opening night.
The intent is pragmatic, even disarming. Daly isn't selling a heroic origin myth, he's spotlighting the unglamorous hurdle: recruiting talent when the backers can't point to a track record. The subtext is about reputational risk in media culture, especially in the mid-century ecosystem where gatekeeping was tight and careers were tethered to institutional legitimacy. Staffers don't just take jobs; they affiliate their names with a brand. If the brand is unproven, you're asking people to bet their professional future on your optimism.
"And to join the staff, but we did" lands like a curtain line. It's not triumphal; it's earned. The "we" matters: success is framed as a social feat, not a managerial one. Daly is pointing at the alchemy of early teams - the leap from skepticism to momentum - where conviction substitutes for credentials until the work starts proving itself. In a media landscape that still fetishizes disruption, the quote feels current: the hardest part isn't printing pages, it's persuading skilled people that the gamble is worth taking.
The intent is pragmatic, even disarming. Daly isn't selling a heroic origin myth, he's spotlighting the unglamorous hurdle: recruiting talent when the backers can't point to a track record. The subtext is about reputational risk in media culture, especially in the mid-century ecosystem where gatekeeping was tight and careers were tethered to institutional legitimacy. Staffers don't just take jobs; they affiliate their names with a brand. If the brand is unproven, you're asking people to bet their professional future on your optimism.
"And to join the staff, but we did" lands like a curtain line. It's not triumphal; it's earned. The "we" matters: success is framed as a social feat, not a managerial one. Daly is pointing at the alchemy of early teams - the leap from skepticism to momentum - where conviction substitutes for credentials until the work starts proving itself. In a media landscape that still fetishizes disruption, the quote feels current: the hardest part isn't printing pages, it's persuading skilled people that the gamble is worth taking.
Quote Details
| Topic | Startup |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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