The Megaphone (Georgetown, Tex.), Vol. 97, No. 05, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 24, 2002 Page: 3 of 8
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FEATURES
The Megaphone, October 24, 2002 ^
Stewart living’ in speculation
By MARWA ABDALLA
Megaphone Staff Writer
It’s a tact, Martha Stewart
is everywhere. She has invaded
every corner of the domestic
world. From her magazine
Martha Stewart Living all the
way down to her “Martha Slew-
art Everyday" line at K-Mart.
this shrewd businesswoman has
truly built an empire. 1 ier name
is even thrown around in every-
day expressions for example,
you say to someone, “Oh, you
are so Martha," and a complete
thought is communicated.
Martha Stewart’s omnipres-
ence is up there with Coca-Cola
and Starbucks. Her multi-mil-
lion dollar kingdom has gener-
ated both fans and foes across
the nation. She gives instructions
on everything from throwing
the perfect children’s birthday
parties, and whipping the stilT-
est meringue, to folding napkins
into shapes that defy physics
and creating gardens any neigh-
bor would envy.
What’s amazing is that
she has made a huge business
out of being perfectly domestic
and saying things like “That's
a good thing." However, credit
must be given where credit is
due, and this woman has done
her fair share of hard work.
A closer look at Martha Stew-
art shows that this lifestyle guru
and shrewd businesswoman has
a pretty interesting history. Bom
Martha Kostyra, on August 3.
1941, the second of six children
in a Polish-American family.
Stewart grew up in Nutley, New
Jersey, a working-class commu-
nity near New York C ity. She
worked as a model from the
age of 13, appearing in fashion
shows as well as television and
print advertisements.
She attended Barnard College
m Manhattan (one of the foui
colleges of Columbia Univer-
sity), where she earned a degree
in European and architectural
history in 1962. While at ^Bar-
nard College she was named
one of the year’s best-dressed
women in college by Glamour
magazine, and she also met her
future beaux, Andy Stewart who
was then a law student at Yale,
The two married in 1961
and soon had a daughter, Alexis,
iruun tiricr uTC uttttt oi iici
daughter Stewart went to work
as a stockbroker for the bou-
tique firm of Monness, Williams,
and Sidcl. She worked on Wall
Street until 1972, experience
that would undoubtedly come in
handy for the future business-
woman, and then moved with
her family to Westport, Con-
necticut.
11 The Stewarts bought and
restored a 19th century farm-
house in Connecticut and named
it Turkey Hill Farm. It was from
there that Martha launched her
first catering business (haying
trained herself from Julia Child’s
Mastering the Art of French
Cooking), and within a decade,
Martha Stewart, Inc. had grown
into a SI million company.
Stewart moved into the w'orld
of publishing with her first book.
Entertaining, which became a
bestseller and was followed in
quick succession by such pub-
lications as Martha Stewart's
Quick Cook Mentis, Martha
Stewarts Hors d "Oeuvres,
Martha Stewart's Christmas,
and Martha Stewart's Wedding
Planner. Her newfound fame
L,uune3y uk.tc yanoo.com
With the public eye always viewing, Martha Stewart tries desparately to
hold on to what she has worked so hard, and ruthlessly, for
style empire grew to include
two magazines, a popular tele-
vision show, a syndicated news-
paper column, a series of how-to
books, a radio show, an Internet
-took. its. toil on her personal -life,—site, and S763 miUiorr in annual
as her marriage to Andy Stewart retail sales. Not too shabby.
ended in divorce in 1990, after a
bitter three-year separation.
Thus by the early I990’s
Martha had successfully made
the transition from a local busi-
ness ow ner to a household name.
Then in 1991. Martha Stewart,
Inc., became Martha Stewart
Living Omnimedia. Inc . with
the release of her magazine,
Martha Stewart Living. In the
next few years Stewart's life-
On October 19, 1999, Amer-
ica’s most famous homemaker
returned to Wall Street to see
her company through its initial
public offering on the New York
Stock Exchange. At the end of
the day, the price of each of 72
million shares in Martha Stew-
art Living Omnimcdia, Inc. had
jumped more than 95 percent
and raised almost SI30 million.
It seemed that fora day the harsh
world of Wall Street became
prettier and more color-coordi-
nated. as Martha served orange
juice to investors over magnifi-
cent centerpieces.
------------ioda.yj5.tcytarUiQiilLo.li96-.
percent of the voting shares in
her company and is worth $1.2
billion. In June 2002, Stewart
again made financial headlines,
this time for rumors of insider
trading. According to the New
York Times, Stewart is cur-
rently under investigation for
selling thousands of shares of
ImC'lonc Systems just prior to
the Food and Drug Adminis-
tration's refusal to approve the
company's new cancer drug.
The value of the stock dropped
markedly after the FDA’s
announcement. Due to the inves-
tigation, Stewart resigned from
the board of directors of the
New York Stock Exchange in
October, just four months after
she had joined.
Most recently, the Securities
and Exchange Commission’s
enforcement staff informed
Martha Stewart that it intends
to recommend filing civil secu-
rities fraud charges against her
in connection with her contro-
versial sale of ImC'lonc Systems
Inc. stock.
The investigation into Stew -
art's sales of her ImClone stock
came on the heels of an unau-
thorized biography of Stewart
by Christopher Byron, a vet-
eran financial writer. The book.
Martha Inc., was published in
April, and one editor commented
that it reads “like a litany of hor-
rors... this is a woman whose
career path to success is strewn
with carcasses, and Byron has
basically followed along behind
her and picked up everyone and
interviewed them.”
Byron’s biography jumped
near the top of the bestseller lists,
although it also has received its
share of criticism as being too
harsh in its depiction of Stew-
art.
Because Stewart’s company
and personal image are so tightly
wrapped together—I mean, who
can follow her cookie recipe
if she’s a crook? the accusa-
tions against Stewart have con- .
tributed to a drop in her stock of
more than 20 percent.Stewart’s
holdings in her own company
have taken nearly a $200 mil-
lion hit, wiping out more than a
quarter of her net worth, accord-
ing to one estimate.
Yet Martha Stewart has faced
challenges in the past, and has
proven she can take care of her-
self. And for Martha Stewart,
that's definitely a “good thing."
Perry and Sanchez battle for capitol
By BETH FREED
Megaphone Staff Writer
Has anyone else noticed ;
whole lot of mudslingin' goinj
on? It seems this year’s gov
ernor candidates like to ge
down and dirty. According tc
America-Statesman writer Kei
Herman, this year's election ha:
seen a record amount of spend
ing go to "a ballot full of can
didates who have accused eacl
other of everything short o
cattle rustling.”
This year’s contest pit:
incumbent Governor Rick Perry
against Sanchez, a businessman
and veteran behind-thc-sccnc!
political- player who is making
spent towards negative televi-
sion advertising.
Perry's focus has been
to the tax payers that bailed
him out all those years ago.
Perry also reminds voters that
carry the punch line, “We didn’t
elect him. We don’t have to
keep him,” alleged that Perry
I Jouston, Herman described the
scene as “two men eager to ruin
each other." The next debate
his first bid for elected office.'
Perry claims that his politica
experience is just what Texas
needs. Perry came to Austin as
a Democratic legislator in 1985
In 1990, then jumped sides U
become the Republican agri
culture commissioner; he wan
voted in as lieutenant governoi
in 1998 and tilled Bush's spot as
the now president left for D.C.
Sanchez, on the other hand
claims that his business experi-
ence will give him the insight
needed to balance Texas' budget.
This candidate, a mega-wealthy
oilman and banker is certainly
making good on his claim to
spend “whatever it takes” to win
the race. So far, lie has spent
over $55 million from Ins per-
sonal accounts.
Overall, both candidates
have spent $72 million, mostly
courtesy aroteneonllne net
Tony Sanchez and Rick Perry battle it out with the use of character attacks and frivolous spending. Who deserves to live in our capftol?
on a past business failure of
Sanchez". A Sanchez-controlled
savings and loan failed in 1988
and required $161 million of
federal bailout.
Perry candidly told Sanchez
in a recent debate that perhaps
some of the money flow ing into
bis campaign should be returned
allegations that $25 million in
drug money flowed through
Sanchez's Tesoro Savings and
Loan. Nobody affiliated with
Tesoro was ever charged with
wrongdoing. Perry also points
out that Sanchez did not vote in
the last governor elections.
I lie Sanchez ads. which
took campaign contributions in
exchange for vetoes and to pro-
tect insurance companies as they
jacked up homeowners' rates.
It seems as though both
men enjoy keeping the focus
off of the issues. I veil in their
first debate, which look place
on ()et.9 at Rice I diversity in
takes place Oct. 24 in Dallas.
So how does one make an edu-
cated vote?
Check out the Austin
A in e r i c a n S t a t e s m a n a t
www.statesman.com for a
voter,s' guideA But whatever you
do. don't watch telex ision
Horoscopes
Aries (Mar. 21- April 20)
(3^3 Spend lime making
^personal improvement!)
that will help you feel
** heller about yoursellL
Changes in your domestic scene wi\l
be necessary even if you don't wel
come them. IXm't let problems while
traveling oi dealing with relatives
Taurus(Apr. 21- may 21)
Extravagance and
indulgence will he
tempting. Be careful not
to place unreasonable
demands on others. Don’t lollow the
crowd Your health will suffer if you
don't relax. Past acquaintances are
likely to come hack into your life.
Assess what they cun do for you
before you proceed
Gemini (May 22-June 21)
a Sturt those hobbies
sc been thinking
oi
may turn into a lucra
live proposition You
can make personal changes that will
enhance your appearance Romantic
encounters will he stressful, especially
it you have more than one on the go.
Mixing business with pleasure will be
fun, but highly dangerous us well.
Cancer (June 22-July 22)
\ You need to make
up your own mind.
flHHK^^Avoid getting involved
in joint ventures You
must make some serious
choices before you ruin your repula
lion. Your secretive nature will cause
problems for you if you won't share
your thoughts with your mate.
Leo (July 23-Aug 22)
Don’t be too eager to
let anyone know your
^^^P^PJsecrets. Don't he too
eager to talk about your
feelings You need to find out more
about the way your partner feels
before you pul your own heart on the
line Your friends or relatives will be
able to give you some good advice if
you confide in them
Virgo (Aug. 23 -Sept. 23) :--------
•k Your emotional
partner will he upset it
have been neglect-
ing your duties. Some
one you have become
friends with has greater interest in you
than you realize. Tread carefully You
need to gel out and enjoy yourself
more often. Look for cheap but enter-
taining activities.
Libra (Sept. 24 -Oct. 23) ■
4 New and exciting
adventures will unfold if
/{\ /|\ you take sudden trips.
^^^Mix business with plea-
sure if possible. Be sure that whoever
you date is free and clear of past
involvement. You will have to be
careful that someone you work with
doesn't misinterpret your actions Your
intentions may he honorable but your
approach may be questionable.
Scorpio (Oct. 24 - Nov. 22)
You can express your-
kelf well at group func-
tions Don’t be afraid
to promote your beliefs.
You will inspire those you talk to. This
is the time to take a position of leader-
ship. Use your intuitive senses when
dealing with others. Don't get dragged
into a love triangle
Sagittarius (Nov. 23 -Dec. 21)
Jk Your intuition will
^^Hk^Y^.be in top form, giving
you insight into future
trends You can make
major gains where
career and finances are concerned if
you direct your energy into achieve
ment. Your amiable attitude will
enhance your reputation and bring you
popularity within the groups and orga-
nizations you belong to.
Capricorn (Dec 22.- Jan. 20)
Deceit on the part of
| f jL peers may damage your
reputation Be careful
>1
information in the heat
of an argument. Don 't get involved
Scorpio (Oct.
in gossip You can pick up sound
advice from someone you respect
Educational trips will be successful;
however, you must be careful while
traveling.
Aquarius (Jan. 21.- Fch. 19)
£ Visit w ith distant
friends or relatives.
^^iCvAl• njoy getting outdoors
* * * and being involved in
sports activities. Keep your temper
undei control when dealing with
others. Sudden changes in your (inan
cial picture anil position in life are
more likely to happen it you have pre
sented your intentions carefully.
Pisces (Feb. 20-Mar. 20)
Look into expanding
your knowledge or skill
in your ehosendield
lYour creative talents
w ill surface through
your response to situations A sensitive
approach will enable you’to appeal
to those you love tor help Pleasure
trips will be favorable. Try to be clear
in communication. Your unique ideas
will he well received You can com
nuimc.ite with ease, gelling vour point
Courtesy of startnjhtastiologv com
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The Megaphone (Georgetown, Tex.), Vol. 97, No. 05, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 24, 2002, newspaper, October 24, 2002; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth634161/m1/3/: accessed June 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Southwestern University.