Lucy Danziger is the former American editor-in-chief of Self magazine and the author of The Drop 10 Diet book. Danziger served as an editor-in-chief of Condé Nast Publications' Self from 2001 until 2014. She now the founder and CEO of Hinted, a social shoppingwish list platform.
Background
After graduating from Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts in 1978 and Harvard in 1982, Danziger worked as an associate editor at New York magazine. Later, she worked at the New York-based weekly 7 Days as the founding managing editor. She also served as the founding editor of Women's Sports & Fitness from 1997 to 2000 and as an editor at The New York Times before becoming editor-in-chief at Self. Danziger has written for numerous publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, Outside, Condé Nast Traveler, Skiing, Allure, Time and USA Today. Danziger has appeared on several television shows, including Today, The View and Good Morning America. She launched Hinted as a tool to save to wish lists what consumers want as they browse and shop, including experiences and wellbeing purchases. The platform launched an iOS app in late 2017 and surpassed over 300,000 users in 2018.
Danziger approved the retouching of singer Kelly Clarkson's cover photograph for the September 2009 issue of Self, slimming down Clarkson's figure considerably. Battling a public backlash, Danziger asserted in a blog that it is common practice for publications to retouch photos of cover images. She defended her position, saying "This is a collaboration. It's not a news photograph... Did we alter her appearance? Only to make her look her personal best. Did we publish an act of fiction? No. Not unless you think all photos are that. But in the sense that Kelly is the picture of confidence, and she truly is, then I think this photo is the truest we have ever put on the newsstand."
Tutu controversy and firing
The April 2014 edition of Self contained a page called the "BS Meter." On it, the magazine mocked one maker of tutus who claimed they made you run faster and illustrated the item with a picture of San Diego runner Monika Allen. The magazine had contacted Allen to ask for permission to use the photo but not the context. Allen, a cancer survivor, who marketed her tutus for charity, saw the context and contacted her local NBC affiliate and the story sparked backlash against Self and Danziger personally. Danziger issued an apology and interviewed Allen for her blog, complimenting her strength, but it did little to satisfy critics and her publisher. Condé Nast fired Danziger and replaced her with Cosmopolitanexecutive editor Joyce Chang effective May 1, 2014.
