Houstonia's Losses Mount

Houstonia Magazine's editor-in-chief is gone after just 3 issues: Shakeups continue at new magazine

The new Houstonia Magazine sent its publisher packing after just one issue. Its much-promoted editor-in-chief hire lasted . . . three issues.

John Wilburn has joined publisher Lou DeLone in making a quick departure from Houstonia.

As the first editor of the Houston Press, Wilburn carries a heady reputation in the Bayou City media market. As a newcomer to the regional market, Houstonia knew he was just the man to hire as its first editor-in-chief.

But not long after Houstonia's April launch, Wilburn is gone, marking the magazine's second major leadership departure in a few months.

"He was offered a new position as editor-at-large of the magazine, which he ultimately declined to accept."

Editorial director Scott Vogel — the Houston native who founded the publication with sister Nicole Vogel — tells CultureMap via email that Wilburn left the post in May.

"John was hired to be the editor-in-chief of the magazine, and was the number two editor here, reporting to me," Vogel writes. "In April, he was offered a new position as editor-at-large of the magazine, which he ultimately declined to accept."

Multiple sources tell CultureMap that Scott Vogel has taken on an increasingly vocal role in editorial and determining the magazine's content and that Wilburn was hired with the understanding that he'd be able to chart the magazine's editorial course. Hence his editor-in-chief title.

Wilburn acknowledged he received CultureMap's request for an interview, but did not return phone calls or comment further. He finished up his tenure with a final editor's note in the magazine's June issue (though the note does not acknowledge his impending departure).

Wilburn served a stint as managing editor for the Houston Chronicle, which he joined after helping kick off the Houston branch of Microsoft's Sidewalk.com (now CitySearch) as well as serving as operations manager for KHOU's news website. He was working as an opinion editor at the Chronicle when he left for Houstonia Magazine.

With Wilburn at its helm, Houstonia quickly found itself with a lineup of local talent that included Houston Press alum like Robb Walsh, John Nova Lomax and Cathy Matusow.

“The chance to capture, between magazine covers, a city as muscular, diverse and energetic as Houston, offers an irresistible lure for those of us who love colorful storytelling,” Wilburn said in a January press release announcing Houstonia's arrival.

But, the thrill apparently didn't last long.

This isn't the first — or second time for that matter — the barely launched magazine's made headlines for drama not in its pages. Houstonia found itself changing its name after the Houstonian Hotel objected to its original planned title: Houstonian Magazine.

Who's left from Houstonia Magazine's first issue? Just months in, the new magazine's seen two of its highest ranked leaders depart.

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Movie Review

The Social Reckoning takes a swipe at Facebook in the modern era

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment

Mikey Madison and Jeremy Allen White in The Social Reckoning.

The 2010 film The Social Network — about the early years of Facebook after Mark Zuckerberg created the social media site — was a landmark movie in many ways. But given the time it was made — just four years after it went public beyond colleges — the impact Facebook had on society was minimal compared to what it is today (the film’s tagline references 500 million users on Facebook; there are now over 3 billion).

All of which is to say that there's plenty of fertile material for a follow-up film to explore, which writer/director Aaron Sorkin does quite well in The Social Reckoning. Zuckerberg (played this time by Jeremy Strong) is an important but supporting character in this story, which focuses on Wall Street Journal investigative reporter Jeff Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White). Horwitz is in pursuit of anyone willing to spill dirt on the inner workings of Facebook, which leads him to Frances Haugen (Mikey Madison), who works on the Civic Integrity team at the now-giant company.

While at first reluctant to disclose much, Haugen gradually gives Horwitz access to internal files that show that Facebook engaged in behind-the-scenes work to boost engagement on the site with little regard for how it would affect the well-being of its users. Their story, which takes place over the course of two years between 2019 and 2021, is intercut with scenes in which Zuckerberg is being prepped for testimony before Congress by Raya (Wunmi Mosaku), Charlie (Bill Burr), and others.

The key to Sorkin’s success in Hollywood has always been his fast-paced, overlapping dialogue, and there’s much of it to enjoy in this film. Most of the film is just people talking in rooms, so the script needs to have Sorkin’s signature style to keep the story compelling. He achieves that goal through lines that indicate the righteous indignation, quirks, and sense of humor of the characters, feelings that easily translate over to the audience.

Sorkin is clearly on one side in his storytelling, and it’s not the side that doesn’t seem to care that its users are being harmed by its product. Sorkin gilds the lily multiple times throughout the film in big and small ways, and your enjoyment of the movie may lie in your ability to roll with his choices instead of nitpicking details (like the fact that Zuckerberg didn’t testify before Congress in the crucial year depicted in the film).

Still, there’s the unshakeable feeling that the movie is too little, too late. Even though it’s set just five to seven years ago, the advances in technology and the division of the country in the years since make it feel like a completely different world. The Social Network had the advantage of showing things that most viewers didn’t know well. The basics of this film played out in headlines around the world, and the issues the characters debate in it seem positively quaint compared to what’s happening now.

White has been hit-and-miss as a movie actor, but he’s in his sweet spot in this film, rattling off lines with ease and making Horwitz alternately cocky and empathetic. Madison does well in her first film since winning an Oscar for Anora, playing on Haugen’s passion and eccentricities effectively. Strong plays Zuckerberg as literally stiff — his neck and body movements are almost mechanical — a choice that works for the most part.

The Social Reckoning is not as good as The Social Network, but it manages to be gripping in its own way. Through Sorkin’s writing, better directing than he has delivered in other films, and committed performances by all of the actors, it becomes a story worth telling, even if its ideas have become antiquated.

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The Social Reckoning opens in theaters on October 9.

film mark zuckerberg movies the social network the social reckoning