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“What I didn’t realize was that I was literally writing the social history of Washington, DC. We called it the human side of power,” David Adler told Hollywood on the Potomac. Adler is currently the CEO and founder of BizBash; but back in 1975, just a month out of college at 21, he co-founded Washington Dossier with his editor mother, Sonia (Sunny Adler). It was the society magazine for the Nation’s Capital from 1975-1991.
So why are we talking about this now? For two reasons: 1) A tribute to the late Dossier cover photographer Fred Ward and 2) the Presidential change of guards that will usher in a new group of power players, leaving this years’ Rolodex in the dust once the new administration lands on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
David explained how the sport of social climbing was played then and how it is played today: “My dad Warren Adler, the novelist who wrote the War of the Roses (think Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner) and 40 other novels, owned an advertising agency at the time. He along with his staff helped us launch a 16 page newsletter style magazine to cover the Washington, DC social scene. His ad agency represented most of the real estate powers of Washington and he backed me with his office infrastructure, some cash and encouragement. We picked the top 1000 biggest players in town and captured the glamour of the social scene. It literally became the Playbook for who was in and out of the ‘Court’ of influence and power.”
Goldie Hawn
“Looking back at Washington Dossier which I digitized,” Adler added, “it’s interesting to see that being part of power meant that you did need to be somewhat visible and make your way onto the playing field which consisted of dinner parties with the Cave Dwellers and catalysts that knew the ins and outs of permanent Washington. The people who made friends with us did it for strategic reasons. They knew that they were permanent power. We saw the rise of the lobbyists from good old boys to lawyers to complete infrastructures of teams devoted to sophisticated influence peddling.” Brother Jonathan Adler, who was a college student at the time, joined the company a year later. The magazine grew to over 250 pages during its height and lasted until 1991. The Adler family sold the company in 1987 after 12 years.
“Now the lifestyle magazines are really eye candy and not real power,” suggests Adler. “Because events are so visible, the real power can’t operate like they used to. Everything is so polarized and partisan that it’s impossible to be real. Everything is polished and sanitized. A lifestyle magazine in Washington has lost its relevance, but the concept of breaking through is still the same. How do you get recognized as having power? It’s still position on one side and staying power on the other side. The Cave Dwellers are no longer part of The Green Book but they are still the glue that gives advice and tells you where to go and what to do. The difference now is that that advice is available on a transactional level and not because the Cave Dweller really wanted to mentor the newbies that come to town.”
“Sitting at the right table with the right people hasn’t changed, but it’s not in the lifestyle magazines anymore. The power is in those columns like Politico Playbook or others who spend the time observing and commenting on what is happening. The lifestyle magazines don’t have the budgets or interest in observing in the way we used to do it.” Come November, look for the new players to be seen at Washington Power spots like Cafe Milano, The Capital Grill and The Palm.
“I was recently at my parents apartment in New York and started thumbing through the leather-bound books of past issues,” Adler said in 2007 about putting together a retrospective of Washington Dossier. “It was so fascinating to watch my life pass in front of me. I also realized that it was looking at the history of social Washington during the Ford, Carter, Reagan and Bush 1 years. The history of the era is remarkable and I am so proud to be a part of the team of professionals who put this work together.” And we, of course, love that he called the scene Hollywood on the Potomac.
