Publishing is a competitive business, but few rivalries match the intensity of a fight among three publications so obsessed with pecking order.
"We see our magazine as pure entertainment," Carroll said.
Paige Bishop, formerly of Washington Business Journal, left, Jason Binn, publisher, and Cristina Greeven Cuomo, daughter-in-law of former New York governor Mario Cuomo, are launching Capitol File magazine.
(Kevin Clark -- The Washington Post)
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"Our magazines are really a luxury product," Binn said.
All this preening has a purpose, of course. And a profitable one.
Upscale lifestyle magazines are in part riding the boom in luxury retail goods.
"What you should know is that D.C. is a top 10 market for retail in the United States. There is a lot of money coming through here, a lot of disposable income being spent on luxury goods," Binn said. "There needs to be an outlet for people to market and brand their business."
Fashion designer Giorgio Armani and high-end jewelers have plans to expand in Washington, for example.
"We're actively looking for a David Yurman store in Washington," said Terri Eagle, chief operating officer of David Yurman, which sells its jewelry in Washington at Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and independent jewelry stores.
Yurman used to spend most of its ad dollars with Conde Nast, Eagle said, but signed on early to advertise in Binn's growing chain of upscale magazines. Yurman has gotten results from ads in every market, said Eagle.
The proliferation of luxury lifestyle magazines is tapping into another national trend: the public's insatiable demand for what publishing expert Samir Husni of the University of Mississippi calls a nationwide trend toward "caption-driven" magazines, filled with pictures.
