Jeff Smith, May 1987-March 1993
HRM: Top memories?
Jeff Smith: The first one that comes to mind is the internal fight we had to get the first centerfold (Pete Chapouris’ Limefire roadster, Oct. 1987) accepted. [VP Group Publisher] John Dianna didn’t want to do it because it was going to be expensive. So, my publisher, Harry Hibler, came up with the idea to pitch the concept to the circulation department. Most of the editors I knew at Petersen didn’t get along well with the circulation department because circulation had their ideas on how our covers should look, and we felt that they wouldn’t work for our readers.
But oddly, the head of the circulation department, Nigel Heaton, liked
