Remembering Miles Epstein

Miles Epstein has passed. The long-time editor of Commerce Magazine, the communications flagship of the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey, Miles truly made the magazine his own. He provided creative leadership, well-written content and a unique style that has helped the publication endure while other print magazines have dwindled or withered away.

I had the good fortune to work with Miles for a good chunk of his tenure. As a trustee on the CIANJ board and appointed Communications Committee chair, I was laughingly given the task to “keep Miles under control” when the late Jim Beattie (another brilliant mind for whom I miss for his insightful wit and wisdom) retired and passed the oversight job to me in the early 2000s, along with a well-organized box of files with notes from meetings, financials and other ideas discussed with Miles that would never see light again. Part of the job I inherited was a weekly call from Miles to discuss progress with issues and forward-looking ideas that I could relate during board meetings. Over time, these calls morphed into hour-long discussions on any number of issues, from magazine finances to dogs (he was a major-league dog-lover and treated his puppy like a family member) to politics, magazine style and association matters. In the beginning, we tried to “help” Miles generate new editorial ideas with quarterly meetings attended by our best association member’s marketing folks. Miles would welcome ideas, take copious notes, and thank us for our thoughts. Afterward, he would ultimately find a way to quietly ignore pretty much every idea; he clearly desired no help from the cooks in the kitchen. But we did our job, and he did his.

Miles was prolific. He could write an issue over the course of a weekend, if he needed to do it. He often glued together the broken words of busy CEOs and their internal junior marketers into coherent tapestries that made everyone look great. As a side note, I just want to say that I hope there is a place in heaven for people like Miles who had to wait patiently forEVER for the return call or email of a CEO or handler to get a 50-word response as to why their cheesy company was better than their competitors. But Miles did the job. Respectfully (well, sort of). Patiently (again, sort of). Every year. Why do people ignore easy press? I never understood that.

Miles was a fierce and fearless businessman. If an issue was light on advertising, he got on the phone (and on emails, of course) to sell an idea and make a deal to the right people; then turn that idea into crisp pages; and in the end turn those pages into profitable ad sales. He knew how to bundle a deal and squeeze a profit from every issue. He knew exactly what needed to be said to the correct important players in order to make them be ok writing a check for an ad that they (until recently) didn’t know they needed. He could make editorial copy work even when it probably should not. The Miles Epstein COMMERCE Magazine was readable, but there was always a business reason for a story…unless it was sports.

Miles was an unabashed fan. From Jeter to Springsteen, Miles was a sucker for sports and certain New Jersey musicians. He managed to find a business angle behind his thinly veiled fandom, but we all knew. And somehow, it usually worked.?It also sometimes infuriated the bosses of the association. “Why is he still writing about sports?” Former President of CIANJ and Miles’ former boss Rich Goldberg would ask, the first one to call us up after an issue would hit the stands that included a sports star in the centerfold…again. “Readers want to know the business side of these stars,” Miles would offer in passive defiance. But we all knew: he was a fan.??

But Miles got the job done. If you think finding stories that readers will enjoy and that advertisers will support with their precious budget dollars month after month, year after year, well no. It is not easy. Yet, Miles was usually three steps ahead of things on the schedule.?And if he couldn’t find the perfect interview, he found a PR contact somewhere deep in that vast rolodex who could provide a contact to get an interview. Sometimes it was a high-profile interview derived from written questions passed to a handler who would return to him written feedback along with a 300 dpi photo or two. He got the job done. He figured out a way when most people would have given up. He never shied away from the long shot high profile interview opportunity.

I remember he once waited three years to get an interview with a notorious billionaire businessman. This New Yorker was quite popular at the time, even nationally. He would later become a TV personality before entering into politics, but the Miles interview request was back when he was just a businessman. The tenacious Mr. Epstein kept calling for an interview, but the handler kept blowing him off.?Finally, the exasperated handler told Miles he would need to make an appointment. Miles said sure. The surprised handler told him it would be three years before the notable gentleman would have time in his schedule for Miles.?The unflappable Mr. Epstein calmly replied by asking if a Tuesday at 3pm three years from today would be ok. He did get the interview, however, at the beginning of the call, the notable gentleman laid down some strict ground rules. He told Miles he would only give him three minutes, at which point he would decide if it was worth his time to continue the call or end the conversation. Needless to say, the interview went considerably longer, and Miles charmed the giant ego of the notable gentleman enough to get a complete article as well as a selection of high-quality photos…and permission to call back again.?

?Miles was a journalist. He got the story. He got the job done.

I admit that I didn’t pry too much into Miles’ private life, but I did come to understand that, in spite of his tenacious behavior to get an ad or an impossible interview, he was actually shy and uncomfortable in public networking situations. He didn’t do social media. I know he struggled to come to terms with his weight. He was a big man. For those of us who knew and appreciated him, it was an uncomfortable topic. In spite of position and power as a voice in the business community, he didn’t enjoy being out in public, or even in the office. For a large amount of time, he worked remotely and via phone and email. I remember efforts were made over the years to try and get him to get healthy; to go for walks, or visit a gym, but those ideas never materialized.??

I regret that in the last few years, I fell out of communications with Miles, although I knew that his style was transactional. I did reach out a few times, but with little result. I surmised that he had moved on. No time to chit chat.?

Now that he is gone, I am sure there are a few people out there who will have much more interesting stories than mine to share about his fearlessness, his words, and his contribution to CIANJ. I hope he is remembered as a dedicated journalist, a true professional, and a gentle soul who deserved more than the years he was provided.

My heart goes out to Miles’ family, mostly his brother who I understand worked so hard to keep things together when Miles fell ill. Also, condolences to the CIANJ family, past and present. You know who you are.

I find myself at a bit of a loss tonight jotting these thoughts down as to what I could possibly say or do that might make Miles’ tenure on this Earth properly memorialized. To this end, knowing he was a lover of dogs big and small, I understand the family’s wishes are that donations in his memory can be made to Guiding Eyes for the Blind.

If you feel so inclined, services will be this Friday, December 2, 2022, at 10 am graveside at Mount Eden Cemetery, 20 Commerce Street, Hawthorne, NY 10532 (Directions: www.mountedencemetery.org/directions).?

Legacies are born from our actions, or inactions. For Miles Epstein, well, he published a very nice business magazine for a very special business organization. I tip my hat to you tonight, my friend. Peace.