the initial seed money and then talked both her father and various acquaintances
into investing considerable sums in the project.
Mikael had often wondered why Erika had set her sights on Millennium. True, she
was a part owner—the majority partner, in fact—and editor in chief of her own
magazine, which gave her prestige and the control over publicity that she could
hardly have obtained in any other job. Unlike Mikael, she had concentrated on
television after journalism school. She was tough, looked fantastic on camera, and
could hold her own with the competition. She also had good contacts in the
bureaucracy. If she had stuck to it, she would undoubtedly have had a managerial
job at one of the TV channels at a considerably higher salary than she paid herself
now.
Berger had also convinced Christer Malm to buy into the magazine. He was an
exhibitionist gay celebrity who sometimes appeared with his boyfriend in “at home
with” articles. The interest in him began when he moved in with Arnold
Magnusson, an actor with a background at the Royal Dramatic Theatre who had
made a serious breakthrough when he played himself in a docu-soap. Christer and
Arn had then become a media item.
At thirty-six, Malm was a sought-after professional photographer and designer who
gave Millennium a modern look. He ran his business from an office on the same
floor as Millennium, and he did graphic design one week in every month.
The Millennium staff consisted of three full-time employees, a full-time trainee, and
two part-timers. It was not a lucrative affair, but the magazine broke even, and the
circulation and advertising revenue had increased gradually but steadily. Until
today the magazine was known for its frank and reliable editorial style.
Now the situation would in all probability be changing. Blomkvist read through the
press release which he and Berger had drafted and which had quickly been
converted to a wire service story from TT that was already up on Aftonbladet’s
website.
CONVICTED REPORTER LEAVES MILLENNIUM
Stockholm (T.T.). Journalist Mikael Blomkvist is leaving his post as publisher of the
magazine Millennium, reports editor in chief and majority shareholder Erika Berger.