Imperio-The PRISM Glamour Magazine

**PRISM News** *'***Network’s** **Imperio** is one of the most popular culture **magazines** among the socialites of Imperial High Society.It covers society news, art, and interviews along with a healthy dose of current events and gossip. Unlike other society rags, Imperio is defined by its behind-the-scenes features on the biggest and most exclusive events across the sector. The glossy covers of its special reports and quarterly issues are a staple of longues and board rooms all across the Sector, and some artists have made a name forthemselves painting stylized versions of the iconic cover design. Among the powerful, being asked to interview for the Imperio is considered an honor and interviewees have been known to frame the cover featuring their interview as a symbol of prestige. Many young socialites dream ofbeing mentioned in an Imperio special report.

## SpecialReports

One of the hallmarks distinguishing Imperio from other cultural magazines are its **Special Reports**: special issues published immediately following **society events** of note. These issues are shorter than the regular monthly issue of Imperio and focus on a topic of specific interest. The special issues typically contain three to five features and a small number of short briefs about the event and the people attending it. Because of their brevity, Imperio Special Reports are considered an excellent way to discover the who’s-who of society events and many use the reports to keep up with the constant flow of social events in Acheron Rho.

## History

The Imperio magazine was formed in 2958 as [proto-PRISM]’s first rebranding began to pick up momentum. In the aftermath of the Blood Eagle’s mysterious death, [proto-PRISM] and the Aquilan Imperial Government began to fall apart in earnest - more and more [proto-PRISM] agents joined the Videri or went into private industry hoping to legitimize their skills and launder questionably attained war profits. One of these was the brilliant propagandist and [proto-PRISM] spy, Elian Hunt. Mr. Hunt had always had a mind for money and he saw early on that the Videri could gain legitimacy by distancing themselves from the Blood Eagle’s state propaganda network. Always a people-person, Mr. Hunt decided the best way to reassure the Council of Noble Houses was to show the Noble Houses a good time.

Fromthe beginning, Imperio held and attended society events with prestige and cultural significance - the magazine collected highly refined society gossip and reviewed all kinds of artistic, musical, and cultural productions. Its sole purpose was to keep far-flung nobles informed about court gossip and the happenings at events they couldn’t attend - entertaining the Noble Houses with articles on art and culture were originally organized under court gossip but later became so popular that they developed into their own section. As a radical promotional move, every Noble House and all major sacred sites operated by the High Church received one free copy of Imperio magazine for every five residents and any noble registered in the SIGNET system could request an individual copy at any time.

Inits first two decades, Imperio quickly became a household name in High Society despite the razor-thin margins associated with print advertising at the time. After twenty years of soothing the wounds left by the Blood Eagle’s rule, and the beginning of PRISM’s second wave of rebranding, Imperio’s new Head Editor, Gillian Hunt, son of Elian Hunt, decided that the eminent magazine could be sold to members of the Noble Houses. Many working at PRISM at the time though that charging nobles to read Imperio would backfire and their reader base would collapse, but the opposite was true. Imperio almost immediately went from breaking even to practically printing money. The Noble Houses even began to see Imperio as prestigious because of the cost.

During the War against the Artificial, Imperio was forced to briefly shutter its doors as social events ground to a halt and scandal singed the magazine. Just as news of the Cygnus’ excommunication was beginning to spread throughout the Sector, the Imperio published its quarterly issue, which happened to feature a young Imperial celebrity couple awing all attendants at a yearly dance competition on Echo. Unfortunately, the couple consisted of a Cygnus marquese and a Crux anwältin and the pair was beaten to death a few days later as the synth panic reached their world. Unable to withstand the scrutiny, the Hunt family was forced to step down and the Imperio only printed back issues until Grigori Kaan bought the magazine in 3198.

While the old magazine mostly covered society and culture, Grigori Kaan, who came from a political news background, wanted Imperio to be more relevant to the modern, politically-minded noble. Kaan instituted changes allowing more political or controversial topics to be covered in the Imperio via published debates or sermons, or in interviews with public figures. As of now, PRISM’s executive board seems to like the new course of the magazine.

## Imperio Office Building & Staff

The Imperio Office Building, or IOB, was first occupied in 2963 and remained in continuous use until the War Against the Artificial. It was briefly converted into a war propaganda office and then released back into civilian control. It is once again occupied by Grigori Kaan and his staff.

The Imperio Building is a ten-story landmark in Talon’s historic downtown. Like many buildings in that area of Echo’s capital, the Imperio Building features a neo-Classical facade with columned entrances and broad steps in white stone, with red brick behind. The lobby and office walls are covered in frescoes dating back to the Masked Emperox’s rule, with a significant presence of later art decorating the upper floors. True to Echo’s classical style, most of the building’s rooms are lit in glorious color by vibrant stained glass windows - in keeping with the magazine’s subject matter, most of the Imperio Building’s windows depict stylized scenes of revelry and cultural achievement.

No part of this building’s structure is completely spare, and even the extras and talents on the lower floors work alongside art from the Empire’s first cultural renaissance, but the editors on the upper floors often have their own private art galleries. Any number of celebrities and influencers have enjoyed a private party held in the Imperio Building’s rarified upper floors.

Current notable staff:

* Grigori Kaan, Chief Editor Imperio, sometimes known as “the Shark,” because his reporters are always there when gossip is about to spill.

* Editor-at-Large Aristotle Seide, although not actually part of the Imperio staff, Seide has taken over the Executive Producer side of Imperio. Many think that Seide is the reason the Executives haven’t said anything against the magazine’s new direction.

* Managing Editor Hellene Hunt, a holdover from the original family, is in charge of every editor in the IOB.
* Cory Actus, Imperio Lead Succulent Writer
* Tara Cassis, Imperio Senior Head Writer
* Harry Avaritia, Imperio Reporter
* Persephonia Grey, PNN Correspondent