(FORTUNE Magazine) – Since its launch last August, Talk magazine has gone through an odd cycle in the media world. First, everyone was talking about it, then nobody was talking about it, then everyone was talking about how nobody was talking about it. Few people, of course, were actually reading it. But many questions swirl around the magazine. FORTUNE's Tim Carvell answers the most frequently asked ones.

Who is Talk for?

According to its direct-mail campaign, Talk is for "someone with a curious nature, an acute sense of style, a level of sophistication that matches our own, and a quick and agile wit."

Who is Talk really for?

It's for people who like shiny things.

I hear that the Weinsteins are heavily involved in the magazine.

Yes, yes, everybody's heard that. But even former Talk staffers who have few kind words for the magazine insist that isn't the case. The Weinsteins, they say, have offered guidance on covers, and Harvey placed a call to arrange an interview with Charlize Theron. But the Weinsteins haven't been demanding all those stories on The Talented Mr. Ripley. Those were Tina Brown's idea.

How much is the magazine costing to produce?

Estimates range from $50 million (the official figure) to as much as $75 million, a budget shared by Miramax and its partner, Hearst Magazines.

Hearst? Aren't they a really conservative company?

Yes. They are.

So what are they doing with Talk?

They're handling printing and distribution.

How's that working out?

Depends on whom you ask. FORTUNE spoke with several former Talk staffers, who reported tension. "No one at Miramax has any idea of the kind of effort it takes to put out a magazine, and Hearst is bearing the brunt of that," says one former Talkie. But Hearst President Cathy Black insists everything's fine. "I think it's a really good read," she says, "and the advertising side is way ahead of budget, and we're really thrilled about that."

How much advertising has been sold, anyway? And how's the circulation doing?

It's hard to say. The magazine has a rate base of 500,000 and claims it is selling 600,000. But audited circulation figures won't be available until later this year. On the ad front, Talk required that advertisers buy into the first four issues, which featured, on average, 116 pages of ads each, and the fifth issue featured a big Benetton insert. The latest issue, by contrast, features just under 50 ad pages.

Why is the magazine so hard to read?

Any new magazine takes time to find its voice, so some adjustment was inevitable. But the odd thing is, Talk seems to have found its voice, and it's a weirdly shrill and annoying one.

How can that be? Isn't Tina a genius?

Well, yes. But her genius at Vanity Fair and The New Yorker was that she made them punchier and added some celebrity coverage to the mix. Think of her as salt: Sprinkle a little bit on a starchy magazine, and it will taste better. Talk, on the other hand, is all punchiness and celebrity coverage. It is a salt lick.

So, are they doing anything to fix the magazine?

A lot of the young staffers who were supposed to be the backbone of the magazine have left, and Brown has replaced them with some seasoned veterans.

But I thought the idea was to keep the budget low by hiring new--and less expensive--talent. Won't these new, more seasoned staffers drive the budget up?

FORTUNE asked that very question of Hearst's Cathy Black. Her reply: "We feel very comfortable with the magazine's budget for 2000."

Yes, but has the budget increased?

"Of course it did. We did three issues last year. We're doing ten this year."

Yes, but given all these new, more experienced staffers, has the budget--

"Don't go there. I don't know. We've got a budget, and we're feeling good about it."

She nearly got you with that three-issue/ten-issue dodge.

Yes.

So, one more question: Susan Cheever on the tragedy of being single? Lucinda Franks on the sex lives of children? Paul Theroux on Robin Williams?

That's three questions. And I haven't a clue.