Elle, no! Lagardere denies it's forcing its fashion mag onto the catwalk

When confronted with a sale rumor, standard corporate operating procedure is to ignore it, whether true or false. But some rumors simply need to be knocked down, like today's report in the New York Post that Lagardère, the Paris-based parent of Hachette Fillipacchi Media, is in talks to hand over Elle magazine to Hearst, publisher of Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, and other women's titles.

Hours after the report hit, Lagardère issued a notably unequivocal rebuttal.