The Archives, June 2000

Horse magazine morphs into fashion sheet and gets slapped with a law suit

June 30, 2000 - The combination of the title "Polo" and luxury lifestyle content brought Westchester Media's magazine POLO more attention than it had planned. Full story.

Electronic House relaunches with new editorial focus

June 30, 2000 -- Fifteen-year old consumer magazine Electronic House hits the newsstands this week with a new look. Full story.

What part of "sophistication" does Mademoiselle not understand?

June 28, 2000 - Mademoiselle, the title aimed at women in their twenties, will undergo a makeover to be "more sophisticated, optimistic and motivated" according to the new publisher, Lori Burgess. What doesn't make sense though, are some of the new proposed features. Full Story

T3: Tomorrow's Technology Today launches U.S. counterpart to European editions

June 28, 2000 - T3: Tomorrow's Technology Today, a consumer electronics title, is already popular in nine different countries outside the U.S. market. Learn what the winning formula for content will be here. Full Story

France gets first lesbian magazine

June 27, 2000 - French lesbians broke with the male-dominated French gay population by starting their own magazine, called Tetu, Madame in response to the leading French magazine, Tetu. Full story

British fashion magazines agree to ban "anorexic" models - not!

June 27, 2000 - First it was announced that British fashion magazines would form a self-regulatory body to "monitor images" and to "use models who varied in shape and size."

A day later, the editors of four of Britain's leading fashion magazines, Vogue, Elle, Cosmopolitan and New Woman, accused Liz Jones, editor of British Marie Claire, of using the situation as a "promotional tool" in an open letter. Full story.

Chile Pepper adds spicy lifestyle content

June 26, 2000 - Chile Pepper, the 13-year-old food title, will be adding "how to spice up your life" content, broadening the possibilities for freelance writers. Full Story

Inc. sold after 21 years

June 21, 2000 - Inc., Goldhirsh Group's 21 year-old small-business title, has been sold to Gruner and Jahr, a magazine publisher owned by German media giant Bertelsmann AG. Gruner and Jahr currently publish titles such as Family Circle, McCalls, Young Miss, Parents and Child.

HomeGirl targets newly defined market

June 21, 2000 - More young women are reading Vibe these days, so parent company Miller Publishing Group is launching a biannual supplement titled HomeGirl to capitalize on a possible new market niche. Full Story

Geriatric Times takes interdisciplinary approach to eldercare

June 21, 2000 - Geriatric Times will provide clinical and practical information for a wide network of eldercare professionals, an approach owner CME, Inc. thinks has gone unfulfilled. Full Story

One is a new magazine for design buffs

June 21, 2000 - If it's design, culture and innovation you like to write about, One is a new general reader magazine being created right now. Full Story

Yahoo! Internet Life has one million readers waiting to read your article. WOW!

June 19, 2000 - One million people are reading Yahoo! Internet Life, providing maximum exposure for writers with vision. Here's the content formula that is responsible for the title's 1000 percent increase in circulation over the last five years. Full Story

Is Talk all talked out? Not quite yet.

June 19, 2000 - Nine-month-old Talk has been losing ad revenue, a serious problem for a magazine's longevity. Here's what writers need to know. Full Story

IQ the newest magazine to provide both business and lifestyle content

June 14, 2000 - IQ, a new bimonthly business magazine, is targeted at business executives who need to understand Internet technology but aren't necessarily ready for a full tech-oriented publication. Full Story

Writer's electronic rights more important than ever

June 14, 2000 -Electronic rights are an important contract item in today's writing market, but it's not just the print magazine publishing your work on the title's web site. Here's an example of how else your material might be used. Full Story

Is Reader's Digest up for grabs?

June 14, 2000 - Reader's Digest is reportedly in talks with Bertelsmann, the German media giant, who might be considering buying the popular U.S. title, but neither side is talking. Is this a case of "where there's smoke, there's no fire?"

Writers with good photo skills have new business/lifestyle magazine venue

June 14, 2000 - Imagine Media will launch a new title, as yet unnamed, offering coverage on both people's work and personal lives in a picture-driven format. Writers, who can also snap a useful picture, might find an outlet for their work here. Full Story

Salon.com cuts editorial content by 25 percent. Ouch.

June 12, 2000 - Salon.com has made some cuts that will likely result in 25 percent less articles. Writers need to double check the web site before querying. Full Story

Guideposts to grow revenues, but will writers benefit?

June 12, 2000 - Guideposts, a publisher of inspirational stories, is expanding both editorially and in revenue over the next six months. Perhaps writers will benefit from these plans. Full Story

Darwin removes tech-speak to aid executives

June 7, 2000 - Darwin, the newest business title to tackle content covering the technical world of information technology (IT), wants to help executives who aren't fluent in tech-speak understand the subject. Full Story

Travelocity rivals Expedia Travels, yet neither are launched yet!

June 7, 2000 - Travelocity and Expedia Travels are both reportedly going to publish print content to help Internet-savvy business and pleasure travelers get the most out of their surfing experience. It's just a matter of time. Full Story

Family Medicine Net Guide researches healthcare web sites

June 7, 2000 - Family Medicine Net Guide wants to help readers find reliable health information on the Internet by providing researched links to featured health topics. Full Story

ItBeat Magazine focuses content on office equipment news

June 7, 2000 - ItBeat Magazine, a print spin-off of itBeat.com, will provide useful content that buyers of office equipment can use to make purchasing decisions. Full Story

O, The Oprah Magazine loses editor-in-chief

June 5, 2000 - In an unexpected twist to the very recent launch of O, The Oprah Magazine, it was announced that editor-in-chief Ellen Kunes will be leaving her position after just two issues. Citing "work/family issues" as the true reason for her resignation, Ms. Kunes has promised to stay on to help a new editor, not yet announced, to take on the daily responsibility for the magazine as well as coordinate editorial content with Oprah Winfrey. The magazine, which was published bimonthly for May/June and July/August and already has 525,000 subscribers, will appear monthly starting with the September issue.

Emerge will re-emerge with broader editorial focus

June 5, 2000 - Emerge, a national newsmagazine for upscale, educated African-Americans, will cease publication for the remainder of 2000. The title is expected to re-emerge with new and broader content . Full Story

Golf Magazine, Field & Stream, Popular Science and Motor Boat & Sailing are looking for a good home. The titles, under the Times Mirror Magazines' umbrella, which was recently purchased by the Tribune Company, are slated for immediate resale. (June 28)

Baseball America, published 24 times a year, has been sold by Miles Wolff to an unnamed group comprised of publisher Lee Folger and three partners from Netzee, an Internet financial services company. (June 28)

Women's Sport & Fitness will cease publication following the September issue. (June 28)

Mademoiselle has hired a new editor-in-chief, Mandi Norwood. (June 28)

eDigital, a new digital photo enthusiast title focusing on technique and products, will launch in October. Owner Primedia also publishes Shutterbug. (June 28)

eV, a monthly title from Cahner's Variety, is due to launch in September. The magazine, with an initial circulation of 54,000, will explore how the entertainment industry relates to the new digital economy. (June 28)

Sport, the Emap USA title with a one million ratebase, will cease publication after the August issue. A cutback on advertising by giant Philip Morris has evidently impacted revenue dramatically. (June 26)

Satellite Broadband, a new title for large-scale broadband users, will cover satellite solutions in its September launch. Primedia's Intertec Publishing magazine is the result of combining editorial focus from Satellite Communications and SatCom.ISP. (June 26)

Individual Investor may be sold by owner Individaul Investor Group, Inc. The title has provided stock-market analysis for 19 years. (June 26)

Southern Living Weddings will be published only once this year, with a 400,000 distribution to newsstands only. This Southern Progress Corp. title may be printed more frequently next year. (June 26)

Smart Business for the New Economy promoted editor-in-chief Paul Somerson, but editor Wendy Taylor reported that freelance queries about longer feature stories should be directed to Christine Wendin (christine_wendin@ziffdavis.com). Front-of-book trends section queries are routed through Chris Null (chris_null@ziffdavis.com). (June 26)

Essence and Latina, both owned by Essence Communications, may be brought under the Time Inc. umbrella sometime in the future. Both publications cover a broad range of material on living and working, with ratebases of one million and 200,000 respectively. (June 26)

Texas Monthly has named a new editor, Evan Smith, following the resignation of Gregory Curtis, the title's editor for the past 19 years. (June 21)

Detour, the 13-year-old lifestyle magazine, will launch a European edition In October. (June 21)

Honey has named a new editor-in-chief, Amy DuBois Barnett. (June 21)

3D Magazine will no longer be published in print format. Owner CMP Media Inc. will move the title's content to the 3Dgate.com web site. (June 21)

CRN is the new name for Computer Reseller News. In addition, the title will be beefing up Internet-related coverage. (June 21)

ESPN The Magazine has changed John Papanek's title to senior vice president, but he will continue as editor-in-chief also. (June 21)

Heart & Soul, a female fitness title owned by Vanguarde Media, will be published ten times a year instead of bimonthly. (June 21)

Honey, Vanguarde Media's title for young African American women readers, will increase its current 200,000 reader ratebase by 25 percent in February 2001. (June 21)

AMI Auto is a new car enthusiast title from American Media Inc., reporting on racing, road test, recall and pricing news. (June 21)

Modern Bride Magazine announced a new editor-in-chief, Antonia van der Meer, who replaces Stacy Morrison. (June 19)

Popular Science has a new editor-in-chief, Cecilia Wessner, formerly the title's editor. (June 19)

The Hearing Review is now owned by Medical World Communications Inc., publisher of 45 titles including Physician's Money Digest and American Journal of Managed Care. (June 19)

Broadband Week, currently part of Cahner's Multichannel News, will launch in September as a monthly b2b newspaper under the direction of editor-in-chief Marianne Paskowski. Ms. Paskowski can be reached at 1-212-463-6581. (June 19)

Departures has a new editor-in-chief, Richard David Story, formerly the features editor at Vogue. (June 14)

Family Life named a new editor-in-chief, Janet Siroto, following the resignation of Peter Herbst. Ms. Siroto was Cosmopolitan's executive editor. (June 14)

El Cronista, Argentina's business daily, along with the title's business and software magazine publishing subsidiary, has been purchased by Pearson Pic's Recoletos Compania Editorial. (June 14)

Lucky, a new shopping title tested by Condé Nast in May, will officially launch as a monthly magazine in December rather sometime in fall as reported in our May 15 article. A ½ million ratebase is expected. (June 14)

Ihousing will be launched in September by owner Hanley-Wood, targeting building professionals with industry resources. (June 14)

Grok, a spin-off of the special reports section from parent title The Industry Standard, a weekly newsmagazine covering the Internet economy, will launch in August. Distribution to subscribers and newsstands will total 200,000 copies. (June 14)

Consumer Reports has moved its editor Julia Kagan to the position of editorial director at parent company Consumers Union. (June 12)

American Ink Maker promoted editor-in-chief Linda Casatelli to co-publisher, but she will still maintain the duties of editor-in-chief for some time to come she said. Freelance writers are welcome and should direct queries to Ms. Casatelli at 631-845-2700. (June 12)

Smart Business for the New Economy has promoted editor-in-chief Paul Somerson to a new position within Ziff Davis Media. The replacement is not known at this time. (June 12)

Latin American Energy Alert (bimonthly) and Latin American Power Watch (monthly) both have Spanish-language editions, which are now owned by Petroleum Argus, a London-based publisher. The former owner was Target Research. (June 12)

Cowboys & Country, previously owned by Magnolia Media Group, will cease publication. The title's 35,000 readers will be merged into new owner Reid Slaughter's bimonthly Cowboys & Indians which boasts a ratebase of 94,000. (June 5)

Business 2.0's senior editor Eric Hellweg has been promoted to Business 2.0 Online's executive editor. (June 5)