The Archives: June, 2004

Another shopping title - this one in W magazine

June 30, 2004 - A 32-page shopping magazine covering fashion, accessories, jewelry, watches, home and beauty will be bound into W magazine quarterly.

WLuxe Shopping Magazine will debut in the upcoming November issue, then running seasonally. 5,000 copies will be printed on heavy paper stock and distributed in W hotels in key cities around the world.

In addition, featured products will be available at WPersonalShopper.com.

American Magazines Dumbing Down at an Alarming Rate

June 2004 - Watsonville, CA - New American magazines are published for increasingly younger readers, new study proves. And with much abbreviated material.

"Magazines launched in the 1990s and 2000s capture readers younger than the average magazine purchaser today," says Meg Weaver, owner of the Wooden Horse Magazines Database, an online magazine resource for publicists, writers and researchers with information on over 2,000 US and Canadian consumer and trade publications. "In contrast, magazines launched in the 1950s and 60s attract readers today who are 13% older than the average reader. Readers of magazines founded in the 1970s are 3% older and the trend to younger ages is continuing. Publications from the 1990s have readers 9% younger and those from the 2000s are 13% younger. In other words, large blocks of the reading population are no longer being serviced by the magazine industry."

To draw these younger readers, magazines are rumored to publish shorter material. "We therefore also investigated article lengths and found another disturbing trend," Weaver said. "The average minimum word count that editors request from their writers range from a high of 738 words in magazines founded in the 1960s to an appalling 478 words in magazines launching today."

For more details contact Meg Weaver, Wooden Horse Publishing, (831) 728-0835, fax: (831) 761-9085

New American magazines more of the same, new study proves

June 2004 - Watsonville, CA - Hundreds of new magazines are launched every year in the United States and Canada but most cover the same topics as what's already available on the newsstand, a new study by Wooden Horse Publishing reveals.

"Magazine publishers seem content to follow each other like lemmings," says Meg Weaver, owner of the Wooden Horse Magazines Database, an online magazine resource for publicists, writers and researchers with information on over 2,000 US and Canadian consumer and trade publications. "And over the proverbial cliff most of them go as 60% of all new magazines fail in the first year."

Using her company's detailed Magazines Database - probably the most complete record of contemporary American serial print publications anywhere - Weaver just concluded a landmark magazine study. It confirmed, for example, that most new magazines are aimed at younger readers with hardly any intended for the rapidly growing population of Americans over fifty.

"The same lemming-like thinking shows in the selection of topics for new magazines," Weaver says. "Our data shows that the three most popular topics of magazines on the newsstands today are regional, sports and 'nesting' - the very same ones being the most popular new magazines, according to the 2003-04 Magazine Handbook published by the industry organization Magazine Publishers of America."

For more details contact Meg Weaver, Wooden Horse Publishing, (831) 728-0835, fax: (831) 761-9085

Men's technology-focused lifestyle magazine launches

June 17, 2004 - Ziff Davis, the technology publisher, has just launched Sync, a magazine geared more for entertainment than technological know-how.

Sync is planned as a 200,000 circulation title and is targeted not at guys who read schematics or programming code before breakfast but at those who are heavy into wi-fi and can pay for it.

"This is really a different type of publication for Ziff Davis," said Tim Castelli, group publisher of Sync. Even the advertising is different. For the debut issue, the title has signed on mainstream advertisers from the beer, liquor and fashion categories. "Don't look for this magazine in the tech section at your magazine store," Castelli said. "Look for it next to GQ or Maxim."

The readers are expected to be predominantly male, with an average household income of more than $70,000.

The magazine's website is at http://www.syncmagazine.com

Fashion magazine for Asian women to debut

June 7, 2004 - Yin is the name of a soon-to-come magazine from Star Publishers.

It will feature fashion, beauty, celebrity, health, lifestyle, entertainment, career, romance, travel, culture, world affairs, and everything else under the sphere of Asian women's interest.

The magazine is headquartered in New York and their website is at http://www.yinmag.com.

Magazine for everybody in the Hamptons is new

June 3, 2004 - A new, upscale magazine targets young, affluent families in the Hamptons, an exclusive resort community on Long Island in New York - not just rich couples.

"Unlike other Hamptons' publications that solely focus on the glitz and glamour of the rich and famous, Hampton Family Life will bring to life the experience of living and raising children on the East End."

Their website is at http://www.hamptonfamilylife.com and editor-in-chief and founder is Tami Gross.

New jewelry magazine to launch this fall

June 3, 2004 - Kalmbach Publishing, a Waukesha publisher of leisure and special-interest magazines, has announced it will launch Art Jewelry, a bimonthly magazine on jewelry and jewelry design, in October.

The publication is targeted at professional jewelry designers and for readers who create ewelry for personal use. It will publish work from prominent artisans, as well as up-and-coming jewelry designers, and offer stories and how-to articles on handmade jewelry.

Editor will be Dori Olmesdahl.

ARTICLE ARCHIVES

Lifetime - Caroline Fennessy is the new features editor and Kathleen Renda the new senior editor. (June 30)

Electronic Design - Don Tuiteis the new technology editor covering analog and power and Rob Brownstein is the new technical editor. (June 30)

Cargo - Tom Samiljan is the new technology director. (June 30)

InStyle - Annie Meyers-Shyer has left. Brooke Jaffe is the new associate accessories editor and Erin Sumwalt the new fashion market editor. (June 30)

Interview - Annabell Tollman is the new fashion director. (June 30)

Jane - Jauretsi Saizarbitoria has left. Shelly Ridenour is the new entertainment editor. (June 30)

Technology Review - Jason Pontin is the new editor-in-chief. (June 28)

Shape - Senior editor Alexa Sherman has left. (June 28)

Twist - Betsy Fast is the new editor-in-chief. (June 28)

O, The Oprah Magazine - Andre Mora is a new designer. (June 28)

Organic Style - Jeannie Pyun is the new editor. (June 28)

All You - Jennifer Rainey is the new associate health and features editor. (June 28)

Field & Stream - David DiBenedetto is the new deputy editor and Timothy Bogardus the new articles editor. (June 28)

Shop Etc. - Genevieve Yraola is the new senior fashion market editor and Kate Dimmock is fashion director. (June 21)

Happy Home - Sara Ruffin, editor-in-chief, has left the magazine. (June 21)

Travel + Leisure - Jennifer Barr is the new executive editor and George Kalogerakis and Laura Marmor are new deputy editors. (June 21)

Popular Science - Mark Jannot is the new editor-in-chief. (June 21)

Budget Living - Sarah Humphreys is the new senior editor. (June 21)

Razor - Craig Knight, founding editor-in-chief has left the company. (June 21)

Women's Wear Daily - Dan Burrows has been promoted to assistant financial editor. (June 21)

Elle Decor - Michael Boodro is the new features director, Betty Kim is the new assistant managing editor, Eugenia Santiesteban and Hiroshi Kang are new associate editors. (June 21)

Footwear News - Katie Abel is the new news editor and Jennifer Owens is the new managing editor. (June 21)

Teen Vogue - Jennifer Barnett is the new managing editor. (June 14)

Better Homes and Gardens - Denise Gee is the new senior editor. (June 14)

Better Homes and Gardens - Paige Porter is the new West Coast editor. (June 14)

Real Simple - Elizabeth Wells is a new associate editor. (June 14)

Men's Health - Jeremy Gerard is the new features editor. (June 14)

Backpacker - Dennis Lewon is a new senior editor. (June 14)

At Home in Arkansas - Julie Craig is a new associate editor. (June 7)

Backpacker - Dennis Lewon is the new senior editor. (June 7)

Outside - Sally Schumaier is the new research editor. (June 7)

University Business - Tom Halligan is the new editor-in-chief. (June 7)

Time Out Chicago - Chad Schlegel is the new editor-in-chief. (June 7)

Billboard - Keith Girard, editor-in-chief, has left. (June 7)

Connecticut Cottages & Gardens - D.J. Carey is the new editor. (June 7)

Rock and Ice - Amy Goldhammer is the new senior editor. (June 7)

FAST NEWS ARCHIVES