• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, June 22, 2007

In a move intended to help restore the beleaguered city to its earlier vitality, Smithsonian is teaming with the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism to host CultureFest in New Orleans this fall. Every year, the festival--scheduled to run from Oct. 26-28--highlights a particular region's history, cuisine, art and nightlife.

Smithsonian publishing president Tom Ott was quoted in an official statement: "Despite the set-backs following Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana maintains the vibrancy and energy that made it a world-famous destination, and Smithsonian readers and culturally minded travelers remain eager for its traditions."

The magazine and its parent institution have also expanded their portfolio of experiential marketing events in recent years. Last September, it partnered with TIAA-CREF to sponsor free entry to almost 500 participating museums across the country for the magazine's 2 million subscribers and their friends. The "Museum Day" event and "CultureFest" are typical ventures for the thought-provoking publication.

Sports Illustrated Offers Video Database for Draft Picks

As part of Sports Illustrated's coverage of the 2007 NBA Draft, the magazine is partnering with Gotuit to create a searchable database of video highlights for all the top-draft prospects, Time Inc. announced this week. The database will be organized by player, position and prospective teams. Stacey Vollman, vice president/general manager, SI.com, remarked: "Our NBA Draft 2007 site gives basketball fans the deepest possible insight into the top prospects from this year's draft."

Previously, SI.com created a similar video database in its "Film Room" product line for the NFL Draft. The video products are part of Time Inc.'s concerted build-out of its online video offerings. Both video products are also available through SIKids.com. The site is supported with interstitial video advertisements.

Vibe Hosts Rap Video Battle

In partnership with KickApps, Vibe is hosting a Vibe Verses Rap Battle, sponsored by AT&T, which combines social-media functionality with viral video segments. In the contest, aspiring artists submit videos of their work for voting by other visitors to the site. The winner will receive a $10,000 cash prize, a full-page profile in Vibe magazine and a recording contract. The contest--which launched in May--has attracted over 12,000 members so far, who have uploaded more than 2,700 creative works. These include 500 videos, which have been viewed over 470,000 times, according to Vibe.

Hollywood Reporter Launches 12 Digital Editions In Foreign Languages

The Hollywood Reporter is expanding the reach of its new daily virtual magazine by making it accessible to international audiences through 12 foreign editions, all of which offer online and mobile device readability and text-to-voice conversions. The magazine is available in Cantonese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish. Its online features include an interactive table of contents, cross-title searching, clickable URLs, offline reading and archived back issues.

American Airlines Flies E-Mag

American Airlines has launched AAdvantage Milestones, one of the industry's first Web-based e-magazines combining broadcast and social media. The new video e-magazine gives more than 56 million Aadvantage members an online community for its members. It was developed by American Airlines and TM Advertising, American's advertising agency of record.

Rodale Names Maria Rodale Chairman

Maria Rodale has been elected chairman of the company's board of directors, it was announced this week. Maria Rodale is succeeding Ardath Rodale, who is staying on the board and assuming a new title: Chief Inspiration Officer. Maria Rodale will also continue to write the monthly "Reflections" column for Prevention.

2 New Chicago Titles Debut

The Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects is launching a new magazine, Chicago Architect, it announced this week. The four-color bimonthly will focus on innovative projects by area members, as well as interviews with industry leaders. Also this week, Chicago magazine acquired Chicago Home & Garden, with plans to combine the publication under the name Chicago HOME + Garden. The combined publication will have a paid circulation of 40,000 throughout the metro area.