Women's Wear Daily's Jeff Bercovici, who covers media, reports that Bauer Publishing is contemplating the launch of a weekly men's magazine. Keith Blanchard, who worked at Hearst on a men's-mag project that never got the green light, has moved to Bauer. According to unnamed sources, Blanchard's assignment is to develop a book something like the British lad mags Nuts and Zoo, both of which are doing well on the newsstands there. Blanchard, a magazine veteran, is working with another seasoned pro on the possible launch of the still-unnamed men's book. He's Charles Coxe, who served as Maxim's executive editor …

UPN and Fox have each ordered multiple-ending programs for the Fall '06 season, according to Mediaweek. The unique format, in which two concurrent storylines diverge for the purpose of entangling viewers in a series of sticky what-ifs, was used successfully in the 1998 feature film "Sliding Doors." UPN's show, a half-hour dramedy titled "Split Decision," follows a teenage girl who reinvents herself when she enrolls in a new school. Audiences will have an opportunity to see what happens when she hangs out with, alternately, the popular and the artsy crowds. Spelling Television will produce. The UPN offering is "Chicken of …

Relying on the adage that word of mouth is the most powerful form of communication, EchoStar Communications Corp. has persuaded the 125 residents of Clark, Texas, to change the town's name to DISH, which is the name of the EchoStar's satellite-TV service. In exchange, the citizens of DISH will receive free satellite TV. According to the company, and as reported in the blog Lot 49, the deal is worth about $4500 per home. The ad model is novel, if not new. Truth or Consquences, N.M., was rebranded in order to take advantage of the game show by that name …

Dennis Publishing, which already has agreements to produce 29 international editions of Maxim Maxim magazine, now has its 30th: the publication will soon begin showing up in India. According to MagazineWorld, the Web site of the International Federation of the Periodical Press, Maxim will be the "first international men's lifestyle magazine to launch in India." The initial press run is set for 80,000. Richard Bean, Dennis' licensing director, said in making the announcement, "Everyone is aware of the size of the [Indian] market, but the vitality and hunger is [sic] difficult to comprehend unless one has spent time there."

The Wall Street Journal reports that in the wake of VNU's failed attempt to acquire IMS Health Inc., disgruntled shareholders may press for a breakup of the company or, more dramatically, set itself up for a takeover. The Dutch media behemoth has been caught in a shareholder revolt for weeks: Many were opposed to the IMS deal from the start, thinking it was fundamentally not good business. And when the transaction crumbled, they were reportedly pleased that VNU's chief executive, Rob van den Bergh, agreed to resign as soon as a successor could be found. VNU owns a diversity of …

HBO Chairman Chris Albrecht is planning to take a hit on ABC Sunday night hit series "Desperate Housewives," and he's contracting Tony Soprano to do it. When "The Sopranos" returns with 12 new Sunday night episodes beginning in March, Albrecht tells New York Times reporter Bill Carter, the Mafia drama will be as "big as it was" despite head-to-head competition with ABC's sophomore hit.

Starcom USA has picked up Luxottica Group's $60 million-plus media account, beating out finalists Omnicom's PHD and Interpublic's Universal McCann. Omnicom's OMD unit was the incumbent on the marketer's account, which includes LensCrafters, Pearle Vision and Sunglass Hut.

Kent Brownridge, the long-time manager of Jan Wenner's Wenner Media, is stepping down after more than 30 years with the company. Mediaweek reports that the parting may be less than "amicable," and speculates that Wenner Chief Marketing Officer Gary Armstrong may be in line for the job.

Citing the "current business climate," a veiled reference to lackluster advertising sales, Jeffrey Johnson, the publisher of the Los Angeles Times Wednesday announced it would slash its newsroom staff of 1,032 by 85 employees. The L.A. paper, published by newspaper giant Tribune Co., is the latest major daily to announce a round of layoffs due to sagging advertising sales.

The pharmaceutical industry has weathered its share of blows for advertising drugs to consumers without fair warnings of possible side effects. Remember the controversy surrounding Vioxx, Celebrex, and Viagra? Ambien, the sleeping aid, ran an ad in the Nov. 21 issue of The New Yorker offering users a free seven-day trial of the drug, sans naming the drugs' possible side-effects. Better yet, the ad neglected to state what condition Ambien treats, or offer educational information about the drug. According to a story in today's Brandweek, marketing codes produced by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America require ads to list …