• BET, MTVN Unveil Centric Network for African-Americans
    BET and MTV Networks quietly soft-launched Centric, a new basic-cable network aimed at African-American adults, on Monday. Both programmers are owned by Viacom. BET J (formerly BET on Jazz), which boasts nearly 32 million subscribers, has been rebranded under the Centric moniker. Programming focuses on music and lifestyle. BET J has deals with such key distributors as DirecTV, Time Warner Cable and Cablevision Systems. Centric is handled by MTV Networks' affiliate-sales team, but otherwise it is run by BET. The new network will take aim at Comcast/Radio One-owned TV One in targeting 25-to 54-year-old African-Americans. BET and MTV …
  • 'BusinessWeek' Execs Want to Sell to Bloomberg
    McGraw-Hill is leaning toward selling money-loser BusinessWeek to Bloomberg. A deal could still fall apart because of depressed advertising and financial industry uncertainties, but BusinessWeek executives think that Bloomberg would be the best fit, say insiders. McGraw-Hill is open to the possibility that another bidder could deliver a superior offer, but the company considers Bloomberg the best buyer because it could capitalize on the marriage of two well-known financial brands. Bloomberg Markets, a financial news magazine, produces feature stories that often run much longer than pieces on the Bloomberg newswire. That magazine and BusinessWeek could be blended to …
  • California Nonprofit News Start-Ups Work with NYT, Others
    Every few days in recent weeks, there's been a new report about the advance of nonprofit journalism in California. The biggest and most ambitious came last week as San Francisco venture capitalist, philanthropist and bluegrass aficionado Warren Hellman pledged $5 million to create a new journalism operation in the Bay Area. A marquee platform for Hellman's unnamed San Francisco venture could be provided by the Bay Area edition of The New York Times, which is in talks to carry the start-up's work. The start-up also has substantial partners in the U.C. Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and KQED, a …
  • New York Fashion Week a Boon for Magazine Sites
    New York's Fashion Week helped deliver a significant traffic punch for a number of magazine Web sites. New York magazine says its Web site Nymag.com saw more than 28 million page views the week of September 10 to 17, up 40% from Fashion Week last year. Average daily users at Nymag.com for the period were up about 18% from last year and the site is expected to pull in more online advertising dollars in September than any other month in its 11-year history. Condé Nast's style.com, the online home of Vogue magazine, saw unique visitors jump more than …
  • 'Dwell' Offers Biz Help to Other Indie Titles
    Shelter magazine Dwell is crafting business partnerships with other independent magazines to keep costs down and the doors open. Dwell handles the back-office work for Afar, a just-launched travel title. Now it's taken on U.S. sales and marketing duties for Trends, a New Zealand-based publisher of home design and remodeling titles. Dwell is identifying potential partners through distributor Time/Warner Retail Sales & Marketing and its printer and paper supplier, says publisher Michela O'Connor Abrams. "The motivation is about this continued ridiculous increase in the cost of goods," she says. Abrams says the arrangements help Dwell and its partners by …
  • Zenith Shake-Up: Marquardt Out, Penski In
    In a major shake-up, Zenith Media's U.S. president Wendy Marquardt is out, replaced by Dave Penski. Penski joined Zenith in 1999 as a print buyer and for the last five years has run the shop's Verizon account. Marquardt, who joined Zenith in 1997, will remain a consultant to the shop for an unspecified period. The agency also confirmed two senior promotions: Rob Jayson to president, strategy and Ava Jordhamo to president, execution. The agency says that Jones, Penski, Jayson and Jordhamo will form the executive leadership team for Zenith Media going forward.
  • 'Ebony' Seeks Buyer or Partner
    Johnson Publishing is seeking a buyer or investor for its flagship publication, Ebony, to ensure that the nation's oldest magazine devoted to African-American life survives. CEO Linda Johnson Rice, the daughter of Ebony's legendary founder, the late John H. Johnson, has approached, among others, Time Inc., Viacom, and private investors, according to insiders. Time Inc. already owns Essence, a monthly lifestyle magazine for African-American women. Viacom, meanwhile, owns BET. Ebony's woes seem to dash hopes that African-American-owned or -oriented media would see a big lift in the marketplace with the election of Barack Obama. Rice is a close member …
  • '60 Minutes' Tries to Change with the Times
    A generational shift is happening at "60 Minutes," which began its 42nd season last night. Steve Kroft, 64, the longest serving of the full-time correspondents, has emerged as the face of the program. For the most-watched news program on TV, this is also the first season without creator Don Hewitt, who passed away last month at age 86 and had been a lively presence in the newsroom. In an attempt to lure a younger audience, a batch of new contributors has been added, bringing the number of reporters to 10. Producers also plan to make Afghanistan a major …
  • Media Brands Bring Licensing Dollars Home
    More media-branded consumer goods are squaring off against similar products from rival media brands. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia is offering a major home and outdoor line in Home Depot next January. Kmart and Sears stores sell more than 700 home products from Hearst Magazines' Country Living. And Meredith's Better Homes and Gardens line at Wal-Mart has doubled to about 1,000 products since last year. The deals can also be fruitful for media companies, which don't have to bear the costs of manufacturing products or running stores. That means potentially high margins. Last year, for example, Martha Stewart Living …
  • Major Revamp for Time Inc.'s 'Southern Living'
    Time Inc. is planning a major editorial redesign of Southern Living magazine, its biggest remaining shelter publication. The 2.8 million-circ title is trying to grow its younger readership with a slew of new features aimed at busy, health-conscious women. The revamp is the second such effort in the magazine's 43 years. The last push, in 2008 under former editor, John Floyd, put a greater emphasis on health and beauty. Since then, the female reader median age declined to 50.5 from 52 in 2007, per Mediamark. Editor Eleanor Griffin wants to get that age down into the mid-40s. …
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