• by Michael Shields , June 9, 2004

Life magazine will be resurected once again this October with a new publishing model and under a new name, Life, The Weekend Magazine. But for those who have followed the myriad incarnations of the venerable Time Inc. title, it might well be called Nine Lives.

Actually, the new version will only be the third or fourth life for the magazine, famous for its photos of a World War II sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square, and of Marilyn Monroe.

The new Life, which had long been rumored to be in development, will borrow from the Sunday supplement distribution model, running on Fridays in major daily newspapers.

Life has secured distribution partnerships with major players in the newspaper world, including Tribune Co. newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, plus Knight Ridder papers Philadelphia Inquirer and the Miami Herald.

By October, Life is expected to appear in more than 50 newspapers, with a total circulation of nearly 12 million.

Unlike Sunday supplements, like USA Weekend and Parade--which are lighter and celebrity-driven--Life's editorial content will focus on personal, slice-of-life stories and photography. The book will also feature stronger production values than those titles, using high-quality paper stock and a bonded spine.

"More like the New York Times Magazine," said Peter Bauer, Life's new publisher.

The magazine's old fans would not let Life expire, according to Bauer, who was previously president of People magazine. "Consumers have great affection for what Life represents," he said, adding: "That's what they told us (in research)."

Bauer believes that Life's Friday publishing schedule will make the title attractive to advertisers who hope to reach consumers just as their weekends begin. "People are really living busier lives, and the weekend is when they go out and do things," he said. "Coming out before the weekend is a great place to be."

In addition to Bauer, Life will be run by some of the more prominent names at Time Inc. Andrew Blau, former general manager of Time magazine will serve as Life's president. In addition, Bill Shapiro, managing editor of Time Inc. Custom Publishing, has been named Life's managing editor.

Life magazine, begun in 1936 by Henry Luce, the founder of Time Inc., was a weekly until 1972. It then published only periodically until 1978, when it went to a monthly format until it folded again in 2000. Since that time, Life has published various books and special stand-alone issues, such as "One Nation," an account of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, which was a New York Times bestseller.