Tuesday News Round-Up for August 30th

With the week in full swing, here is a trail mix of news bits to keep you satisfied.  Magazines with an asterisk* next to the title can be found in the helpful Wooden Horse database on our website.

MAXIM* magazine launched Maxim+, an iPad-only app that contains exclusive video and content not found in the print edition.  Maxim’s Editor-in-Chief Joe Levy, jlevy@alphamediagroup.com, was named as editor and content officer for the new app…

BRIARPATCH, a Canadian indy magazine, will no longer publish themed issues, as has been their practice.  The editors announced they would go to a general interest model , which will allow them to “respond more meaningfully to current events and pressing issues as they arise.”  The 38-year-old publication plans to publish three issues in 2012.  Visit http://briarpatchmagazine.com for more information…

GLAMOUR* hired new website managing editor Kat Thomsen, kat@glamour.com.  Previously she was managing editor for ELLE.COM…

GLAMOUR* promoted Robert Campos, robert_campos@condenast.com, from production director to managing editor.  The magazine also promoted Tari Ayala, tari_ayala@condenast.com, to deputy managing editor…

TASTE OF HOME* brought on board new food editor Karen Berner, karen_berner@rd.com.

CHICAGO MAGAZINE* will welcome Elizabeth Fenner, efenner@chicagomag.com, as the new editor-in-chief beginning September 19, filling the post left empty since April, when Richard Babcock departed.  Fenner will leave her current job as assistant managing editor of MONEY* magazine on September 1…

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY* said goodbye to editorial assistant Archana Ram…

STACK* magazine picked up new content director and editor Brandon Guarneri, brandonguarneri@gmail.com,   He comes to Stack from MEN’S FITNESS, where he served as an associate editor…

INTERVIEW* magazine bid farewell to managing editor James Gaddy.  No replacement has been named…

COMPLEX* magazine named Tina Amini, tinaa@complex.com, as an assistant editor, covering computer and video games…

If you have time to linger, please feel free to scroll down and read some of our recent posts.

Fashionistas rejoice: Style.com will launch a print glossy in October

STYLE.COM will debut a print magazine at the end of October, shortly after the conclusion of fashion week.  The new glossy has been in the works since April.

The inaugural issue will heavily focus on the spring/summer 2012 designer collections.  In addition to behind-the-scenes reporting and commentary from experienced fashion journalists the magazine will include contributions from freelancers, especially young photographers.

Conde Nast’s Fairchild Fashion Media group reportedly considers the move into print as a natural extension of the brand.  According to Editor-in-Chief Dirk Standen, it will be “a magazine for fashion obsessives by fashion obsessives.”  At the same time the new print glossy is released, Style.com also will move into e-commerce, partnering with six New York designers to sell selected items.  Visit www.style.com for more information and updates on the launch.

Is your magazine spying on you?

A line in an otherwise uninformative article titled “Virgin’s iPad Magazine ‘Project’ Tweaked after Reader Survey” made the Horse’s mane stand on end.

The sentence was: “Project’s creators have also designed custom-made analytics software that allows them to monitor users’ interaction with the magazine and feed this back to advertisers.”

“Project” is Virgin Digital Publishing’s iPad-only magazine for men, which launched last December.  Since it is on a digital device, it follows that the ability to track clicks was possible, but it still feels creepy.

Tracking people’s behavior and serving up ads with personalized content is not new.  On the Internet we actually found it kind of fun to watch the tracking software try to figure out what ads to serve to a Wooden Horse researcher visiting GUNS & AMMO* right after Victoria’s Secret.  But, on the web you can have your browser automatically dump the tracking cookies when you close it at night and avoid most of the ads.  Will Sir Richard (Branson, CEO of Virgin) allow you to do the same after viewing his magazine on the iPad?

The otherwise useless article is here: http://bit.ly/o5teWU

Eating the world: A new magazine for culinary travelers

TASTE & TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL, a Canadian magazine focused on “culinary tourism,” debuted in May.

The first issues of the global travel and cuisine glossy have included features on oysters in South Africa, authentic recipes from the Yucatan, a series on Japanese cooking in season and an exploration of Canada’s epicurean inns.

Founder and publisher, Janet Boileau, believes the new quarterly fills a niche, and will succeed because of her background in both gastronomy and magazine publishing.  The website is www.tasteandtravelmagazine.com.

A new B2B dedicated to wireless business communications

NEXT GEN MOBILITY MAGAZINE, a new B2B publication covering wireless communications, will debut in September.

Focused on mobile communications in business, features will include new technological developments, key mobile applications, network builds and service strategies, content delivery, ecosystems, finance and marketing issues.

For editorial contributions, contact group editorial director Erik Linask, elinask@tmcnet.com.  For more information visit www.nextgenmobilitymag.com.

Something old and something very new: A magazine for New York’s gay and lesbian wedding couples

WEDDING PRIDE magazine, focused on wedding planning for gay and lesbian couples in the New York area, will debut in September.

The new glossy will feature wedding venues, ideas and couples who are marrying, as well as local vendors and services.

Published by Community Newspaper Group, a division of News Corp, the Brooklyn-based publication will have an initial distribution of 35,000 copies throughout the Tri-State region.  For inquiries and information, email aramharack@cnglocal.com.  The magazine does not yet have a website, but can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WeddingPride.

Friday News Round-Up for August 26

As New York boards up ahead of the impending storm, we bring you a (very) brief summary of news from the past couple of days.  If you would like to see more news from earlier in the week, feel free to scroll down.  For those of you on the East Coast, stay safe.

O, THE OPRAH MAGAZINE promoted Charlotte Coleman, ccoleman@hearst.com, to accessories assistant editor.  She replaces Jade Lopez, who recently left…

CRAFT online magazine welcomed back Carla Sinclair, Carla@craftzine.com, as editor-in-chief.  Sinclair previously held the post before leaving Craft in 2008…

NYMAG.COM tapped Margaret Lyons, margaret_lyons@newyorkmag.com, as the new assistant editor, replacing Amos Barshad…

No wooden shoes and windmills here: a new magazine for Dutch ex-pats in the US and Canada

DUTCH, THE MAGAZINE launched on August 22.  Based in Canada, the new bi-monthly is published in English and is aimed at immigrants from the Netherlands, who are living in the United States and Canada.

Features cover culture, cooking, genealogical resources and sports.  The inaugural issue contains articles about a proposed UNESCO World Heritage Site, the first installment in a series about life in the Dutch East Indies, recipes for dinner pancakes and more.

Dutch claims it “will not be predictable and stereotypical. There is enough windmill, tulip and wooden shoe material out there to bore us all to tears.”   An initial print circulation of 2,500 will be available by subscription, as well as distributed through selected locations in the US and Canada.  Tom Bijvoet is the editor. Send queries and submissions to editor@dutchthemag.com.  Find additional information at www.dutchthemag.com.

Will magazines on tablets ever be proitable?

Tablet apps are very popular with magazine publishers.  “Conde Nast and the other [publishers] are looking at the tablet market as the promised land that will deliver them from the plight that they are going through in print and online,” Roger Entner, founder of Recon Analytics, a research and consulting firm, said to TheWrap.com.

But are they making money?  No hard figures have been released, but Conde Nast’s iPad editions, for example, are making up just 1.3% of its total print circulation.  Each publisher, of course, believes its in-house monetizing strategy will unclog the profit faucet.

However, it’s going to get even more complicated before it’s over.  Apple is rumored to release a newsstand app in September; Amazon is rumored to launch its own tablet soon; HP unexpectedly got out of the market; the joint venture Next Issue Media (which some day might even do something) is still trying to provide “an easy and economical entry into the digital reading channel”; and let’s not forget Flipboard.com…

“We’re all in the sandbox,” Entner commented to The Wrap.  “We’re in the process of stepping out of the sandbox.  Hopefully we don’t stumble over the rim.”

Wednesday Half-Week News Round-Up for August 24th

Since no one likes too much information at once, and small portions are easier to digest, Wooden Horse now will serve up two smaller helpings of news each week.  So here is your mid-week portion of news.  Feel free to come back for seconds on Friday.

STYLE.COM will unveil a print magazine at the end of October.  The new edition has been months in the planning…

PAPER, FILM & FOIL CONVERTER, targeting converting and package printing professionals, ceased print with the August issue.  Trade publisher Penton shuttered the magazine, which had been in print for 84 years.  Just last week, Penton shut down sister publication AMERICAN PRINTER…

JEZEBEL welcomed Kate Abney, kabney@modernluxury.com, as the new managing editor…

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT will pick up Steven Sternberg, no email yet, on 9/30 as deputy health ranking editor…

SEATTLE MAGAZINE named Bond Huberman, bond.huberman@tigeroak.com, as the new website editor, replacing Karen Johnson, who left the publication…

ROLL CALL promoted Jason Barrett, jasonbarrett@cqrollcall.com, to deputy editor.  Previously he was a legislative researcher there…

ALLURE welcomed new senior beauty editor Anne-Marie Guarnieri, anne-marie_guanieri@condenast.com…

EBONY brought in Kierna Mayo, kmayo@ebony.com, as editorial director of digital for EBONYJET.COM…

FORTUNE hired Matt Vella, matt_vella@fortune.com, as senior website editor.  He also will cover technology and innovation…