New Owner to Relaunch Honey Online

Magazine for African-American women shuttered in 2003.

By Jason Fell
10/15/2008

Three years after acquiring the trademarks of the magazine from Vanguard Media, Sahara Media Holdings says it will relaunch long-shuttered Honey magazine online.

The news comes as part of an announcement that Sahara closed more than $10 million in stock offerings. “With the closing of these private placements, Sahara Media is now prepared to launch our multimedia platform with the sole purpose of targeting the needs and interests of today’s urban female community,” Sahara Media Inc. founder and CEO Philmore Anderson said in a statement.

Sahara says it will build its audience by using a newly-acquired list of four million African-American and Latino urban men and women. According to a spokesperson, the relaunch is "imminent," but no date has been set.

In addition to the Honey site, Sahara plans to launch thehivespot.com, a companion social networking application.

Long Time Coming

Vanguard Media launched the print version of Honey in the late 1990s in partnership with Black Entertainment Television. Keith Clinkscales, who now serves as vice president of content development at ESPN The Magazine, led the group as CEO. Two other urban magazines—Savoy and Heart & Soul—also were published by the venture.

All three magazines were shuttered and put up for auction in 2003 when Vanguard filed for bankruptcy. Heart & Soul was acquired in 2004 by Black Enterprise publisher Earl Graves. Savoy was purchased by the Hartman Publishing Group in 2005 but ceased the print publication later that year.