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Ailing economy? Down housing market? One might not recall such conditions looking at how some magazine publishers are locking up plush Manhattan residences for events and brand extension initiatives.

Again this fall, Hearst is planning its annual Esquire “Ultimate Bachelor Pad” in Soho, featuring a 9,200-square-foot, glass-walled penthouse at Soho Mews, with an opening gala set for September 21 to celebrate the New York Film Festival.

The price tag for the penthouse? According to nyc BLOG estate site, Soho Mews' rentals range from $7, More...

Kush L.A., a free monthly Southern California title that bills itself as the “Premiere Medical Marijuana Lifestyle Magazine,” may have launched one of the most controversial—and, for some, most sought-after—magazine promotion to date.

The magazine has partnered with medial marijuana organization The Rainforest Collective to offer a coupon for free medical marijuana. Kush L.A.’s August issue will tout a coupon for the first 100 “new patients” of The Rainforest Collective to receive a free 1/8-ounce of medical marijuana. And, for those who miss out on being one of the first 100 people on the Septemb More...

Over the past year or so, a number of consumer titles have piggybacked on the popularity of reality television, and show no signs of letting up (CondĂ© Nast is the latest to announce the debut of “Gourmet's Adventures With Ruth” this October).

Some, like Marie Claire, have seen viewership for its TV initiative soar out of the gate; its eight-episode docu-series, “Running in Heels,” reported 5.1 million total viewers across all telecasts on Comcast’s Style Network. (Hearst already has plans for future MC-branded TV partnerships, confirmed a rep). Bravo’s Top Chef saw a 20 percent increase in viewers this More...

On the heels of Kim Kardashian’s unretouched photos being released on Complex's Web site only a few months ago, and New York and Rolling Stone's blatantly airbrushed images of the Obamas during election season, magazines—women’s titles, particularly—have taken an endless beating for having a heavy hand when it comes to airbrushing and Photoshopping their cover subjects.

After receiving a great deal of flack for an airbrushed and color corrected (but not Photoshopped) September issue cover featuring Kelly Clarkson—and admitting late last week to the alterations—Self More...

In his recent Boston Globe op-ed, DBMediaStrategies president Doug Bailey presented his manifesto on reader comment sections.

His conclusion: reader comments devalue journalism, blur the truth and confuse the issues. He suggests publishers rid their sites of user forums as a first step toward restoring journalism’s dignity. Ironically (or maybe not so?) the op-ed saw 190—mostly out of spite, and presumably unedited—reader comments.

Our own mediaPRO social network elicited feedback from FOLIO: readers More...

Recent research from Affinity’s VISTA Print Rating Service for the second quarter reports Self's June "20 Ways to Eat Healthier Right Now" story as the most-read article, with 90 percent of the surveyed readers recalling the article (Total Readership), and 85 percent reading more than half of the feature story (Extent of Readership).

The average readership score of all articles measured to be 61 percent, said Affinity, which bases its data on readers surveyed on over 100 consumer magazine titles and more than 1,000 articles from April through June.

While these ratings may not guarantee newsstand longevity—or s More...

The first half numbers are in, and according to MediaFinder.com─an online database of U.S. and Canadian magazines—187 new titles have launched thus far in '09. But unfortunately, the frequency of these launches wasn't enough to counteract the number of titles shuttered.

Of the 279 that folded, main category culprits include regional interest magazines, which took a dive and saw 27 titles fold, like Denver Living and Florida InsideOut. However, regional interest publications were also the top category for new launches at 12. Other categories on the decline include construction, lifestyle and business with 18, 14 and 10 folded titles, respectively.

Since the end of March, 77 magaz More...

Earlier this week, Meredith launched another 360° product designed to provide marketers and advertisers with multimedia to leverage a "Gamma" female audience.

This "product"—essentially a platform of assets pulled together as an integrated buy for advertisers—spawned from a report that the company produced last year revealing the rise of what they dubbed "Gamma Women"—influential and well-connected women who share info. “The reason behind creating this was that as we were out presenting the report, I repeatedly got questions from marketers and advertisers about leveraging gammas. They wanted a da More...

In the magazine world, unfortunate celebrity deaths usually mean a newsstand score for publishers (re: Paul Newman). And with the sudden death of Michael Jackson last Thursday, music, entertainment, and newsweekly magazines have been scurrying to publish tribute issues.

While some, like Vibe, have released statements on the King of Pop and his global impact (“Jackson was an absurdly talented, amazingly hardworking, troubled man. Which is to say he was built, literally, to be the biggest pop star this world has ever known,” said a statement fr More...

Over the past few months, women’s interest magazines have found a growing market in recessionistas. And this summer, it’s all about keeping the female masses reading (and spending), with publishing giants Time Inc., Hearst and CondĂ© Nast all publishing magazines with “under $100” solutions.

As Lucky editor-in-chief Kim France wrote in the issue’s editor’s letter, “Obviously we did it because the times call for it, but it also simply seemed like a really fun (if slightly overwhelming) proposition.”

Here are a few:

Title: InStyle
More...

We’ve been covering the debate over ads on magazine covers (“The Great Cover Ad Debate”) at FOLIO: a lot lately. So far, we’ve limited the debate to magazines—fairly openly and brazenly—putting ads on their covers.

But what about magazines whose covers—while editorial by nature—look like an ad?

Take Time’s June 15 issue. The cover touts a somewhat generic mobile phone (it looks like an iPhone) with a Twitter update by the issue’s cover story author, Steven Johnson More...

Sloppy use of Photoshop continues to wreak havoc on magazine covers.

Take Marie Claire’s June 2009 cover. As the Quality in Print blog pointed out, cover girl Beyonce Knowles was handed a Photoshop-induced finger deformity.

A typical Photoshop flub? In my opinion, no—it was a combination of lighting and reflective chunky jewelry gone awry. But regardless, it’s an odd distraction that someone should have picked up on.

But Beyonce’s mutant hand is child’s play compared to some of the more recent, blatant mistakes, like More...