Felix Dennis has a little more work to do yet on his weekly news compilation The Week. He tells David Carr that he'll be expanding the magazine into more markets and has fended off some significant offers. "Cross my heart and hope to die, I have already been offered hundreds of millions of dollars for it."

Even after selling off Maxim, Stuff and music magazine Blender to Quadrangle-backed Kent Brownridge in mid-2007, Dennis declined to sel More...

Web site relaunches, job boards, social networks, Webinars, podcasts, videocasts, etc. Most magazine publishers are scrambling to ramp up their online offerings as fast as they can. However, in the rush to ramp up online, management and the major disciplines (sales, editorial and circulation) often take for granted that what’s being built can be done quickly and easily, and overload the online and IT staffs with “me first” requests. “People think online is easy, that standards and guidelines can be gotten around, that things can be done far quicker than they actually can with fewer people, none of which is true,” says the online manager at one b-to-b publisher. “Yes, you can launch a Web site easier and more cost-effec More...

First off, I have not seen the new Amazon Kindle in person. (Note to self: send nasty note to Discover tech editor after finishing this blog entry.) From the pictures, though, the thing looks like a fantastically expensive Speak & Spell.

The reviews from tech geeks, however, have been generally positive, and the first run sold out on Amazon in five days.

So what does this mean for ink and paper purveyors? The classic print magazine argument goes something like this:

Magazines provide the More...

As part of its pre-election push, Newsweek recently announced the addition of ex-White House senior advisor Karl Rove as a columnist, his glossy appointment coming a day after the magazine named Markos Moulitsas, founder of the popular liberal politics blog and tradeshow Daily Kos. Good move by editor Jon Meacham: a right-wing pundit to balance Markos' lefty politics. But why waste two outspoken personalities on the print magazine?

Here's an idea: Give ‘em both Newsweek-branded blogs and have them face off before, during and after debates and conventions, allowing readers to join More...

I have often said that anyone with basic Mac skills and the ability to pay a printer thinks they can be a player in the magazine publishing business these days. Most city & regional publications are having their markets diluted with freely distributed, rack-in-the-drugstore-vestibule publications. To a certain extent we are the victim's of our own success. Robust growth of the regional magazine business has resulted on healthy looking books in many markets and frequently forays into the bridal and shelter book markets by local publishers. Hence "the entrepreneurs" have been lured by the apparent riches they see in the four-color glossy pages of regionals.

Adding to the woes of reputable publishers is the fact that m More...

The publishing world may seem gloomy in Magazine Central, but out here in what many New York print types view as the hinterland, I'm thankful to be a regional magazine publisher. For one thing, people still do read magazines, especially the ones that cover topics they have a passion for and -- laugh if you will -- our readers have a passion for all things Jersey. I think Dan Brogan, my fellow regional publisher from Denver (5280), gave the best explanation of the strength of our category when he called city and regionals enthusiast magazines for a particular place. Our readers really do want to know where to go, where to eat, and, let More...

Playboy magazine is hosting its second "America's Sexiest Sportscaster" poll, which closes today. A typically chauvinistic move setting women's journalism back 15 years. (Sports Illustrated, for some reason, called it "the season's second most-discussed poll.") The whole thing makes about as much sense as Miss Landmine 2008 (a real competition-seriously).

That said, I gua More...

The Atlantic Monthly celebrated its 150th anniversary with a party in New York earlier this month. It picked the scholarly Kimmel Center at New York University as the venue. The venue had a stage. Instead of, say, using the stage for a panel or discussion, it served for the bulk of the evening as an awkward VIP area, where the important guests like Arianna Huffington, Moby and Mayor Bloomberg partied while 600 or so readers (a.k.a N.I.P.s) were forced to watch. It’s admirable that David Bradley and a magazine like the Atlantic would want to include its readers. But not like this, man. Give everyone access, find another venue or throw tw More...

Slate's Mickey Kaus has a nice extrapolation on what's behind Ron Burkle's pursuit of American Media Inc.:

Soon he'll presumably have the power to kill any scandalous story in the Enquirer or Star that might hurt his friends (the Clintons). And he'll have the power to run the stories that will hurt his enemies. And for those who might help the Clintons now (by, say, splitting the anti-Hillary vote) but hurt them later--well, he'll be able to choose the timing of any further exposes. ... Look at it from the More...

I don't believe in "carbon neutrality."

It is not a helpful concept-some would argue it is deceptive-and there is no clear or agreed upon definition. Publishers who want to be environmentally responsible stewards should view claims of "carbon neutral" paper with suspicion. Such paper most likely doesn't offer any environmental benefit and can be a marketing risk.

A recent report from the Sustainable Forest Product Industry (SFPI) working group makes the claim that "carbon neutrality" can be a More...

Are you a magazine publisher that uses environmentally and socially-responsible paper, or you would like to learn how?

Here's why you should read this blog:

1. There are opportunities for magazines to gain rewards and recognition for their environmental publishing practices through awards like the Aveda Environmental Awards (deadline Nov 30, 2007, click here for the application).

2. There are special bookstore promotions at Barnes and Noble and Hasti More...

The arrival of a new Esopus is always cause for celebration. The current issue, which arrived on my doorstep on a recent afternoon, is no exception. What makes this magazine so remarkable?

Esopus uses-really uses-the tools of mass-production printing to create a publication that is a carefully orchestrated experience: a delight for mind, eyes and fingers. Subscribing to Esopus is a bit like receiving a quarterly artist's book with pockets, pullouts, changes in paper quality, gloss and translucency. These methods don't seem tacked-on, but are integral to the way the magazine tells stories-which are only occasionally traditional columnar narrative More...