New Space. The rush by Internet sites to create print vehicles is beginning to resemble a high-speed chase. Space.com, the Web-child of former CNN anchor Lou Dobbs, is
launching Space Illustrated - the first issue hits newsstands this week. Editor Andrew Chaikin will serve as executive editor for the Web site.
"[We] always thought of Space.com in terms of being a multimedia company," Chaikin says, noting that the print book will do greater justice to spectacular space imagery. The
bimonthly magazine, a mix of photography, news, features and original science fiction - the premier issue includes an article by sci-fi icon Ray Bradbury - will have an initial
print run of 150,000.
(Chaikin, [email protected])
Traveling Beyond the Web. Meanwhile, Travelocity.com debuts Travelocity Magazine this week. Executive editor Chuck Thompson says the new bimonthly pub is
positioned for a younger, hipper crowd, versus most travel magazines, which cater to the upscale, 45+ traveler or the adventure traveler.
"It departs from the travel category in two or three different ways," Thompson says. "Most [others] really approach travel with a kind of undue reverence. We're trying to be
more realistic, [to] acknowledge that some aspects of travel really suck." Initial print run is set for about 280,000, he says. Thompson prefers snail mail over email; PO Box
619640, MD 1625, D-FW Airport, TX 75261-9640. (Thompson, 817/963-9937). Greed is Good. Perhaps we're experiencing a go-go '80s flashback here on the cusp
of the 21st century. Millionaire.com, an online shopping site for those with truly bulging wallets, is set to unveil its new magazine, Opulence, in a couple of weeks.
According to Millionaire.com CEO Robert L. White, who serves as publisher for the print mag, the monthly will portray today's luxury lifestyle, targeting an even gender split. The
initial print run of 85,000 copies will be available in chains such as Barnes & Noble, airport newsstands, and in rooms of high-end hotels such as the Ritz Carlton. "We'll
get a great pass-along average there," White says. (White, 843/757-6600) There Goes the Groom. For the Groom, the Wings Media quarterly magazine
aimed at men and their pending marriages, is being left at the altar after just two issues. Founder and publisher David S. Knickerbocker says the magazine is trying to find more
funding to continue, "but it's wound down pretty tight. We're looking for a white knight."
Our take? Therein lies the problem. Men don't care about white knight fantasies,
nor do they crave re-gendered versions of chick mags.
(Knickerbocker, 203/846- 2448)
Boys Just Wanna Have Fun. A new action sports lifestyle magazine, R660,
launches this November, aimed at boys between the ages of 14 and 20. The bimonthly
magazine, a joint venture between Hearst Magazines and Rule 660 Communications,
is taking an extreme leap - the initial circulation target is 750,000. According
to Paul Berger, CEO of R660 Communications, the magazine will cover all elements
of the action sports lifestyle, including music and fashion.
(Berger, 212/349-2510)