This Old House Gets the Wrecking Ball. Time Inc. plans to axe the magazines Outdoor Explorer, Senior Golfer and This Old House. The downsizing comes
in the wake of Time Inc.'s merger with America Online and its acquisition of Times Mirror magazines, which publishes the now-doomed titles. This Old House magazine will be
rolled into a multimedia company run by Times Mirror serving the home improvement market in print, television, and on the Web. Senior Golfer will be integrated into Golf
Magazine.
(Robin Shallow, TMM, 914/712-3154)
Dr. Koop Clings to Life. Drkoop.com has hardly been a picture of good health since the Web IPO market headed south last year. The health-related site plans to lay off 45
workers and move its offices from Austin, Texas to Santa Monica, Calif. According to communications director Stephanie Elsea, the company is relocating because many new members of
upper-management live in the L.A. area. Elsea didn't elaborate on future plans for the dotcom besides saying she assumes unique original content will remain a priority. The Santa
Monica-based Prime Ventures recently invested $27.5 million to resuscitate the ailing company, which is the namesake of former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop.
(Elsea,
drkoop.com, 512/583-5188.)
Get Out the Herbal Tea. Another health-related site seems to have a better prognosis when it comes to weathering the dotcom downsizing. Healthcommunities.com, a
competitor to Drkoop.com, announces it is rolling out a specialty channel dedicated to the more unconventional approaches to medicine. AlternativeMedicineChannel.com will feature
advice on such practices as acupuncture, naturopathic medicines, and hynotherapy. Like Healthcommunities.com, it will also feature live chats with physicians and discussion
forums in which visitors can share their most personal bodily problems with others. Alex Horwitz of E.B. Lane Marketing Communications says the new site is one of at least 15 more
planned in the near future, including AnimalHealthChannel.com and PainChannel.net (which, we would like to point out, sounds like a dominatrix site. Not that we visit dominatrix
sites.)
(Horwitz, E.B.Lane, 602/440-1786)
So Sue Me. urt TV is rolling out more shows on the WB Network after summer vacation. Maybe it's because people like to sue each other so much these days. Legal expert
and journalist Catherine Crier, who's been a talking head for the network for more than a year, will host the new "Catherine Crier Live" show. The focus will be on high-profile
legal cases making news around the world (we anticipate lots of stories about Internet adoptions and the dubious activities of Super Bowl MVPs.) Crier will end every show with a
final opinion a la Jerry Springer. We just hope she doesn't say "take care of yourselves, and each other."
(Rita Barry, Court TV, 212/973 8938)
It's a Jungle Out There. ngle Interactive, which publishes the MBA Jungle for business students is expanding in hopes of capturing the law student market. JD
Jungle will launch in early April with a circulation of roughly 80,000, distributed through law schools around the country. The new pub will feature career and lifestyle
advice for the lawyers of tomorrow, debunking the stereotype that lawyers are a bookish bunch. Publisher Larry Bernstein testified in a release "...500,000 young, hip, and
affluent law students and young legal professionals" are a "huge opportunity." If the characters of "Ally McBeal" are the epitome of hipness, we look forward to lots of articles
about co-ed bathrooms and nerdy little guys who need to "take a moment."
(Heather Wyatt, Four Corners Communications, 212/849-8252)