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Thursday, July 30th, 1998 Media Cynic | Forum | Advertising | Classifieds | Jobs Metro Global Media Announces New Celebrity Magazines Metro Global Media, Inc. has announced that all negotiations and due diligence have been completed, clearing the way for the Metro/Fanzine acquisition previously announced on July 16, 1998. The new Metro/Fanzine alliance has announced the upcoming launch of the two largest new title releases for 1998 with Celebrity Style and Teen Celebrity. Launching on October 13, 1998 will be Celebrity Style, a monthly publication to compete with People and InStyle. Then, on November 3, 1998, the monthly Teen Celebrity will debut in competition with YM, Teen and Teen People. Each new publication has an anticipated domestic and international distribution of between 750,000 and 1,000,000 copies per month. Robert Maiello, former president/COO of GCR Publishing, predicts that Celebrity Style and Teen Celebrity will be profitable "out of the box." Adds Maiello, "The time is right for the launch of Celebrity Style and Teen Celebrity. Not only have teen and celebrity magazines achieved greater recent growth than any other category in terms of sales, profits and ad revenues, but Fanzine, as a company, has the expertise and the proven track record needed for success." BET Holdings Embraces Romance Arabesque, the only line of original African-American romance novels distributed by a major publisher, is now owned and operated by BET Holdings, Inc. BET purchased Arabesque from Kensington Publishing Corporation. Arabesque's previous owner, Kensington Publishing Corporation was the first major publisher to introduce a romance line with African American heroes and heroines in July 1994. BET Holdings, Inc. has also secured the dramatic rights to Arabesque for possible television and original film development. Arabesque novels written by African-American authors have received outstanding reviews in newspapers nationwide. "The strength of the BET brand name combined with Arabesque's reputation for quality romance titles, creates significant growth opportunities within the African-American marketplace," said Debra Lee, President and COO of BET. "BET has a unique opportunity to expand the Arabesque book line through BET media properties which target black consumers including the BET network, the internet (MSBET), Heart & Soul, BET Weekend, Emerge magazine and BET's new fall season show, Buy The Book. Kelli J. Richardson will serve as vice president and publisher of Arabesque. Prior to her new appointment, Richardson was vice president of brand marketing and licensing for BET Holdings, Inc. The acquisition of the Arabesque line offers BET an immediate presence in the area of African-American book publishing. Arabesque publishes four titles per month with sales of nearly 1 million copies per year. The authors who write for Arabesque feel the line is unique because African Americans now have the opportunity to see themselves within the pages of romantic fiction. "Many of our readers are not used to seeing African-American men personified 'heroically' and 'sensually' in contemporary fiction, now they are able to do so," said Francis Ray, one of Arabesque's best selling authors. Mecklermedia Acquires javascriptsource.com Mecklermedia announced its 17th website acquisition for its Internet.com network of sites. The Company purchased JavaScript Source, an online library of JavaScript programs. "We're thrilled to be able to offer Internet.com users another quality resource like JavaScript Source, which we believe is the most comprehensive JavaScript site on the Internet," said Chris Elwell, Internet.com vice president and general manager. "This site adds to Internet.com's outstanding collection of tools for Web developers and increases Internet.com's market-leading reach in the category," Elwell added. Other Internet.com sites serving Web developers include JavaBoutique, WebDeveloper.com, WebReference, and Web Developer's Virtual Library. JavaScript Source was created by Ronnie T. Moore, who will join Internet.com's team to manage the site. JavaScript Source currently receives approximately 1 million page views per month. A weekly JavaScript Source e-mail newsletter was also included in the acquisition. Martindale-Hubbell Launches New Website Martindale-Hubbell, publisher of a comprehensive guide to the American legal profession since 1868, has launched a new initiative. At the center of this initiative is a new consumer-oriented website with a searchable database of lawyers and law firms. All lawyers with detailed professional biographies in the 27-volume Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory are included in the new lawyers.com site. The search capabilities featured on this new website allow consumers to find the right lawyer for their specific needs. Users can identify an attorney by searching criteria such as location, lawyer or law firm name, areas of practice specialty and fluency in particular foreign languages. "The new lawyers.com site is designed expressly for users outside the legal profession and is specifically intended to provide information and assistance to individuals and small businesses who require legal help," said Carol Cooper, associate publisher of Martindale-Hubbell. American Lawyer Media's CCM Magazine to Increase Frequency American Lawyer Media, Inc. (ALM) announced that its publication, CCM - The American Lawyer's Corporate Counsel Magazine (CCM), will increase its publishing frequency from six to ten times a year, beginning in January, 1999. Under the new plan, CCM will publish on a monthly basis, with combined issues in January/February and July/August. The change was announced today at the American Bar Association's annual meeting. Founded in 1994, CCM focuses exclusively on news and issues related to attorneys working in-house at corporations, ranging from recent developments in the laws affecting the business community, career moves and litigation strategy, to salary trends and technology. Special editorial features throughout the year center on topics such as intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions, labor and employment, and globalization. CCM reaches an estimated 188,000 readers. "Our expansion of CCM reflects the growing size and importance of today's in-house counsel," said William L. Pollak, President & CEO of ALM. "This group is at the leading edge of issues including the redefinition of intellectual property law, and antitrust regulation and litigation. Increased frequency will allow us to enhance both the depth and quantity of our editorial content for this influential audience." World Championship of Public Speaking to Take Place in Palm Desert On Saturday, August 22, nine articulate Toastmasters will vie for the title of World Champion of Public Speaking at the Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa in Palm Desert, Calif. The speech contest is one of the highlights of the Toastmasters International Convention (Aug. 19 through 22), which is expected to draw more than 2,000 Toastmasters from around the world. Each year more than 10,000 members of Toastmasters International compete in the organization's International Speech Contest. Contests begin at the club level with winners advancing to area and regional contests. The competition culminates during the International Convention each August, where nine finalists contend for the top prize. The contest speeches are five to seven minutes, with no restrictions on topic selection. Contestants will be judged on content, speech organization, voice quality, gestures and delivery. Last year's world champion was Willie Edwards Jones, an experienced motivational speaker from Pearl City, Hawaii. A Toastmaster since 1980, Jones commanded the stage with his funny and conversational speech, "A Warm Boot," which described his experiences owning a computer-repair business and helping customers reboot their computers. Through its 8,400 clubs worldwide, Toastmasters International has helped more than three million people develop their communication and leadership skills since the organization's 1924 inception in Santa Ana, Calif. Today, Toastmasters International has more than 172,000 members in 70 countries, including 89 clubs in the Inland Empire. For more information, contact Suzanne Frey 949/858-8255. After August 17, call the Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa 760/341-3112 and ask for Suzanne Frey. USA Today Online to Provide Book Content for Acses USA Today Online and Acses announced that they have signed an agreement to feature USA Today's bestselling books lists on Acses' website. The content will be added to the site on August 10, 1998, along with the launch of Acses' new book browsing section. "USA Today Online is pleased to provide results of USA Today's bestselling books list to compliment the Acses data and keep Acses users up to date on the hottest titles", said Maryfran Tyler, Distribution Manager for USA Today Information Network which produces USA Today Online. World's Top Cartoonists Invade Cyberspace 350 of the world's top cartoonists from 50 countries can now be seen on one entertaining and educational website: http://cartoonweb.com. A virtual United Nations of cartoon art, the Cartoon Web's cartoons and special features present a rich variety of political perspectives and humor and graphic styles. The Cartoon Web has updated cartoons and caricatures, as well as extensive subject archives, cartooning information, links, other interactive features, and an online store for ordering publications, products, cartoon reprints and original art. The cartoons are from publications in the major cities around the globe, including Le Monde (Paris), The Guardian (London), Excelsior (Mexico City), South China Morning Post (Hong Kong) and Moscow Times. The Cartoon Web is presented by Cartoonists & Writers Syndicate (CWS), a division of CartoonArts International. CWS President Jerry Robinson, a noted cartoonist and comics historian, is an original Batman artist and the creator of the supervillian icon, the Joker. "We are delighted to bring the work of the world’s great cartoonists to the Cartoon Web," stated Robinson. "The innovative content is an attractive environment for attracting quality advertisers." 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