Miramax Films and Hearst Magazines to Publish Talk Magazine

Posted on February 11, 1999

Miramax Films and Hearst Magazines announced today that they have entered into a joint-venture agreement to publish Talk, a new general interest monthly magazine edited by Tina Brown. The magazine will debut in August with the September, 1999 edition. Talk magazine, which will premiere with a circulation of 500,000, will be a provocative and topical publication offering commentary, criticism, reporting, opinion and profiles.

Under the terms of the agreement, Hearst Magazines will take a 50 percent joint-ownership stake in Talk magazine and assume certain management responsibilities including circulation and manufacturing management, as well as newsstand distribution and subscription fulfillment through its subsidiaries Hearst Distribution Group, Inc. and Communications Data Services. Miramax's Talk Media will be responsible for editorial content, advertising sales and marketing.

In July of last year, Miramax Films established Talk Media in conjunction with Tina Brown and Ron Galotti to publish Talk magazine, produce television programming and publish books. The venture with Hearst Magazines is limited to Talk magazine and its related website.

"This is a fantastic partnership," said Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of Miramax Films. "The team at Hearst Magazines -- Frank Bennack, Cathie Black and Mark Miller -- is the finest in the publishing business, and to have them at our side will only help to ensure the success of Talk magazine. My brother Bob and I are grateful to Michael Eisner and Peter Murphy at Disney, who were instrumental in putting this deal together."

Tina Brown, chairman of Miramax's Talk Media, said, "Talk magazine is off to a great start and our vision for creating a new magazine that will both reflect and shape the American conversation is quickly becoming a reality. We're very excited to have Frank Bennack and Cathie Black as our new partners. Hearst is the best publisher in the industry, and combining our resources, I am confident we will establish Talk as one of the most widely read and one of the most influential magazines in the marketplace today."