USWeekly to Debut in March, 2000

Posted on September 14, 1999

US magazine will convert to a weekly frequency and premiere at the newsstand as USWeekly on March 17, 2000. The announcement was made by Jann S. Wenner, chairman of Wenner Media Incorporated, publisher of US. According to Mr. Wenner, USWeekly will be news-driven and focus primarily on entertainment. It will report the latest news and information on film, television and music in a photo-driven format.

"The impact that celebrities have on our pop culture today is immeasurable, and the public's fascination with the personalities in entertainment is just as immense. Our readers never-ending love of celebrity news dictates that we give them more of what they want - and what they want is USWeekly," said Mr. Wenner.

Terry McDonell has been appointed editor in chief of USWeekly. Mr. McDonell is currently vice president of Wenner Media and the editor of Men's Journal. He is a magazine publishing veteran and has served as editor at several award-winning publications, including Newsweek, Esquire and Rolling Stone. Mr. McDonell assumes the role that Mr. Wenner held at the monthly US. In addition, Charlie Leerhsen, current editor of the monthly US, has been appointed editor at the weekly. Mr. Leerhsen has over 20 years of experience in magazine publishing. Prior to joining US, he was managing editor of People Weekly.

USWeekly will be targeted to adults 18-34 years old with above average income and education and will debut with a guaranteed rate base of 1 million. USWeekly will be primarily a newsstand magazine. The cover price will be $2.99. The magazine's newsstand marketing, merchandising and distribution will be handled by D.S.I. USWeekly's premiere at the newsstand will be supported with a multi-million dollar consumer and trade advertising campaign.

According to Mr. Wenner, funding for USWeekly is being handled completely by Wenner Media Incorporated. "We considered bringing in an equity partner and discussed this with several entities who wanted to do the deal," he said. "However, in the end, I decided to self finance....We have ample resources and the project looks so attractive I want to keep it entirely within my company."

In order to accommodate the editorial staff expansion planned for USWeekly, Wenner Media has secured facilities at 1177 Avenue of the Americas, located a few blocks from the company's flagship headquarters at 1290 Avenue of the Americas. In addition, the magazine will create a news bureau in Los Angeles.