American Media Plans Automotive Magazine

Posted on April 9, 2004

David J. Pecker, Chairman and CEO of American Media, announced that the company will launch a new magazine that focuses on the automotive category called MPH (Maximum Performance Horsepower). The magazine will launch in September of 2004.

Pecker also announced that MPH has already made several editorial hires. Its editor is long-time Automotive magazine Senior Editor and Men's Journal contributor Eddie Alterman, who will be joined by former Car and Driver and Auto Week star writer Dan Pund as his executive editor, Dave Merline from Motorbooty and Orbit magazine as managing editor, Darin Johnson as art director after 10 years at Automobile magazine, Folio award-winning (for Hour Detroit magazine) assistant art director Nathan Schroeder and Mike Austin as Road Test Editor.

MPH will be a broadly based lifestyle magazine targeted at the new generation of car enthusiasts. Its graphics will have lots of energy while its content will have an irreverent tone and a no-holds-barred attitude. Its mantra will be the 4 S's -- Speed, Sex, Service and Stuff. MPH will publish 10 times a year and its book size will be 116 pages an issue with a $3.99 cover price.

American Media, Inc. is one of the largest media companies in the U.S. They publish celebrity journalism, health and fitness and Spanish language magazines. These include the all new glossy Star magazine, Shape, Men's Fitness, Muscle & Fitness, Muscle & Fitness Hers, Flex, Fit Pregnancy and Natural Health magazines, the Latino magazines, Mira!, Shape En Espanol and Thalia magazine, The National Enquirer, the country music magazine, Country Weekly, and more than 200 mini-mags and digests. AMI recently launched its own book division with 10 titles released to date.