12/22/06
536
7

By abalk2

Comment by JupiterPluvius: I'm not sure why we're supposed to be worried about Seth Mnookin, based on that link? I mean, I... more » | Other threads

  • shock

    'Shock,' Magazine for Illiterates, Closing

    In what should be a shock (sorry) to absolutely no one, Hachette Filipacchi is shuttering Shock, the magazine that made just about everyone want to avert their eyes, but keeping the website, ShockU.com. The memo from Hachette head Jack Kliger:
    It is difficult to make a decision to close a title, but I am announcing today that we will no longer publish Shock magazine. The final issue will be the February publication on newsstands December 26, 2006. We wanted to test the French magazine's concept in the U.S.; however, after six months in the marketplace, Shock's performance at newsstands has not produced trends that indicate that we will get the returns that we are looking for. On the other hand, the web site has shown real energy and connection with this young demographic and the 41 page-views-per-visitor-session is one of the highest for web sites at Hachette. The company will maintain the web site ShockU.com and will work toward a redesign and relaunch of the web site in Spring 2007.
    More »
    12/21/06
    2,799
    6

    By Doree Shafrir

    Comment by Moff: It's weird, because you'd think that illiterates would be one of the few demographics you could count on these days. more » | Other threads

  • shock

    Magazine For Illiterates Will Show JFK Assassination Pictures For Food

    How are things going at Shock, Hachette Filapacchi's sophisticated periodical for the discerning consumer who likes to see photographic depictions of nameless Arabs getting blowed up? If the latest "media advisory" is any indication, uh, not so great. EIC Mike Hammer (whose job, we're guessing, mainly consists of saying, "Can we get a shot of Emmy Rossum that shows a little more ass cleavage, please?"), sent out the current sell sheet to pretty much everyone he's ever worked with, pretty much begging them to buy the thing: More »
    11/06/06
    1,833
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    By abalk2

    Comment by Jen: Actually, it's three freakin bucks, they upped the price this month. more » | Other threads

  • shock

    Magazine For Illiterates Blends Elements of 'Maxim,' 'The Economist'

    A friend passes along a promotional e-mail from Shock magazine, Hachette Filapacchi's attempt to nail down the market of those who find mouth breathing a challenge. Along with an opportunity to preview the new issue, the e-mail offers the following manifesto: More »
    09/26/06
    300
    6

    By abalk2

    Comment by Bon Jour, Pee Wee: Looks more like if you threw MySpace and Enquirer in a blender. more » | Other threads

  • ann coulter

    Media Bubble: Meghan Daum Turning Into Poor Man's Chuck Klosterman

    • Meghan Daum is still finding ways to make money off of having lived in Nebraska. [Salon] More »
    07/06/06
    267
    4

    By abalk2

    Comment by nancydrew: Daum may be anti-Kooser, but she is one heck of a writer. (And yes, 145, good eye: It was definitely... more » | Other threads

  • shock

    This Just In: Nothing Has Changed in 'Shock' Photo Feud

    So remember how Hachette Filipacchi published the first issue of Shock magazine with that cover photo of the U.S. soldier in Iraq holding a bloodied baby? And remember how the guy who shot the photo, Michael Yon, flipped out, arguing that he never sold the rights to the image? And remember how it turned out that Hachette thought it had done the right thing and purchased rights from a photo agency, but that the agency never really had the rights to sell in the first place? And remember how all parties tried to reach a settlement, and thought they did, but then Yon backed out at the last minute? And you know how that's where things have been stuck for a few weeks now? Yeah? Well, that's where it still stands. Hachette put out a press release last night just to make sure you know that. More »
    06/28/06
    294
    0

    By Jesse
  • village voice

    Gawker's Week in Review: A Moment of Silence for Erik Wemple

    • The Village Voice's new EIC Erik Wemple changes his mind, quitting the gig before he had technically started. Not surprisingly, the New Times has fucked things beyond repair. More »
    06/18/06
    121
    0

    By Jessica
  • hachette filapacchi

    Magazine for Illiterates Removed From Its Rightful Place Alongside Fall Out Boy Records

    So Shock, Hachette Filapacchi's effort to create a publication that speaks to readers who find words and punctuation too intrusive, continues to struggle for a place in the nation's newsracks. AdAge reports that Tower Records has joined the growing list of outlets that have yanked it from the shelves, although in this case the removal comes because of the ongoing conflict with photographer Michael Yon (as opposed to Rite Aid's rationale, which was that the magazine is crap.) Hachette is understandably aggrieved at the campaign against its publication. President/CEO Jack Kliger says, "There's no question that... efforts to convince retailers that it is consumers who are upset at the issue have succeeded in some cases, even though that's not what the fact is... [T]hese are not complaints being made by Shock readers — these are complaints being made by Michael Yon's followers. There's a big difference." More »
    06/16/06
    94
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    By abalk2
  • shock

    Magazine for Illiterates Removed From Venue Not Exactly Staffed by Rhodes Scholars

    Sad news for those of you who get your Valtrex prescriptions filled at the Rite Aid: The chain has pulled Shock magazine - Hachette Filapacchi's appeal to the all-important borderline retarded demographic - from its shelves. Surprisingly, the magazine's removal had nothing to do with the ongoing conflict between Hachette and photographer Michael Yon; it reflects an aesthetic judgment on Rite Aid's part. Company spokesperson Judy Cook says, "We did pull it. The content wasn't really what we were expecting and it didn't fit with our product mix." Apparently our nation's Medicare Advantage Plan participants are already getting all the shots of blown-up Iraqi children and celebrity ass cleavage through the mail. More »
    06/15/06
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    By abalk2
  • hachette filapacchi

    Magazine for Illiterates Disregards Opinions of Semi-Literates

    Remember Michael Yon? He's the photographer who blew a gasket when Shock magazine - Hachette Filapacchi's new offering for the recently lobotomized - allegedly used his photo of an American soldier cradling an injured Iraqi child without permission. A reported settlement has fallen through, and Yon is none too pleased about it. Hachette Filapacchi (a French company, and therefore evil) "resorted to delay tactics, equivocation, and the same kind of thinly veiled threat that has characterized their style of doing business." Their greatest sin, however, appears to be having shown disdain for the blogosphere. More »
    06/12/06
    194
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    By abalk2
  • lindsay lohan

    Remainders: Lindsay Lohan, Al Gore Smackdown

    • Al Gore and Lindsay Lohan are in a "huge feud." "She knows what she did," says Gore. Wait — is he making a funny? Good for him! [Deadline Hollywood] More »
    06/09/06
    191
    2

    By Jessica

    Comment by the earl grey: so gore alludes to the paris vs nic richie feud- did his daughter give him that line on leno? ... more » | Other threads

  • shock

    Mag for Illiterates Can Live to Shock Again!

    Worried you wouldn't get your chance to see photos of Chernobyl victims, self-immolation, and a bearded Val Kilmer making out with Paris Hilton? You can relax. Ad Age is reporting that late Friday night Hachette's new Shock magazine — which contains all those delightful images, plus so much more — reached a deal with photog Michael Yon, who claimed the mag had no right to put on its cover his image of a U.S. soldier carrying a wounded Iraqi child and had demanded all issues be pulled from newsstands. More »
    06/05/06
    100
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    By Jesse
  • shock

    Magazine For Illiterates Can't Even Rip Off Photos Right

    So Shock magazine, Hachette's attempt to corner the market on readers who find Us Weekly too intellectual, got in a bit of a kerfuffle with Michael Yon, the photographer who took the picture that graces the magazine's first cover. (The picture of the soldier cradling the Iraqi kid, not the one of Jessica Simpson.) Seems that Yon didn't approve the use of the photo, saying in a statement, "I regularly turn down usage requests for this photo — uses that could earn money — because this photo is sacred to me and is representative of the U.S. soldiers I have come to know. It is also representative of the horrors of the enemy we all face." Hachette, for its part, claims to have "obtained publishing rights for the image from a reputable photo agency," and is looking into the matter. More »
    05/30/06
    192
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    By abalk2
  • shock

    Gawker's Week in Review: Diane Sawyer Gets Royally Screwed

    • Charlie Gibson scores the ABC anchor spot, leaving poor Diane Sawyer high and dry. More »
    05/26/06
    120
    2

    By Jessica

    Comment by alec: A 24/7 Apple Store? This can only increase the death toll of the deadliest yuppie-based disease: DEATH BY IPOD. more » | Other threads

  • shock

    Not Shockingly, 'Shock' Aims to Shock You

    Hachette's Shock magazine hits the newsstands on May 30, but early copies are floating around Mediaville, and a greasy copy has thus arrived at HQ And, dare we say, it's a thing of lowbrow beauty. If the National Enquirer bound and gagged Life and forced it to sift through Rotten.com, it would result in something like this. Cheap ($1.99), low on words (there has to be well under 1000 in the entire issue) and bravely independent of advertising (FishbowlNY dutifully notes a mere 3 ad pages), Shock just might be the perfect publication for happily deranged voyeur within us all. More »
    05/26/06
    1,526
    1

    By Jessica

    Comment by diorsuks: EXCLUSIVE! What's the difference between the SHOCK of celeb butt crack and the SHOCK of suicide bombers killing civilians? NOTHING. more » | Other threads