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BRING IT ON: ESPN MAGAZINE DEBUTS, READY TO CHALLENGE SI

          ESPN Magazine celebrated the release of its inaugural
     issue yesterday with a launch party in New York City which
     hosted members of the industry and many celebrities and
     athletes, including Cindy Crawford, Casey Martin and Matt
     Lauer (THE DAILY).  The magazine's first cover features Kobe
     Bryant, Kordell Stewart, Alex Rodriguez and Eric Lindros
     represeting the next generation of the modern athlete.  In
     his Editor's Note, which opens the publication, Editor-In-
     Chief John Papanek writes: "We are not all nude, or even
     close.  No swimsuits, no bikinis, no one-pieces, no thongs -
     - none of that.  No rehashes, no game stories, no press-box
     pontificating, no wistful reminiscences about the good old
     days -- none of that either.  We are not your father's
     sports magazine. What we are will become clear over time,
     this being Vol. 1, No. 1 of The Magazine.  What we can
     promise you is a companion as passionate and at least as
     smart about the games you love as you are, a biweekly sports
     magazine that both enhances your enjoyment and adds to your
     knowledge" (ESPN MAGAZINE, 3/23 issue).  ESPN Magazine ran a
     full page ad in today's N.Y. Times touting the launch.  The
     magazine's cover is pictured above the tag: "On Newsstands
     Now (In Dentists' Offices Six Years Later)" (THE DAILY).
          WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: Papanek was interviewed this
     morning by Charles Gibson on "GMA."  Papanek, on going up
     against Sports Illustrated: "They've established themselves
     brilliantly, and they've been the magazine of a generation.
     ... It's not so much what we can do better, it's what we can
     do differently, and how we can satisfy an audience that's a
     little different from the one that they've served. ... I
     think we can make them laugh, I think we can speak their
     language, we can hit their attitudes better" (ABC, 3/12).
     ESPN Chair Steve Bornstein said SI "does a wonderful job at
     what it does.  We're positioning this magazine as a
     different vehicle. ... I think ESPN's brand name is pretty
     important to the consumer, one they trust, and is probably
     why this magazine will be successful" (CNBC, 3/11). 
          REVIEWS ARE IN: In Boston, Mark Jurkowitz calls the
     first issue "impressive," and writes that the new magazine
     "looks about as much like Sports Illustrated as Field &
     Stream looks like Penthouse."  Jurkowitz: "One critical fact
     worth noting is that each of the stories on the cover's four
     athletes are short enough to start and finish on the same
     page.  Note to [SI]: Stay cerebral" (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/12). 
     In N.Y., Dave Blezow says that ESPN Magazine has "succeeded"
     in providing "something for everyone," and writes that the
     pieces in the debut issue are "more mainstream and snappily-
     written" than SI's "more, lengthy, esoteric articles." 
     However, Blezow calls the cover "a snoozer," and notes that
     the type "is extremely small and hard on they eyes,
     especially when reversed on a bright background."  Blezow
     also adds that "it's difficult, at times, to tell the ads
     from the articles" (N.Y. POST, 3/12).
          SELF-COMPETITION? In Baltimore, Milton Kent notes that
     ESPN's broadcast outlets reported ESPN Magazine's story
     disputing UConn's Nykesha Sales' scoring record before the
     magazine was published, "effectively scooping the magazine."
     Regarding the possibility of future conflicts, ESPN
     spokesperson Mike Soltys said that ESPN Exec Editor John
     Walsh, who runs the magazine and broadcast newsrooms, "will
     make the call on when and where stories appear."  Soltys:
     "In some cases, John wants to be protective of the genesis
     of the story, if he doesn't feel that there's an immediate
     need [to broadcast the story]" (Baltimore SUN, 3/12).

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