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).