TIME APPARENTLY WILL INITIATE MAGAZINE CALLED MOVIES RATHER THAN RETRENCHING

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01314R000300180046-4
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 7, 2004
• Sequence Number: 46
• Publication Date: December 19, 1969
• Content Type: NSPR

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Time Apparently Will Initiate Magazine
Called Movies Rather Than Retrenching
By STANFORD N. SFS9FR
Staff Reporter of Tun WALL STRSE'r JOURNAL
NEW YORK-Time Inc. has apparently de-
cided to fight back againt its recent spate of fi-
nancial problems with the introduction of a
major new, publication-a magazine devoted
exclusively to movies.
According to sources in both the advertising
and movie industries, the first issue of the
magazine, tentatively named Movies, is sched-
mors in recent weeks, as Time Inc.'s financial:
problems led to speculation that Life, a weekly,
would either be dropped or cut to biweekly
publication. Last week Jerome S. Hardy, Life's
publisher, quit to become executive vice presi-
dent of Dreyfus Corp. But he said on resigning,
he was "confident that the volume of advertio-
ing will improve in the near future."
Time Inc. officials deny that any changes
are being planned for Life. Several ad industry
executives reached for comment also say they
believe the speculation is groundless. In the
first 11 months'of 1969, Life ran 2,177 pages of
advertising in 47 issues, down from 2,526 pages
in 48 issues for the similar period last year.
Initial Problems Cited
The problems involved in putting out a new
magazine can be enormous, even for a com-
pany with the resources and experience of
Time Inc. Time reportedly lost $28 million on
Sports Illustrated, which was launched in 1954,
before the magazine became profitable several
years ago.
One advertising executive thinks that Mov-,
ies will have a natural advantage over Sports
Illustrated by appealing to women as` well as
men. He said advertisers were reluctant to
take space in Sports Illustrated, because-
women dictate so many of the consumer-
buy-ing decisions. Commenting on the prospects for
Movies, the ad man stated, "With the impor-
tance of leisure activities in this country, a
magazine in this field which is well done-and
I'm sure it will bo well done if Time Inc. is be-
hind it-is a very sensible approach."
uled to appear at the end of January. This first
issue reportedly will be sent to a selected list of
subscribers of Life magazine and also will be
sold on newsstands in a few test markets.
A spokesman for Time Inc., which in addi-
tion to Life publishes Time magazine, Fortune
and Sports Illustrated, said there has been ex-
perimentation with the idea of a movie maga-
zine but added that "I'm not aware that there's
anything really serious about it."
It is understood that the company is
?planning to announce the new magazine, its
first in 15 years, on Jan. 5.
Time Inc. staffers are said to be jubilant at
the company's decision to expand rather than
retrench. The company suffered a $603,000 defi-
cit in the third quarter, a sharp reversal from
a $1.5 million profit in the year-ago period.
Part of the earnings decline is believed attrib-
utable to a major drop this year in advertising
pages for Life magazine, which has recently
cut back on personnel in an effort to reduce
costs.
Details on the movie magazine were gath-
ered from both advertising and movie execu-
tives, some of whom were given a brief look at
a dummy issue. "They put it in front of our
noses and pulled it away," one movie official
said.
I For a Mass Audience
According to these sources, Movies will be
designed to appeal to a mass audience, with
'projected circulation between one million and
=1.5 million. The publication, which will be the
size of Time, will contain movie reviews, inter-
views, general commentary and eye-catching
art work.
The magazine reportedly will be edited by
Thomas Thompson, a writer for Life and for.
advertising official disagreed. He
said that "young people are just interested in
going to movies-they don't want to read about
them." He added that Movies would be doing
"very well" to reach a circulation of 500,000.
One movie executive predicts 'instant suc-
cess for the new magazine. "Every'time Time
magazine, Look and Life have movie covers
they, sell more copies," he 'said. "That's why
they do it a lot. I don't, think 'l'ime Inc.. would
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mer head of Life's entertainment department.;'-,'.
,The articles and reviews largely will be written"
,by a staff assembled from Time and Life,,,
rather than by freelancers.
' One movie executive familiar with plans for
the magazine said that its frequency of-issue is
"totally undecided." He stated that Movies
+:could be turned into a, supplement of Life mag-,
azine it the test marketing indicates it won't bed
successful as a separate publication.
But the official paid that Movies. "definitely'
.'
is not a replacement for Life."
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Approved For Release 2004/10/28 : CIA-RDP88-01314R000300180046-4