Food Network magazine: The Most Notable Launch of the Year

In an exclusive report on Foliomag.com, the Hearst Communications’ new launch Food Network magazine was named The Most Notable Launch of the Year. The magazine, launched in Nov. 08 was selected from a field of 752 magazines published between Oct. 08 and Sept. 09. Read the entire story by Folio’s Matt Kinsman here.

Some excerpts from Foliomag.com are below:

While 2009 may be remembered more for the number (and quality) of magazines that closed, it was also an active year for launches, with 752 new titles debuting between October 2008 and September 2009, according to Samir “Mr. Magazine” Husni, director of the Magazine Innovation Center at the University of Mississippi.

Of those 752 new magazines, Husni has identified the 15 most notable launches of the past year. His criteria include five key questions:

■ How much publicity did the magazine generate?
■ How relevant was the magazine to the intended market?
■ Was the magazine notably diversified and specialized?
■ How innovative were the magazines?
■ Was the magazine so bizarre it had to be included?

“Since the industry seemingly came to a crashing halt in September 2008, we are starting to see more and more evidence that the American publishing model of the past is dead and that our industry has to innovate to survive,” says Husni. “Many of these notable launches are witnesses to that.”

For a complete look at Husni’s 15 Most Notable Launches of the Year, and his interview with Food Network magazine publisher Vicki Wellington, look for FOLIO:’s December issue.