King (magazine)
King is a website geared toward African-American and urban male audiences. It features articles about hip-hop and R&B as well as sports and fashion. The magazine is published by Townsquare Media and was a spinoff from XXL.[1] The magazine was started in 2002.[2] It ceased publication on March 31, 2009, citing failing ad sales as a result of the poor economy and plans to release monthly installments soon.[3] It resumed publication, this time as a quarterly magazine, in late 2009.[4] It was later suspended again, and the website was sold by Harris Publications to Townsquare Media in 2014.[5][6]
Rosa Acosta on the cover of the Winter 2010 issue of King | |
Categories | African-American men's magazine |
---|---|
Frequency | Quarterly |
Year founded | 2002 |
Final issue | 2009 |
Company | Harris Publications |
Country | United States |
Website | http://www.king-mag.com/ |
King magazine is mainly characterized by its lavish photoshoots, which usually feature scantily-clad women, often complete with an interview from the featured model. The subjects of these shoots range from professional models such as Melyssa Ford and Toccara to well-known musicians and actresses, including Trina, Keyshia Cole and Elise Neal. It also features interviews with rappers. The magazine almost exclusively uses pictures from its photoshoots as the cover of the magazine. The Lycos 50 Daily Report noted the magazine received more online searches than Newsweek or Reader's Digest.
References
- Lola Ogunnaike (August 31, 2004). "New Magazines for Black Men Proudly Redefine the Pinup". The New York Times. Retrieved December 22, 2008.
- Trymaine Lee (August 8, 2011). "The Rise and Fall of KING Magazine". The Huffington Post. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
- News: King Magazine Folds, Falling Ad Market To Blame
- "King Magazine's EIC Revealed". XXLmag.com. January 6, 2010. Archived from the original on March 16, 2010. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
- Matthew Flamm (October 6, 2014). "Beleaguered magazines develop new tool to measure success". Crain's New York Business. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
- Keith J. Kelly (September 22, 2014). "Townsquare snaps up hip-hop mag XXL, plans to go digital-only". New York Post. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
Further reading
- Ben Westhoff (May 22, 2007). "End Run". The Village Voice. Retrieved January 25, 2009.