AMI Buys Radar's Web Site; Will Be Relaunched As Competitor To TMZ
This story was written by Staci D. Kramer.
Radar magazine shut down unceremoniously todayagainbut the web site will live on, according to the New York Observer. The site has been acquired by AMI and will be redesigned and rebuilt as a competitor to TMZ.com, with the National Enquirer's David Pecker as managing editor. The URL will change from "radaronline.com." Founder Maer Roshan says he has been asked to be involved but doesn't think he will; some of the staff may be retained to work on the site. The magazine first launched in 2003.
Roshan told the Observer: "What is so frustrating is that we seemed to have reached a turning point. You're dealing with independent investors and they saw the market and they were fearful about the future." First, he was told told Radar would need more investors, then he was he'd have to find them himself. Then, as NYO reports, this morning, they told him it was over. Roshan: "Up until today I thought we could still talk about options for the magazinein fact, there were no options." Yusef Jackson, the son of Rev. Jesse Jackson, was among the backers of this incarnation, the magazine's third. In 2006, he told the NYT there was enough backing to fund the magazine for five years.
By Staci D. Kramer