Development Hell targets 'disillusioned' men
Ciar Byrne The Guardian

A new men's glossy, produced by the brains behind some of the top entertainment titles in the UK, is on a mission to lure back disillusioned male readers without resorting to using pictures of "girls in their pants".

The forthcoming title, known as Project Satisfaction, will launch early next year.

It is the first magazine to emerge from Development Hell, the independent publishing company founded by David Hepworth, who, as Emap's editorial director, was behind the launches of Just Seventeen, More, Empire and Mojo.

Mr Hepworth, together with his business partner Jerry Perkins and fellow former Emap high flyer Mark Ellen, promises "a magazine for people who think there's nothing to read".

The magic formula Development Hell hopes will attract readers includes music, books, movies, digital and wireless technology but "not girls in their pants" and "not celebs".

"It's for people who listen to loud dance music in their cars and Radio 4 at home, who read Anthony Beevor's Stalingrad but can still laugh at The Simpsons," explained Hepworth.

Ellen is a former editor of Smash Hits and Q and, as editor-in-chief of Emap Metro, oversaw 14 music, film and men's titles.

His departure from the magazine giant, where he was latterly in charge of special projects and training in the consumer division, was announced in an email to staff last month.