Maxim appoints new editorial director

Dennis Publishing has appointed Ben Raworth as the new editorial director of men’s lifestyle magazine Maxim.

Raworth will take over the new role from this month, transferring from his current Dennis Publishing position as new product development editor, in which he has overseen the launches of Monkey, iGIZMO and iMOTOR.

Reporting into Bruce Sandell, MD of the consumer division at Dennis, Raworth will be focusing on reinforcing the values of the Maxim brand, whilst continuing to oversee the development of Monkey, iGIZMO and iMOTOR. He will also oversee the Maximwebsite.

Raworth said: “The men’s market is one of the fastest evolving sectors in the magazine publishing environment: men are looking for much more quality, engaging content than they were five years ago. Maxim is an extremely strong brand and I would like Maxim magazine to reflect the changing interests of the new men’s lifestyle audience: more quirky news, reviews and original features to appeal to today’s men.”

Sandell said: “I am delighted to be announcing Ben’s appointment. Ben and I have been working together on the launches of iMOTOR, iGIZMO and Monkey with huge success. Ben comes to Maxim with fantastic experience, understanding and enthusiasm for men’s magazines, plus masses of innovation – as has been witnessed by his success on our recent launches.”

The appointment comes as Michael Donlevy, current editor of Maxim has taken the decision to leave the company.

It has been a tough few years for the men’s lifestyle sector, with most titles seeing their circulations fall or remain relatively static.

The latest ABC consumer magazine figures show that Maxim experienced a difficult first half of 2008, with a year on year fall of around 59.5% leaving it with a total circulation of under 44,000 copies (see ABC Results Jan-Jun 2008:Mixed Period For Men’s Lifestyle Magazines).

Dennis Publishing: 020 7907 6000 www.dennis.co.uk