MEDIA: Simultaneous Project Spider launch

IPC Media is preparing to simultaneously launch an internet-related fortnightly magazine and website codenamed Project Spider.

Launching next month, Project Spider is aiming to capture the home internet user which to date has been ignored by the current titles, claims editor Jim Lennox.

'There is a huge middle market, mainly home users who understand the basics but are not being served by the current titles which assume readers are either very techie or complete beginners.'

Lennox has been working on the project since joining IPC in August last year. Previously Lennox edited Computeractive, which has become the UK's best selling computer title based on a plain English policy.

He admitted that Project Spider would have a very similar approach in seeking to avoid unnecessary jargon. The magazine, IPC's first move in this market, will have an initial print run of 250,000.

Lennox said a large editorial team is already in place and the magazine would be broken down into traditional news, reviews and features sections.

The magazine will be targeted at net users in the 25 to 50 age group; IPC believes the market is as large as seven million.

The website will host fresh stories on a daily basis but will not feature all the content available within the magazine. 'The two will be complementary and work together,' said Lennox.

Technology and computing magazines have been badly hit in the latest ABCs, with many titles reporting double-digit circulation drops.