MEDIA: New Standard for e-business

US e-business magazine The Industry Standard is to launch a weekly

UK and Europe edition from 19 October.

'It will be along the lines of the Economist but devoted specifically to

the internet and its effect on the overall economy,' said

editor-in-chief Jim Ledbetter, who was former US bureau chief. 'It is

first and foremost a news-driven weekly magazine.'

In addition, there will be features on people in dot.coms, on

traditional companies adapting to the internet and country profiles, he

said. The Intellectual Capital section will cover broad issues such as

the social and cultural impact of the internet as well as book reviews

and lighter articles.

New Gigs will track people moves and workplace changes, such as the

increasing prevalence of employee stock options. Both sections will be

edited by Victor Smart, formerly with Management Today.

Others in the 30-strong editorial team include news editor Mike Butcher,

who edited New Media Age, and features editor Georgia Cameron-Clarke,

former deputy editor of the Connected supplement of the Daily

Telegraph.

Managing editor Paul Mungo was commissioning editor at Financial Times

magazine and three bureau chiefs have been appointed on the

continent.

'A lot of internet start-ups come to London for funding; there is a

shared need for information. No-one else is really doing this in a

continent-wide way on a weekly basis,' said Ledbetter.

The US magazine has a circulation of 150,000, but Ledbetter would only

confirm that the new edition was aiming initially for 'tens of

thousands'.

After 12 months he hopes that most of the readership will be paying the

pounds 1.95 cover price.

Its publisher, Standard Media International, was set up in 1997 and

launched the US edition and web site in 1998.