Lifestyle title Men's Health is set to add a personal finance
section to its monthly offering from next January.
Editor Simon Geller said content would be provided by GuardianUnlimited,
overseen by Marianne Curphey, deputy editor of the newspaper's online
network and launch editor of MoneyUnlimited.
The Men's Health website, edited by Will Callaghan, will also carry the
new content. 'There will be financial advice with a link to
GuardianUnlimited,' Geller said.
But The Guardian's online operation insisted no deal had been
signed.
'We are in discussion about a content deal in the magazine and on the
(Men's Health) website but there is no confirmation,' a
GuardianUnlimited spokeswoman insisted, despite also confirming that the
Money site is to be relaunched later in the autumn.
Geller said the 213,000-selling Men's Health had 'toyed' with financial
pages in the past but had not found someone with the necessary expertise
to produce them.
The magazine, published by Rodale, is also pushing ahead with a raft of
further changes. A two-page section on grooming will appear in the
December issue, edited by former deputy editor Lee Kynaston.
Three new sections appeared in the November issue - Travel, Average Guy,
which features statistics on different health issues, and Perfect Form,
which covers sporting tips. A section on gadgets was added last
month.
Men's Health this week also launched a daily text messaging service with
wireless marketing company Flytxt, providing the weight-conscious with
advice on meals.
It is aimed at the same target audience as the magazine - 25 to
44-year-old men. Sign-up is via a premium-rate phone number and
effectively provides a daily SMS shopping list that Flytxt said takes
account of users' tastes and location.
Flytxt CEO Lars Becker said: 'This is not the traditional audience for
text messaging but the medium is growing up.'
The project may be extended past its initial three-month slot, and
information from it may be syndicated to third parties, Becker added.
