The editorial overhaul of Hustler is well under way, and while some of the initial changes in the flagship publication of LFP's publishing empire should be apparent in the March issue, currently on stands, the April issue of the 25-year old magazine will present a radically altered product.rnrn
"The magazine has been rethought from top to bottom. We have a new art director, Kamilia Kowalczyk, who is redesigning the overall design of the book and rethinking the way our photo's are shot," said Bruce David, who took over the editorial reins of Hustler this past fall.rnrn
The April issue of the magazine features porn star and entrepreneur Jenna Jameson on the cover of the magazine, as well as the centerfold, in a photo layout done by acclaimed photographer Laurent Sky. "It's really more like Cosmo than Hustler," David told AVN.com, speaking of the cover. rnrn
Hustler will no long show nudity on the cover, allowing LFP to reduce the number of copies that have to be shrink-wrapped with a band, something David feels will increase circulation significantly. rnrn
"What's the point of having all these sexy covers if they are banded and readers can't see them? Not only can the reader not see the girl, but they can't see the cover either... We think we're going to bump up a significant number of points in terms of news stand sales by doing this," said David. rnrn
David, who is working closely with Hustler publisher and founder Larry Flynt, intends to create more aggressive, confrontational, editorial content for the magazine. He points to an upcoming ad parody that will highlight IBM's development of the monitoring system used by Adolf Hitler to track Jews during the Holocaust. "It's a fact. We're sure that IBM doesn't want to talk about it, they don't want to brag about it, and they would like everyone to forget about it, but we don't think that it should be forgotten," said David. rnrn
There will also be a renewed emphasis on informative journalism, such as the expose on the presidential election of 2000 by award-winning journalist Greg Palast that appears in the March issue, a feature on Michael Moore (Bowling for Columbine) that will appear in the April issue, and upcoming interviews with pundits such as G. Gordan Liddy and Tom Leykis. rnrn
"We intend to entertain the reader. Not just sexually, but to engage his mind and challenge, shock, and surprise the reader. That's one of the mistakes that was made here, that Hustler was just a porn magazine read by strokers who had no interest in anything but stroking off. However, we're the only mainstream publication in the United States that is in the position to, and has the balls to, tell it like it is. Palast has been trying to get his work published over here for years, but he had to go to Europe to get his work published. He appears on the BBC on a regulars basis and writes for the Guardian, but no one over here will touch his work," said David. rnrn
In order to accomplish this, Hustler will increase the number of features they print each month. Previously there were only two features a month, but from now on there will be three or four, depending on the amount of space. Palast has agreed to write more articles for the magazine, and David is currently recruiting other established writers to contribute to thernrn
The new look will not result in a reduced number of sexually orientated pieces or pictorials.
