Thursday, December 22, 2005

Are you not sad? "The U.S. State Department Thursday said it was suspending the publication of the multimillion dollar "Hi" magazine that targeted Arab youth. "The State Department is conducting a review of its Arabic language magazine, 'Hi,' to assess whether the magazine is meeting its objectives effectively," it said in a statement. "During the period of this review, the print version of 'Hi' magazine will be suspended." The magazine's Web site, himag.com, will remain active during the period. The magazine was launched in July 2003 in a bid to win the hearts and minds of Arab youth. Some 55,000 copies were distributed monthly in 18 countries at a cost of $4.5 million a year." (The article does not say that of the copies published, only 2,500 were actually sold. The rest were distributed free of charge.)