ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 29, 1996 TAG: 9602290050
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: LONDON
SOURCE: Associated Press
THE EGYPTIAN OWNER of Harrods department store is betting that the veritable old British magazine can be the start of a new media empire.
An Egyptian entrepreneur is reviving Punch magazine, an icon of British life for more than a century before folding in 1992.
Liberty Publishing Ltd., founded by Harrods department store chairman Mohamed Al Fayed, said Wednesday that it plans to resume publication of Punch in September.
Al Fayed is embroiled in a battle over the British government's refusal to grant him citizenship.
But Stewart Steven, chairman of the new company, insisted Al Fayed will not use his publications as a platform for settling political scores.
``I believe his solemn declaration that he wishes this to be a truly independent company,'' said Steven, a former editor of London's Evening Standard who came out of retirement.
``The editor of Punch is not going to get daily telephone calls from Mohamed Al Fayed,'' Steven told a group of journalists gathered around the old Punch Table, with initials of past editors, writers and British royals carved into the wooden top.
Al Fayed plans to invest heavily in the publishing venture on the belief that quality products will make money, Steven said. He declined to say how much his boss might be willing to spend.
Liberty Publishing intends to grow by acquiring established companies, perhaps in television, radio and newspapers.
The company initially will operate only in Britain but could spread to continental Europe, said the chief executive, John Dux, formerly managing director of News International Newspapers, Britain's biggest newspaper publisher whose papers include The Sun and The Times.
The Liberty executives would not say what they will try to buy.
``I'll put it bluntly - if the business has not expanded beyond Punch by the end of the year, we'll be greatly disappointed,'' Dux said.
Punch was founded on July 17, 1841, and became known for pointed satire and distinctive cartoons. Punch is even credited with inventing the word ``cartoon'' as used in its present sense.
But it foundered in later years and finally was closed in April 1992 by owners United Newspapers. Observers noted that as the times had changed, the magazine was viewed too much as a relic that wasn't worth reading.
``We're going to remove Punch from its position in a dentist's waiting room
He said Punch will view The New Yorker as a role model and competitor.
When Punch closed, it was selling 33,000 copies a week, and the owners had said they needed a circulation of 75,000 to turn a profit.
Steven would not discuss any numbers.
``We are convinced there's a huge market,'' he said. ``That's my bet. That's Mohamed Al Fayed's bet.''
LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. The April 8, 1992, edition of Punch may not be theby CNBlast issue of the magazine after all. 2. (headshot) Al Fayed.
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