BLOCKBUSTER MAGZINE LAUNCH

The monthly magazine, expected to debut in September, will have articles for people who spend much of their entertainment time at home.

The magazine will offer more information than is available in Blockbuster's free in-store newsletter News & Previews, or from competitors such as Entertainment Weekly, Premiere and Disney, said Harvey Seslowsky, Blockbuster director of sales and marketing for in-store media. "Those are broad-based, general magazines that deal with every spectrum of entertainment," he said.

Two exit surveys with thousands of Blockbuster customers conducted in 1995 showed they were interested in such content - and weren't getting it elsewhere, Seslowsky said.

The magazine is a project from Fort Lauderdale-based Blockbuster Entertainment Group and New York Times Custom Publishing.

Like in-flight airline magazines and in-room magazines offered by expensive hotels, the Blockbuster magazine is a custom publication. That means some of the magazine's content could be about shopping at Blockbuster.

The issue of editorial coverage is a touchy one.

There often is potential for conflicts between entertainment magazine editors and the corporations that own the magazines. In some instances, corporations have wanted to dictate content, often over the objections of editors.

Last week, two top editors of Premiere magazine resigned, citing interference from the magazine's parent company over a story examining investors in Planet Hollywood. Among those investors: Ronald O. Perelman, who owns half of Premiere.

While Feature will not do investigative stories, the potential exists for the magazine to lend favoritism to its corporate cousins: Paramount Studios, Nickelodeon, MTV, Showtime and Spelling Entertainment. All of those, like Blockbuster, are owned by Viacom.

Seslowsky said editorial integrity will not be compromised. The Times publishing group will hire an editor and publisher and will write, produce and distribute the magazine, with oversight from Robin Stern, Blockbuster's director of publications. Viacom will have no direct input, Seslowsky said.

When Viacom took over Blockbuster in 1994, speculation abounded that Viacom and its divisions would command favorable treatment in thousands of Blockbuster Video and music stores, said Michael Caruso, director of corporate communications with Blockbuster.

"That's not been the case," he said, admitting that editorial interviews might come more easily from sister divisions because of the connection. "I don't think we've seen any real heavy directives. They let us operate our business on a very separate level."