James Cress Named Associate Publisher Of American Media, Inc. Fitness Enthusiast Group

NEW YORK, Sept. 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- American Media, Inc. (AMI) Executive Vice President and Group Publisher Chris Scardino today announced that James Cress has been named Associate Publisher, Integrated Marketing for the Fitness Enthusiast Group. In his expanded role, Mr. Cress will work closely with Mr. Scardino to lead sales and marketing efforts across various platforms and develop innovative sponsorship opportunities for new categories for the ever-expanding Muscle & Fitness brand.

"As the fitness landscape rapidly expands, Muscle & Fitness continues to establish itself in ways that few brands can thanks to our heritage, commitment and expertise," said Mr. Scardino. "In his new role, James will work with our sales team to fully leverage the power and growth of the brand, expanding our core business and engaging partners in new categories including gear, apparel, equipment and technology."

Muscle & Fitness continues to reinforce its position as the authoritative leader and most trusted voice for all aspects of strength training and fitness.  The brand has seen its print audience grow by nearly 10% to 6.2 million (2015 Spring MRI vs 2014 Fall MRI) while continuing to dominate the fitness category on social media with 6MM+ fans and followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and more.

"There has never been a more exciting time for Muscle & Fitness than right now," said AMI Fitness Enthusiast Group Chief Content Director Shawn Perine. "The interest in strength training and fitness has never been higher as evidenced by our extraordinary growth and the engagement of our community. I'm looking forward to working with Chris, James and their entire sales team to build, develop and execute innovative platforms as we continue to grow the brand's unrivaled footprint."

Building on a redesign of the brand in February of 2014, Muscle & Fitness has continued to elevate its digital content by offering its audience more content than ever before with interactive tools via video, social media integrations, apps and more. Its website, muscleandfitness.com has seen record traffic in 2015 averaging 8 million unique visitors per month.

Cress previously served as Marketing Director for the Fitness Enthusiast Group and has held other marketing positions within the men's lifestyle and fitness categories. He will report directly to Scardino.

About American Media, Inc.

American Media, Inc. (AMI) owns and operates the leading print and digital celebrity and active lifestyle media brands in the United States. AMI's titles include National Enquirer, Star, OK!, Globe, National Examiner, Soap Opera Digest, Men's Fitness, Muscle & Fitness, Flex and Muscle & Fitness Hers. AMI also manages 14 different digital sites including RadarOnline.com, OKmagazine.com, MensFitness.com and MuscleandFitness.com. AMI's magazines have a combined total circulation of 2.1+ million and reach more than 35 million men and women each month. AMI's digital properties reach an average of 50 million unique visitors and 348 million page views monthly.

SOURCE American Media, Inc.