Shawn Perine Named Editor-in-Chief of Muscle & Fitness

NEW YORK, Nov. 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- David J. Pecker, President, Chairman and CEO of American Media, Inc. (AMI) today announced that Shawn Perine has been named Editor-in-Chief of Muscle & Fitness, the # 1 magazine for serious fitness enthusiasts. With over 6.2 million readers, Muscle & Fitness is dedicated to providing the most revolutionary training, nutrition and supplement information to young men looking to build muscle by giving them the tools to attain an improved physique.

Mr. Perine has been the leading expert on the sport of bodybuilding since the early 1990's when he promoted an NPC bodybuilding competition and ran his own fitness publication, going on to become the founder of one of the top classic bodybuilding websites, IronAge.us. His expertise in the industry led him to AMI where he served as a senior writer for Flex. During his tenure at Flex, Mr. Perine published features on a broad range of topics including training, nutrition, supplementation, contest coverage and personality profiles. Mr. Perine was then appointed director of MuscleandFitness.com in early 2011, overseeing the production of all online editorial content where he played a significant role, growing the brands various properties.

Commenting on Mr. Perine's appointment, Mr. Pecker said, "Muscle & Fitness has prided itself for 72 years on always providing readers with cutting-edge training and nutrition content. Shawn brings over three decades of passion for the Muscle & Fitness lifestyle and is considered the foremost expert in the bodybuilding industry since Joe Weider himself. With Shawn's background and knowledge, I am excited for him to continue the brand's tradition."

"I'm honored to have been offered the chance to become part of a magazine that has meant so much to me for so many years," added Mr. Perine. "My father bought me my first issue of Muscle & Fitness in the 1970's and since then, I've been hooked. The brand has a great legacy, first set in motion by Joe Weider back in 1940, and I intend to put all of my experience, energy and passion towards building on that legacy. Now more than ever we are going to focus on giving guys the blueprint they need for creating their ideal physiques. By integrating our print edition with digital, web and social media in a robust and compelling way, we will break new ground in the industry."

Executive Vice President/Group Publishing Director Chris Scardino added, "Shawn has a wealth of experience in the fitness and sport nutrition categories and we are excited to have him leading the editorial team and continuing to provide our readers with compelling content in both the magazine and our digital counterpart."

Mr. Perine will report to Mr. Pecker effective November 21, 2011.

About American Media, Inc.

American Media, Inc. owns and operates the leading print and digital celebrity and health and fitness media brands in the United States. AMI's titles include Star, OK!, National Enquirer, Globe, Soap Opera Digest, Soap Opera Weekly, Pixie, Shape, Men's Fitness, Muscle & Fitness, Flex, Muscle & Fitness Hers, Fit Pregnancy and Natural Health. AMI also manages 18 different digital sites including RadarOnline.com, OKmagazine.com, Shape.com, MensFitness.com, MuscleandFitness.com and FitPregnancy.com. AMI's magazines have a combined total circulation of almost 7 million and reach more than 55 million men and women each month. AMI's digital properties reach an average of 10 million unique visitors and 80 million page views monthly.

AMI also operates a Publishing Services business unit which includes Distribution Services, Inc. (DSI), the No. 1 in-store magazine sales and merchandising marketing company in the U.S. and Canada. DSI places and monitors AMI's publications and third-party publications to ensure proper displays in major retail chains and national and regional supermarket chains. DSI also provides marketing, merchandising and information gathering services to third parties including non-magazine clients. Publishing Services also provides print and digital advertising sales and strategic management direction in the following areas: manufacturing, subscription circulation, logistics, event marketing and full back office financial functions.  Playboy is one of many publishers who have taken advantage of these additional services. 

SOURCE American Media, Inc.