Covergirl gets a makeover – Meet the first ever Coverguy

After more than two decades, NEXT Magazine has broken with tradition and features a male on the cover for the very first time.

The June issue, which goes on sale on Monday, showcases MasterChef’s star judge, Josh Emett, who takes pride of place and is the perfect example of NEXT Magazine’s publishing philosophy.

“Our magazine celebrates Kiwis who are intelligent, successful, passionate and driven,” says editor Sarah Henry. “Josh’s road to success from Waikato farm boy to world renowned chef is one of guts and determination, vision and talent. These are attributes we all admire and aspire to emulate. The fact that he is a bloke comes second to that.”

This brave move is yet another cog in the evolution of NEXT, New Zealand’s second largest selling monthly magazine. Since a redesign with their March issue, the title has pushed the boundaries with a body image issue with naked celebrities while the April issue featured a black and white cover, which is considered a commercial publishing no-no. Both were a great success at newsstand.

“Our readers want what’s now, what’s new and what’s next,” says Sarah. “And featuring a man on our cover is another surprise.”

Internationally, there is more and more demand for male cover stars on traditionally female magazines. ELLE UK has announced that David Beckham will feature on cover of their July issue.

There has also been a switch the other way with females appearing on historically male-dominated magazines such as WIRED, who recently featured a female engineer on the cover of the well-respected technology title.

“It’s not about men and women anymore, it’s about success and how to get it whatever that success may be,” says Sarah.

The NEXT June issue goes on sale Monday 14th May but for a sneak preview please click on the link, http://bit.ly/IFPZBW

Next circulation: 44,320 (Source: Audit Bureau of Circulation, Average Net Circulation to 31/12/11).
Next readership: 349,000 (Source: Nielsen CMI (Oct 10 – Dec 11)).

About ACP Media
ACP Media is New Zealand’s leading magazine publisher. The company’s ACP Magazines division publishes some of the country’s most popular magazines, including Woman’s Day, The Australian Women’s Weekly, CLEO, Next, Taste, Metro and North & South.