Uncertainties abound in the publishing business, but one fact seems tantalizingly obvious: there are millions of potential readers for publications aimed at the 18-to-25 age bracket. But how to reach them? One method is to hire professionals to turn out smooth articles in hip lingo in a psychedelic or Art Nouveau layout ("Talking to kids in their own language," it's called). Cheetah and Eye magazines tried that — and folded.
Another approach is to realize that to day's youngsters tend to detect false notes and are not readily dazzled by packaging, so the...