Harvard Alumni Mag Set To Change Hands

02138, an independent Harvard alumni magazine, is on the verge of being sold by the Atlantic Media Company to Sandow Media, according to WWD.com.

The deal is still in negotiation, and the terms of the sale have not yet been reported.

The Atlantic Media Company launched 02138, a bi-monthly publication billed as the “Vanity Fair of Harvard,” in September 2006 and has owned it since then.

The magazine was founded by Bom S. Kim ’00, who serves as its current president, and Daniel M. Loss ’00 to report on the lives of Harvard alumni.

“Highly educated, sophisticated, and wealthy, the Harvard audience is a lucrative niche for any advertiser,” Kim wrote in a 2004 memo about the magazine. At the time, he said that the circulation would near 100,000.

When reached by The Crimson, Kim and Richard Bradley, the magazine’s executive editor, would not comment on the upcoming deal.

Sandow Media, based out of Boca Raton, Fl., recently bought the money magazine Worth, and also owns the plastic surgery-oriented magazine NewBeauty.

Sandow Media’s current publications target wealthy readers—the same audience sought out by 02138.

02138 captured headlines last year for its coverage of the Facebook-ConnectU lawsuit.

The magazine published in its November/December 2007 issue an article, “Poking Facebook,” about the controversial creation of the networking Web site. 02138 also posted Zuckerberg’s Harvard College application, his personal diary, and an e-mail he wrote to the College’s Administrative Board on its Web site.

In response, Facebook filed two emergency motions to try to force 02138 to take down the documents. A federal court ruled in favor of 02138 in December 2007, recognizing the magazine’s First Amendment right to publish the information.

02138 is also known for its publication of the “Harvard 100”, an annual list of the 100 most prominent living Harvard graduates, which was topped this year by former Vice President Al Gore ’69.