Sports Magazine Set for Summer

Trinity Publishing Group of Tulsa will begin publishing a western Arkansas edition of High School Sports: The Magazine on July 1.
Austin Chadwick, editor-in-chief of a group of four HSSTM’s in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Little Rock and Springdale, said the magazine taps into two focused niche audiences: 40- to 50-year-old parents and 14- to 18-year-old students.
The group plans to publish about 20,000 copies each month for western Arkansas, which will also be distributed in the Fort Smith area. Existing magazines in Tulsa and Oklahoma City already print that quantity, Chadwick said. The magazine’s target size is between 70 and 80 pages per issue to start (Tulsa’s averages 80 pages).
The business plan calls for an eventual 50/50 mix of advertising and editorial, he said.
The full-color slick, magazine is free and will be distributed at advertiser locations as well as Harps grocery stores, White Oak Stations and area McDonald’s locations.
Former Shiloh Christian quarterback Rhett Lashlee is the market manager for western Arkansas.
HSSTM is a franchisor started by Chadwick and other partners, but is now owned by Kevin Hern of Tulsa, along with the Oklahoma and Arkansas territory magazines. Other franchises have been purchased in Wichita, Kan., and Indianapolis. Startup costs run between $150,000 and $250,000, depending on the size of the market, Chadwick said.