Wilbekin named GIANT editor-in-chief; Fontaine takes Radio One digital post

(February 28, 2008) Emil Wilbekin, award-winning former Editor-in-Chief of Vibe, has been named as Editor-in-Chief of GIANT Magazine, a publication owned by Radio One, Inc. GIANT is a leading urban entertainment lifestyle bi-monthly magazine that celebrates the best of music, film and fashion.

Mr. Wilbekin (above) will succeed Smokey D. Fontaine, who is being promoted to Chief Content Officer, overseeing content for Radio One's new digital and cross-platform initiatives. [Target Market News reported yesterday that Barry Cooper had been hired by Radio One's REACH Media unit as Vice President of Interactive.]

Mr. Wilbekin is best known for his work at Vibe as Editor-in-Chief, where he helped build the franchise from publishing to multimedia. During his twelve years at Vibe, Mr. Wilbekin garnered the 2002 National Magazine Award for General Excellence, helped build circulation to 825,000, and produced the first annual "Vibe Awards" on UPN. Mr. Wilbekin has also worked as Vice President of Brand Development at Marc Ecko Enterprises and consulted for Sean John, AXE, and Microsoft.

"Emil is one of the superstars in the magazine business," said Alfred C. Liggins, CEO and President of Radio One. "He is ideally suited to take on this role and build on the terrific work Smokey Fontaine has done growing the GIANT brand. We are thrilled to have him on our team."

In his new position, Smokey Fontaine, who has served as GIANT's CEO and Editor-in-Chief since 2006, will focus on the development and execution of Radio One's new digital strategy while working with Mr. Wilbekin on cross-platform initiatives for the magazine.

Prior to GIANT, Mr. Fontaine was the founder of america, the world's first urban luxury publication. Mr. Fontaine also has extensive experience online, serving as the Senior Producer of Entertainment for HBO's Volume.com.

"Smokey has done a terrific job making GIANT what it is today," said Mr. Liggins. "As Radio One ramps up its online strategy and as digital becomes a critical growth engine for our company, I have asked Smokey to oversee the development of our content and product strategy online, while continuing to help develop the GIANT brand both off and online."


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