Two former Sun journalists who have launched a lifestyle magazine in Leeds are now looking to launch more titles in other cities across the country.
Feature writer Mark Bowness and photographer Simon Wilkinson have now produced three issues of free magazine Beyond Leeds since August and claim advertising has gone up by 200 per cent in that time.
Bowness came up with the idea for the quarterly mag after returning to his home town of Ilkley last year.
He said: "When I moved back to Yorkshire I had a look at the market and was staggered at the number of lifestyle magazines on offer in the region.
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"And while a number of them appeared to be generating good revenue through advertising, there seemed to a lack of quality, both journalistically and photographically across the board.
"I thought that if we could produce something with Fleet Street cutting edge, bring in some celebrity interviews and raise the standard of photography, we would stand a chance."
The pair have already taken a leaf out of legendary Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie’s book by telling a potential advertiser that he is banned from reading the mag after he pulled a double- page advert in protest at their association with the Wapping red-top.
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The first edition splashed with an exclusive Patsy Kensit interview in which she talked about her life in Yorkshire.
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