If it bleeds, it leads as Shock debuts

All the dubious pleasures of ogling a traffic accident will be brought right to your newsstand or doorstep as a new magazine called Shock, a North American version of the French Choc, debuts in Canada and the U.S. next week. It's published by Hachette Filipacchi, the world's largest magazine publisher and distributor. Hachette publishes such upscale books as Elle (and partners with Transcon in Elle Canada and Elle Quebec) and Car and Driver.A story about the launch appeared in today's Globe and Mail.

The magazine relies on a lineup of graphic photos dealing with blood, pain and natural disasters, along with celebrities behaving badly. Mike Hammer, the publication's editor-in-chief, who helped launch Maxim in Canada and the U.S. in 1997, said the magazine is intentionally provocative.

"It's a magazine that really has no competitor in the marketplace right now," Mr. Hammer said.