Hello! Canada and Maclean's hurry out Michael Jackson tribute issues

[This post has been updated]In a bid to stay on top of the wave of interest in the late Michael Jackson, Rogers Publishing's Hello! Canada is out on the streets three days early with a "special tribute issue" containing 44 pages on the pop star's personal and professional life. It's on the newsstands in Southern Ontario today and rolling out across the rest of Canada by Thursday.

This is the first time in its short history that the magazine has accelerated its publishing schedule to meet anticipated reader demand, according to a company release.

"I heard the shocking news on Thursday night, while I was away," says Hello! Canada editor-in-chief Ciara Hunt. "I came back earlier than planned to begin the mammoth task of creating a totally different magazine. The whole team really had to pull together and work quickly, but the end result is a gorgeous tribute to the king of pop."

[UPDATE: Maclean's magazine wasn't even intended to publish an issue this week, after a double issue last week. But with Jackson's death, a special 72-page edition was rushed together in less than two days.

"It really was a challenge to put together this 72-page issue when we weren't expecting to go to press this week," says Julie Osborne, associate publisher in a release. "However, as Canada's national newsmagazine, we thought readers would look to Maclean's for some perspective on Michael Jackson's life and death. The result is something spectacular, something we are truly proud of."