Ex-SI Exec to Run ESPN Mag

One of the longest guessing games in publishing ended this week with the announcement that John Papanek will become editor in chief of ESPN Magazine, the biweekly sports publication expected to debut in March.

Papanek, a former managing editor of Sports Illustrated, most recently has been senior vice president and editor in chief of New Century Network, an Internet venture owned by nine of the country’s largest media companies.

Several editors reportedly had been approached about the job since the Walt Disney Co. and Hearst Corp., co-owners of cable’s ESPN sports channel, announced plans in May to launch the magazine.

Hearst Magazine Enterprises and ESPN Enterprises had published eight editions of ESPN Total Sports in 1996 before that magazine went dormant in expectation of the new publication. ESPN Magazine, shaping up as one of the most ambitious start-ups in years, will seek to build on the ESPN brand name as it goes up against the hugely successful SI. The latter’s circulation is 3.2 million.