HOLLYWOOD - Reader's Digest, the Lawrence Welk of journalism, gave its old-maid image a hyper-shot of adreneline today by teaming with Penthouse Magazine, that venerable men's entertainment publication, to create a large print, easy-to-read magazine. "All the features so beloved in both magazines will be here, except they'll be larger," said Bradleys Roadhouse, Editor of the new joint venture. "For instance, 'Laughter, the Best Medicine,' 'Humor in Uniform,' the breasts -- you name it." "We thought that the men's publication industry had forgotten all about us old timers," lamented 86-year-old Sean Cannon. "Everything's so small, it's impossible for us old timers to ahh -- read the biographies of the girls." So Reader's Digest/Penthouse to the rescue. "This," said Cannon, holding the new magazine, "literally saved my life."
How has the audience of historically staid Reader's Digest reacted to this merger? Bradleys Roadhouse noted that there haven't been any boycotts yet. "Most of RD's audience consists of older females who've never heard of Penthouse, so it will be a little while before they catch on to what we've done," he chuckled. "But when those old gals get the new magazine home and remove the brown wrapper, they're going to have a heart attack."
