The owners of Ms. magazine say reader response to their plans to resurrect the publication without advertising was strong enough to proceed, but they have delayed its reappearance until late July. The 17-year-old feminist magazine suspended publication last December because of heavy losses and a sharp decline in advertising. In March, plans were announced to resume publication without ads starting in June. But Andrea Kaplan, a spokeswoman for the magazine, said Thursday that the relaunch date now has been set for July 31. She blamed the delay on ``a lot of launch details'' that must be addressed. Lang Communications Inc., a New York-based company that acquired Ms. last fall, previously said that barring ads from the magazine would free writers to pursue topics without worrying about how advertisers might react. But magazine executives indicated earlier this year that resumption of publishing would depend on getting enough people sign up for subscriptions, which were set at $40 a year _ more than double the previous $16 rate. The magazine will appear six times a year, down from 10 previously. Ms. Kaplan declined to say how many people have signed up for subscriptions. She said Chairman Dale Lang and other magazine executives met two weeks ago and decided to proceed. She said the subscription response was ``close to their projections'' and that it was particularly strong from young women just out of college. Industry analysts warned that it would be difficult to generate enough revenue from circulation alone to be profitable, particularly because many other magazines have taken up some of the topics on which Ms. built its franchise with feminists. But Lang hired noted feminist author Robin Morgan as its new editor in chief and she has said the magazine will address topics that have not been explored fully enough in women's magazines. She has cited as examples stories on the role of women in the upheavals in Eastern Europe, homeless women and violence against women. The magazine also will feature fiction and poetry from women and investigative reporting. Ms. founder Gloria Steinem helped drum up support for the relaunch, writing a pitch for the magazine that was included in a March mailing to about 600,000 potential subscribers people, including those who had been subscribing to Ms. when publication was suspended. Ms. Kaplan said the magazine is continuing to solicit subscriptions, and expects a total circulation of ``less than 100,000.'' She said Lang expects to break even on the publication for the first year without advertising.
