Jack Kliger, president and CEO of Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., has announced the launch of Shock, what he calls a "first-of-its-kind multi-platform media property creating a new magazine category," writes MediaBuyerPlanner. Audiences can get their first Shock experience via the web at www.ShockU.com. The newsstand magazine and digital edition will be available on May 30. Mobile content will be available by the end of June.

Former executive editor at Maxim, Mike Hammer, is editor-in-chief of Shock and calls it the new "Life magazine for the new millennium," writes the Wall Street Journal (subscription needed). According to Hammer, the biweekly mag - set to hit newsstands next week - is "an uncensored view of the world around them." The debut issue features photos of a rotting human head, deformed Chernobyl victims, a woman who set herself on fire and an article on "KKK Kids."

For those readers who don't find the graphic photos appealing, the magazine will have a few celebrity shots. According to WSJ, the publication will likely attract audiences similar to those targeted by lad mags like Maxim, but Shock won't likely have an extensive appeal to advertisers.