Winnipeg-born entrepreneur Tyler Brûlé, the man behind the influential and stylish Wallpaper magazine, launched a new magazine on Thursday in London.

To be called Monocle, it aims to meet the demand for serious news, with a mix of articles about culture and style and an international outlook. 

Tyler Brûlé says the magazine aims to meet the demand for serious news.
(CBC)

The first issue, weighing in at 200 pages, features a look at Japan's defence forces, a Q&A with the chief executive of Lego and a cultural report about Afghan music.

Brûlé sees the magazine, and its accompanying website, as a product for serious readers, who are tired of celebrity-driven, dumbed-down news.

"I think what people will get when they read Monocle is a truly global title which doesn't live along national boundaries and I think so much media is regionalized today," Brûlé said in an interview with CBC Television.

International appeal

The more indepth, serious approach should appeal to people dealing with multiple cultures, he said.

"If we actually look at travel patterns — you know despite all of the environmental pressures people are travelling more than ever before — and people are living in multiple cities, whether it's for business, whether it's for lifestyle purposes, and I think we want to be a media brand to reflect that."

Monocle came out in London and Europe on Thursday and should be available in Canada, mostly in airport news agents, next Monday, selling here for $12.

"I think this magazine will speak to Canadians as much as it will speak to Australians and Japanese," Brûlé said, adding that it's not just for the jetset.

"This is also for someone who might live up in Scotland or someone who lives in Manitoba who just wants quality coverage as well."

Brûlé, who started Wallpaper in 1996 and sold it the following year for $1.63 million, is well aware of the risk of starting a new magazine, but his forecasts are optimistic.

He expects Monocle will be selling 200,000 copies within six months.