New York Post Online Edition: JUSTICE Magazine

IT'S TURNSTILE JUSTICE

By KEITH J. KELLY
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April 27, 2005 -- Media Ink

JUSTICE Magazine, the new true-crime title, that debuts on the longest day of the year (June 21) will be sold in Wal-Mart stores nationwide.

It's something of a coup for a start-up title to be carried on the racks at the nation's largest retailer. "We're locked and loaded," said Randall Lane, the president and editor-in-chief, who's promising advertisers he'll sell 250,000 copies of the bi-monthly.

The launch has a star-studded lineup of columnists: Marcia Clark, the lead prosecutor on the O.J. Simpson case, will write a consumer advice column called The Advocate; and Mark Geragos, defense attorney for Scott Peterson and until he got the boot, for Michael Jackson, will co-write the Opening Arguments column with Nancy Grace, the ex-Atlanta prosecutor who has her own CNN Headline News show and frequently subs for Larry King on his show. Also included will be former FBI man Joe Pistone, who was immortalized by Johnny Depp in the 1997 movie "Donnie Brasco" about his years undercover in the mob.



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Bravo and Hearst Entertainment are partnering for a new documentary series based on the New York Daily News.

Bravo, which brought us "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," said it has inked a deal to produce six one-hour episodes, based on the inner workings of the Daily News. The show should be able to answer once and for all: Does the new Editor-in-Chief Michael Cooke doze off during the morning editorial meeting — giving new meaning to the term "Daily Snooze."

Said one source: "He zones out. It's hard to tell whether he's actually asleep or not. He has a Zen-like expression on his face." A Cooke defender inside the paper insisted that Cooke "only fell asleep once."

A spokesperson at Bravo offered "no comment" on that vital question. Of course, Bravo already missed the biggest drama of the year when the News' Scratch n' Stiff scandal erupted after it printed the wrong winning numbers for the bingo-card contest.

The show is scheduled to debut some time next year. There should be plenty of drama ahead as Cooke, the British-born editor, tries to remake New York's struggling "hometown paper." Of course, Cooke might want to take better care as to where he holds his business meetings. Our spy recognized him enjoying a drink — or three — at Aquavit on Sunday evening. There the "Cookie Monster" told a trusted aide the Snooze's pagination department is "a disaster."

The reporters at the Police Shack might also want to watch out: The Cookie Monster said that the Snooze is getting beat on crime stories. And he also offered that the columnists may have to get used to the idea of getting by on less.



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Silvano Machetto, who is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Village media hot spot Da Silvano's on Sunday night, will have more than one reason to celebrate. His wife Marisa Acocella, whose cartoons have appeared in The New Yorker, just sold her graphic memoir, "Cancer Vixen" to Knopf.

Many of the restaurant's regulars, including Nan Graham of Simon & Schuster and Bill Shinker of Gotham Books, tracked down the cartoonist author through the restaurant after reading about her in Glamour and the New York Times.

Publishers Weekly said Acocella snagged a cool $250,000 for the book, which is a cartoon version of her successful battle against breast cancer, set against a backdrop of the media elite who frequent the restaurant. It attracted a wide audience of bidders, including Bloomsbury and Rodale, but it was ultimately won by Sonny Mehta at Knopf.

kkelly@nypost.com