Urban lifestyle publication Honey Magazine, which has had something of a tortured history, is back again, but in a new format: Honeymag.com, slated to go live in Q109, will blend fashion, entertainment and other content (including video) with social-media features from as-yet-unlaunched sister site TheHiveSpot.com. Parent company Sahara Media Holdings, Inc. actually rolled out a version of Honeymag.com in June 2007, though it mostly served as a central hub for about 35 blogs.

Founded by Harris Publications, Honey Magazine changed hands a few times. Vanguarde Media acquired it in 1999, then ceased publication when it filed for bankruptcy in 2003 (via NYT). Sahara Media picked up the brand for $600,000 in 2005, and has since invested about $3.4 million into Honey and its proposed digital offshoots like Honey Hair and Honey UK. Honey had attracted well over 1.5 million readers before its demise—and Sahara plans to leverage the former subscriber database to help entice online advertisers. Major competitors in the space include Glam Media’s Black Life division (headed by a former Sahara Media exec) and Vibe magazine offshoot Vibe Vixen.

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