More from the world of paper media: Monocle, the new magazine by Wallpaper* founder Tyler Brûlé, hits news-stands around the world today.

With a mix of business news, world affairs, culture and design, Monocle looks and feels like a heavyweight cross between The Economist and National Geographic.

The 244-page launch issue features a cover story about the surprise existence of a Japanese navy, a report from Mexican boomtown Ensenada (above) and an analysis of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's dress sense in a regular slot called "Style Leaders" (below).

Below is Monocle's launch press release:

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"Created for an audience that existing media models currently ignore, Monocle is a global media brand that combines print, web and broadcast components. At its core lies a monthly magazine delivering original coverage in global affairs, business, culture and design. Sitting alongside will be a web-based broadcast component delivering bulletins, mini-documentaries and talk formats.

"Monocle will be published from a London hub and from launch will have editorial bureaux in New York, Zürich and Tokyo. Staffed by an editorial team of 22, the team has been drawn from the Independent, BBC, The NewYork Times and a host of other international news organizations. Printed in the UK, the magazine will focus its distribution in Europe, Nor th America and the Asia-Pacific region.

"Monocle is as much aimed at the Spanish banker living in London as the Finnish architect in Zürich, the Canadian lawyer in Hong Kong, or the Brazilian gallerist in Tokyo; readers who probably don’t live in their country of bir th, whose work takes them to several different countries a week and who thought they had outgrown news and business magazines as we currently know them.
"Well-educated and well-heeled, Monocle’s audience consists of opinion-formers who crave a world view rather than a domestic rendition, a global current affairs brand that is not US-based, and a print component which is focused on delivering the best writing, photography and production in an original, quality format.

"Free of PR-driven content, celebrities (enter tainment, business or otherwise) and the low-grade production values that have become the norm in many “news and information" titles, Monocle will deliver an intelligent take from territories less covered and corners rarely explored. From a less obvious approach to global affairs coverage to business pages that are just as interested in the small and crafted, as they are in the massive and muscular, Monocle’s words and pictures will be delivered by an international team of established and emerging writers, photographers, illustrators and film directors.

"Staying true to Brûlé’s roots, Monocle will be distinctive through its mix of smar t journalism, international awareness and razor-sharp design. Coupled with online and broadcast elements, Monocle will build an hourly, daily and weekly relationship with its readers to create an opinionated and predictive package that can be accessed anywhere in the world, at any time.

Monocle will be published 10 times a year and distributed worldwide with an initial print run of 150,000. A completely separate entity to Tyler’s creative agancy Winkreative, Monocle is financed by an international consor tium of private investors and will be published from London by Winkontent, the editorial and broadcast arm of Winkorp AG, Brûlé’s Zürich-based holding company."