DISNEY A PARTNER IN US ENTERTAINMENT MAGAZINE ALLIES WITH MEDIA EMPIRE.

Byline: Jesse Hiestand Staff Writer

BURBANK - Stepping into the arena of entertainment reporting, The Walt Disney Co. said Tuesday that it will co-publish Us Weekly with Wenner Media in a deal making the magazine a major presence on Disney's ABC network and Internet sites.

For all its vast media holdings, Burbank-based Disney did not have a publication celebrating stars and Hollywood until it bought a 50 percent interest in the weekly glossy from Wenner, publisher of Rolling Stone and Men's Journal. Those two titles will remain independent of the partnership, as will Disney magazines like Discover, Talk and ESPN The Magazine.

Disney has ambitious plans to feature the magazine on its Internet sites and ABC network, using reports from Us Weekly correspondents on ``Good Morning America,'' ``The View'' and newscasts by ABC-owned television station.

The new venture, Us Weekly LLC, was announced Tuesday by Disney Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael Eisner and publisher Jann Wenner in New York, where the magazine will continue to be published under its current management.

``Jann Wenner is a master publisher who created Rolling Stone magazine as a voice for an entire generation,'' Eisner said in a statement. ``The new entertainment publishing company should benefit tremendously from the powerful combination of Jann's insights, the Us Weekly brand and Disney's media assets.''

At a press conference, Eisner denied this was a tit-for-tat move to counter the reach of more dominant People magazine from Time Inc., which is now part of the AOL Time Warner Inc. empire.

Jeffrey B. Logsdon, an analyst who covers both Disney and AOL Time Warner for Los Angeles investment bank Gerard Klauer Mattison & Co., said there is no reason to expect AOL Time Warner to immediately step up the co-branding of People.

``That's really an opportunity that Time Warner has already had because of their WB network,'' Logsdon said. ``They have not found it particularly interesting to do more tie-ins. I'm not sure it's a priority for them.''

The Disney/Us Weekly partnership is clearly in both's benefit, he said, and is all the more valuable because it required only a limited capital investment from Disney. Disney declined to say how much it spent.

As part of the planned tie-ins, ABC Radio networks will feature daily Us Weekly-branded entertainment features, while SoapNet will do the same on its soap-related program service.

Despite the partnership and cross-promotion, Disney spokeswoman Christine Castro insisted that Us Weekly would maintain its editorial independence.

``Jann will still be the owner. It will have the same editorial staff,'' Castro said. ``Editors are typically very careful to not be seen acquiescing to a partner or parent company.''

Still, the publisher expects to see benefits. ``We look forward to working with Disney in maximizing their marketing expertise and unique ability to cross-promote through their businesses to help make Us Weekly the leading brand name in entertainment publications,'' Wenner said.

Us Weekly started as a bimonthly in 1977 and was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986. It started publishing weekly in March 2000 and over the years has gone from 38th to 15th place overall in annual newsstand sales and seventh among weekly titles.

Disney has been publishing since 1930 and is the world's largest producer of children's books and magazines, moving more than 375 million copies each year.

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Photo: (color) Publisher Jann Wenner, left, and Disney CEO Michael Eisner shake hands after announcing their partnership Tuesday.

Beth A. Keiser/Associated Press