It may be the age of digital media, but around Pittsburgh and much of the country, old-line ink and paper are generating much of the buzz, fueled by a boom in new local and regional magazines.

These glossy, photo-heavy publications such as Whirl, Maniac, Lux, Pittsburgh Quarterly and At Home With Jennifer are devoted to local culture and living the good life, with coverage that is consistently positive and promotional.

And while each has singled out a group of readers -- Pittsburgh Quarterly is targeting community leaders and decision-makers, for example, while Whirl aims more for the society set -- all share common ground. They're designed to appeal to upscale, professional and educated readers with high incomes: their media kits list annual incomes starting in the $75,000 to $80,000-plus range.

It's a segment of the population that marketers covet and that niche magazine publishers contend local newspapers and television can't fully serve. Indeed, many of the publications don't rely on subscriptions or sales to get their products into readers' hands but instead send free copies to specific ZIP codes or leave them in places such as nightspots and hotel and building lobbies frequented by their target audience.

Observers say the push partly reflects a desire by advertisers to better reach their desired market -- they may feel lost in the shuffle when turning to newspapers and other mass media. But a broader issue also is behind this surge in local magazines, says Samir Husni, the University of Mississippi journalism department chairman who has studied magazine publishing and works as a consultant with new publishers.

This regional publishing explosion began after the 9/11 attacks, Dr. Husni said, reflecting people's desire "to feel good about their neighborhood, about their community.'' The new local magazines "balance the negative news they see on TV and in the newspaper.''

Readers view the publications as being "about my own people, my friends, people in town," he said. That's why the stories are generally upbeat and packed with color photos of high-end fashion, furniture and food. They're comforting -- kind of like a print version of chicken soup, Dr. Husni said. "They're always upbeat. You read those magazines and you think you are living in heaven."

Dr. Husni, who has been tracking magazine launches in the United States since the late 1970s, said the new regional publications have been popping up in large, small and mid-sized markets across the country, hitting their zenith in 2006. New launches have slowed somewhat since, he said, but local-regional magazines continue to show "solid, steady" growth.

The husband-and-wife team of Jack Tumpson and Christine McMahon Tumpson started Whirl in 2001. A year into publication, the glossy lifestyle magazine devoted to the local social and cultural scene put Steeler Jerome Bettis on the cover, and that "was the turning point,'' Mr. Tumpson recalls.

"That's when the things started to come together in terms of content and graphics, and when it started to establish its readership. We just took off from there." September's issue echoes the Bettis milestone, with a profile/interview with Steeler Troy Polamalu on the cover.

Whirl is profitable, Mr. Tumpson says, with a staff of 16 and a circulation of 30,000 and a readership of more than 77,000, according to the Whirl media kit. Its mission is "to promote the region in a positive light, to show people out and about, and to express a sense of community. People like that because they're a part of it."

Last year, Whirl Publishing embarked on a new project with former KDKA news anchor Jennifer Antkowiak -- the every- other-month At Home With Jennifer, which is aimed at women. Mr. Tumpson says another publication launch is in the works, although he wouldn't elaborate on what it would be.

He also wouldn't comment on rumors that Tribune-Review publisher Richard Scaife is buying Whirl. Tribune-Review president Ralph Martin denied that sale negotiations were under way, calling it "a myth."

A newer local magazine, Table -- now on issue four -- focuses on food in terms of wellness and nutrition, the buy fresh/buy local movement, tourism, and food quality and trends. To set it apart from other high-end dining coverage, Table doesn't run restaurant reviews, said publisher Christina French.

Ms. French thinks there are misperceptions that underrate Pittsburgh as a food town -- an image Table wants to challenge. "When you're viewed as a thriving food town, that means good things for everybody -- restaurants, tourism, agriculture, nutrition," she said.

Maniac, another lifestyle magazine which turns 4 next month, seeks to challenge another diehard Pittsburgh image, that of a city with nothing to offer young people. Publisher April Hubal launched the publication to target what she saw as a void in the market, something for professionals in the 25- to 35-year-old age group. "Maniac has a core demographic that makes us different from the other broad-based glossy magazines you will find here."

Pittsburgh Quarterly, launched nearly two years ago by veteran journalist and former Post-Gazette business editor Douglas Heuck, explores the region's business and cultural life and aims to appeal to an upscale readership with disposable income.

Mr. Heuck characterizes Pittsburgh as "a very literate city" with plenty of readers who are interested in quality publications and writing. His vision for Pittsburgh Quarterly is to have "a really great regional magazine that is worth the reader's time.''

He also just launched his first issue of The Haute List, a quarterly pocket best-of guide to the city's dining, shopping and leisure resources. It's similar to another new kid on the city lifestyle block, Lux, a pocket-sized guide to urban culture -- entertainment, dining and fashion.

There are other local and regional magazines, including WQED Multimedia's Pittsburgh Magazine, the mainstay city magazine that has spun off several specialty publications, focusing on weddings, home and garden, plus a city guide.

Others target specific neighborhoods, such as Shady Avenue, a quarterly mailed to households in Fox Chapel and Pittsburgh's East End neighborhoods, and Squirrel Hill Magazine, another neighborhood-oriented quarterly. There are also more literary efforts, including Creative Nonfiction, which publishes true stories that employ techniques used by fiction writers and poets, and the online-only literary magazine The New Yinzer.

And there's Pittsburgh Professional, whose publisher Michael Yablonski is a journalist-turned-lawyer who decided to return to his print media roots.

He characterizes his new magazine as a hybrid -- "somewhere between the Pittsburgh Business Times and some of the more established lifestyle magazines." Its target readership is local business professionals -- lawyers, doctors, architects, engineers and other educated career people.

Local publishers acknowledge that at the moment, it's a challenging market. "There are a lot of new publications in our town. There are established publications that have been around for a while," Mr. Tumpson says.

But that's a good thing, he said. "The more publishing activity there is, the more people will become aware of magazines."

Whether it proves a good thing in the long term, however, is doubtful for many of the newcomers.

While there are many new titles launched each year, almost two-thirds of them don't finish the first year, Dr. Husni says, because a new publication typically goes a year or two without making money.

Some advertisers will wait to see how a new venture's numbers are before committing to advertising, said Belinda Yeager Carter, a media buyer with Pittsburgh-based advertising agency The Fitting Group.

But publications with defined niche readerships "are appealing to some retailers," Ms. Carter said, adding it's "probably too early to tell which will make it and which won't" locally.