Tag Archives: Magazine industry
Oregon Business launches real-time news stream
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Oregon Business has launched the first online real-time stream dedicated to business news on its website, OregonBusiness.com.
The service will deliver statewide business and economic information in real time, editor Robin Doussard said. Oregon Business is the nation’s first business publication and first magazine to use Nozzl Media’s proprietary real-time streaming technology.
News content for BUSINESS NEWS NOW will come from more than 350 content sources, including news organizations, private and public companies, economic-development agencies and colleges and universities in Oregon, in addition to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The real-time technology, provided by Portland-based Nozzl Media Inc., will stream news updates to the home page of OregonBusiness.com as they are posted to the Internet. An optional filter will allow users to tailor what they want to see.
“The continuous news stream in Business News Now provided by Nozzl Media will be invaluable to readers who want to know the news before it hits the news websites,” said Doussard in a statemenrt. “Nozzl’s groundbreaking technology allows readers access to the root sources of business information in Oregon.”
Read more here.
Florida Trend named top regional biz magazine
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Florida Trend has been named the nation’s best regional business magazine by the Alliance of Area Business Publications.
The Associated Press reports, “The magazine won the ‘Gold Award’ in the AABP’s annual competition. It also won eight other awards including, best cover for its February 2009 issue; best feature and best overall design.
“The annual AABP Editorial Excellence Awards competition recognizes excellence in journalism, photography and design achieved by regional business publications. Judges are faculty members from the University of Missouri School of Journalism.
“Florida Trend, a monthly magazine, has a readership of 150,000 people for each issue.”
iPad sales robust for Wired
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Wired has sold close to 73,000 iPad downloads — almost as many copies as the magazine sells on the newsstand — in the past nine days, which has boosted its advertising, reports Matthew Flamm of Crain’s New York Business.
Flamm reports, “July’s ad pages will be up 28% and August’s more than 50%, according to the magazine.
“The turnaround comes after a devastating 2009 and two lackluster years preceding it.
“‘A year ago, we thought [the tablet] was going to be our big digital bet, and we just went for it,’ says Editor in Chief Chris Anderson. He adds that the magazine became an early evangelist for the iPad’s possibilities, and that his team produced four test editions before launching with the June issue two weeks ago.
“Ad pages had been on the rise before the first demonstration of the Wired tablet prototype at the high-profile Technology Entertainment Design conference, known as TED, in February. But once Mr. Anderson and Wired Publisher Howard Mittman started their road shows with advertisers, the iPad edition became a calling card.”
Read more here.
Settlement reached in magazine dispute
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A court battle between the co-founders of a Western Maryland business magazine has finally been settled, writes Chris Huntemann of the Gaithersburg Gazette.
Huntemann writes, “Harby Tran of Frederick originally filed a petition in July of last year to dissolve Smart Company Magazine LLC of Hagerstown. The defendant, co-founder RidgeRunner Publishing LLC of Hagerstown, countersued to prevent Tran from publishing a rival business publication, 270inc Business Magazine of Frederick. RidgeRunner also sought $500,000 in compensatory damages.
“However, the terms of the settlement include an agreement by both parties to no longer publish under the name Smart Company in the future, according to a statement. Tran will also convey his interest in Smart Company Magazine LLC back to the company and continue to publish 270inc.
“Further terms were not disclosed. Tran’s attorney David S. Greber of Frederick said they are ‘very pleased with the outcome’ but he declined further comment.”
Read more here.
Cape Cod biz journalist resigns
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Cape Cod media figure Glenn Ritt has stepped down from his position as co-publisher and contributing editor of Cape & Plymouth Business magazine, writes Sarah Shemkus of the Cape Cod Times.
Shemkus writes, “Johnson, Ritt and Viamari founded Cape Business magazine in 2004. They later added Plymouth County Business to the company’s lineup. In September 2009, they merged the two magazines into a single publication: Cape & Plymouth Business.
“Ritt was largely responsible for the content of the company’s publications. Since his departure, editor Joy Jordan has been taking over this role, Viamari said.
“‘We have a great group of people working for us, and we give those folks an awful lot of responsibility,’ he said. “Joy is really leading us on the content side.’”
Read more here.
Lane Report focuses on Kentucky business
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Ed Lane, the founder and publisher of the Lane Report, a monthly buisness magazine in Kentucky, talked to Mark Green of the magazine’s staff about its founding on the 25th anniversary of the publication.
Here is an excerpt:
MG: How did it become a monthly publication?
EL: American City Business Journals started Business First of Louisville, and that piqued my interest because our firm received so much positive feedback about The Lane Report. I started thinking perhaps we could start a business newspaper in Lexington. I did call in a consultant who suggested a city of at least one million was required for a business newspaper. Our consultants suggested that we convert The Lane Report from an economic profile to a quarterly business magazine. The first year we published quarterly, the second year we came out six times, and the third year we went monthly.
MG: Did you have specific long-term expectations or goals for The Lane Report?
EL: I thought the magazine would be a valuable tool for our community – a good source of business information and a demographically targeted advertising medium. But The Lane Report has grown quite a bit more over the last 25 years than I initially expected. Our editorial coverage went statewide in 1997. Our reporting touches every part of the state, and the response from our readers has been very enthusiastic. People really like to read our magazine, and advertisers invest because it’s a very cost effective way to reach the top leaders in Kentucky.
Read more here.
Consumer Reports releases paid mobile service
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David Kaplan of PaidContent.org reports that Consumer Reports has released a paid mobile service that offers its take on products and services.
Kaplan writes, “The new service is free to the roughly 3.2 million ConsumerReports.org subs who paid the $26 annual fee (or at least the $5.95 single month charge). Non-subs can sign up for 24-hour or 30-day access for $.99 and $4.99 respectively, which will be charged to their wireless bill.
“The release of the new mobile platform should assuage users of the free CR app on the iPhone. A number of users who gave the app one or two stars complained that there was no way to search for products—something that tended to cause particular consternation among those who tried to use the app while trying to make a purchase in a store.
“The CR mobile service includes all the usual categories of the main site including cars, appliances, electronics, home & garden and kids. through any mobile device with Web access. Users can access Ratings, reviews, video (via iPhone and Android phones), product comparisons, poll results, buying advice, user reviews, brand reliability information, the latest news, and blog posts. In addition, users can also sign up to get product safety and recall alerts via text messages.”
Read more here.
Florida biz magazine to cease publishing
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The Maddux Business Report, a monthly business magazine in the Tampa Bay area, will publish its last edition with the June issue, according to a story in the Tampa Tribune.
Michael Sasso writes, “Carlen Maddux, president and owner of the St. Petersburg-based magazine, said the downturn in advertising has hit the publication hard. Its cash flow has been ‘alright’ recently, but as he was making projections for the rest of 2010, he decided the situation potentially could get much worse, Maddux said.
“The magazine had just seven employees, including Maddux, because many of its articles were penned by freelancers. The magazine has a circulation of about 14,000.
“For now, he’s a little unclear about his company’s future, he said.
“Maddux won’t do a full-scale online magazine, because he hasn’t found a business model that works – a problem that plagues even much larger news publications.”
Read more here. Maddux was a former St. Petersburg Times reporter before starting the magazine in 1984.
A brief on the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s site states, “Maddux intends to publish its Tampa Bay Corporate Guide at the end of May, a joint effort with the Tampa Bay Partnership and its member organizations. It was one of several annuals published by the magazine along with others in partnership with the Westshore Alliance, the Tampa Downtown Partnership, and the Florida High Tech Corridor Council.”
BusinessWeek's ad campaign: Hey, we're a business weekly
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Robert Andrews of PaidContent.org writes Tuesday about Bloomberg BusinessWeek‘s new ad campaign, which promotes the weekly business magazine as…a weekly business magazine.
Andrews writes, “The campaign also includes issuing sample magazines in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Spain; and sticking ads on taxis in London and Frankfurt from May 4.
“The campaign as a whole is running across Europe, U.S. and Asia and is designed to woo advertisers. The announcement says there are now ‘greater opportunities for advertisers’ and the mag is also the lead sponsor for a book, Campaign Cannes Global Power Book, which delegates of the big Cannes Lions advertising fest will receive during the show in June.
“Accordingly, Businessweek has published its own ad rate card on a microsite that’s being promo’d in the ads — $115,600 for a one-pager in the global edition.”
Read more here.
Biz magazine performance better, but still down in first quarter
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TALKING BIZ NEWS EXCLUSIVE
Business magazines continued to see their advertising revenue and pages decline in the first three months of the year, but at a slower pace than in 2009, according to an analysis of Publishers Information Bureau data by Talking Biz News.
The sector also performed better than the overall magazine industry
The 14 business magazines reported a decline 7.7 percent in ad pages for the quarter. That compares to a 9.4 percent decline for the overall magazine industry. (The data excludes ad pages from Conde Nast Portfolio and Fortune Small Business, both of which closed in the past year.)
In comparison, ad pages declined in business magazines by 28.7 percent in 2009.
The publications that performed the best included Inc., which saw a 17.8 percent increase in ad revenue and a 15.4 percent increase in ad pages, and Wired, which reported a 20.1 percent increase in ad revenue and an 11.2 percent rise in ad pages.
Fast Company reported a 16.9 percent increase in ad revenue and a 10.5 percent in ad pages, while Barron’s reported a 13.3 percent jump in ad revenue and a 7.5 percent increase in ad pages.
The worst performing business magazines during the quarter were the big three — Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Forbes and Fortune.
BusinessWeek reported a 17.8 percent decline in ad revenue to $27.9 million for the quarter, and an 18.7 percent decline in ad pages for the quarter to 210.49 pages.
Forbes reported a 15.6 percent drop in ad revenue to $46.9 million and a 20.3 percent decline in ad pages to 341.68 pages.
Fortune reported an 11.4 percent decline in ad revenue to $33.6 million and a 16 percent drop in ad pages to 265.63 pages.
Overall, the magazine industry reported a 3.9 percent decline in ad revenue. The 14 business magazines reported a 6.4 percent decline in ad revenue in the first three months of the year. Last year, the business magazines reported a 21.7 percent decline in ad revenue.
See all of the data here.
