Media News

Click here to receive mediabistro.com's Daily Newsfeed via email.

Publisher Tested the Waters Online, Then Dove In (NYT)
The journey beyond print is uncertain and perilous, but the experience of I.D.G., the world's largest publisher of tech newspapers and magazines, suggests it can be done. A privately held company, whose magazines include Computerworld, InfoWorld, PC World, Macworld, and CIO, it appears to have made a profitable migration to the Internet, with revenue from online ads now surpassing print revenue.

The Wealthiest Colleges Should Acquire The New York Times (Chronicle of Higher Education)
Lee Smith: The time has come for the nation's wealthiest colleges and universities to rescue its leading newspapers — resources almost as vital to higher education's purpose as libraries, laboratories, classrooms, and concert halls. The plan I have in mind would call upon the richest institutions to set aside three percent of their endowments to buy The New York Times. That's for a start.

Reader's Digest Revamps, Thinks Global (Mediaweek)
Having chopped its massive rate base by 20 percent to eight million and started selling ads on the back cover, Reader's Digest enters the next phase of dusting off its image. The veteran print brand had updated its logo, fonts, and column names with the January issue, when Jackie Leo was still editor. She was replaced after the parent company went private last year under CEO Mary Berner's leadership.

Adding Runner's World/Running Times to Bicycling/Mountain Bike, Chris Lambiase Is Running and Riding (MIN)
Chris Lambiase is assuming many of outgoing 2003-2008 RW/RT group publisher Andy Hersam's responsibilities reflect the changing times. "Publisher in 2008 has expanded far beyond advertising," he says. "It is marketing the brand, and in Bicycling and Runner's World, we now have an efficient business structure for the premier brands in their respective fields.

Cable Networks Reshape Image (Variety)
An unusually large number of cable networks opted for makeovers this spring, unveiling a flurry of new identities, logos, taglines, and mission statements during the upfront presentations. By the end of those cable meetings, advertisers, and media buyers probably wished they'd earned a dollar — or a stiff drink — every time they heard a network suit utter the phrase "brand reinvention." Multichannel News: Viacom plans to invest up to $100 million in the premium channel it's launching with two other movie studios, and the venture is talking to other potential partners about the new pay-TV network.

George Janson: Print is Not an 'Endangered Species' (MIN)
"I think the most positive trend is that magazines — not only publishers, but also editors — are starting to think of themselves as brand managers and really leveraging their brand in very interesting ways," says George Janson, managing partner and director of print for mediaedge:cia.

More Newsfeed here...