Min's B to B articles from April 2003

Min's B to B archives from April 2003

Post-Postal Bill Passing, Rate Hike On Hold Until 2006.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... The latest legislative victory for American Business Media and B2B publishers came last week when the Senate approved a measure that would allow the United State Postal Service to lock in postal rates until at least 2006. The bill, S.380,...

Advanstar Increases Expo Dosage With New Pharmaceutical Events Division.(Advanstar launches pharmaceutical events division)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... In a move to cash in on the budding B2B pharmaceutical industry, Advanstar Communications last week announced the launch of a pharmaceutical events division. Headed by newly appointed conference director Yvonne Honigsberg, the new division will...

B2B Works Bids Farewell to Retiring Founder/CEO Furlong.(Bill Furlong )(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Internet media marketing firm B2B Works last week announced the resignation of founder/president/CEO Bill Furlong (ex-Business Marketing). Executive VP, strategy and client solutions Karen Breen Vogel becomes CEO. The brainchild of Furlong...

Ziff Davis Makes eWeek Over Into Glossy, Trims Circ. 40K.(Ziff Davis Media's eWeek unveils its redesign into an in-house redesign)(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... One of the few Internet business books still standing, Ziff Davis Media's eWeek today (Monday, April 7) unveiled an in-house redesign. Taking the book from a tabloid to a glossy magazine format is just one of the major investments ZD has made...

Box Scores: January Cools Reseller Sector; Vert/Special Interest Books Freeze.(a ranking of the ad pages for several publications)(Illustration)
April 7, 2003... Vertical special interest titles tracked by CMR took a beating in January, as ad pages (-32.51%) and ad spending (-27.61%) were KO'd. Winners were few and far between as Scientific American (+33.77% ad pages/+30.58% ad revenues) and United...

Electronics Titles Off to Slow Start in January (-14% $$$).(Illustration)
April 7, 2003... A January lull in advertising due to war worries and a shaky economy short-circuited the electronics sector as ad pages (-13.85%) and ad spending (-14.17%) dimmed. One-time high flyers such as PennWell's Lightwave (-67.69% ad pages/-64.40% ad...

Engineering Sector Buckles Early in '03 (-12% $$$).(Illustration)
April 7, 2003... CMR's engineering sector headed south in January as ad pages (-7.00%) and ad spending (-11.99%) dipped. Top titles such as Reed Business Information's Design News (-27.90% ad pages/-35.17% ad revenues) and Penton Media's Machine Design...

Editor's Note: CMR Methodology for Reporting Box Score Data.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Please note that ALL classified and affiliated ads as well as not itemized advertising are excluded. For your information the following ads are considered Not Itemized advertising: * All advertisements less than 1/9 of a page, in a standard...

B2B People: Movers & Shakers.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Cygnus Business Media promoted 17-year fire and emergency services vet Bill Hershman last week to publisher of Firehouse Magazine... Yvonne Honigsberg (ex-Institute for International Research) joins Advanstar Communications as conference...

CMP's Nelson Focused More & Less On Nurturing Network Books.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... With CMP Media's Network Magazine publisher Karla Johnson recently let go and replacement Bill Howard leaving soon after her departure on medical leave, CMP Network Computing publisher Fritz Nelson is now doing double-duty as publisher....

Stock Watch: Wall Street Wins on War News, B2B Media Up Too.(statistical list)
April 7, 2003... With war worries abated, investors returned to B2B Media as all but troubled Reuters () finished up for the week. Still topping the charts with nowhere to go but up was Penton Media (+15.60% FTW, $0.74/+8.80% YTD) followed from afar by...

Primedia's Rogers is On the Ropes With Contract Set to Expire At Year-End.(Tom Rogers)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Speculation that Tom Rogers' reign as Primedia CEO may be coming to an end reached a fevered pitch last week as The Wall Street Journal (April 11) reported that controlling shareholder Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. was considering letting...

Consolidation/Competition Drives Legal M&A Market; Thomson Buys.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... While most B2B media firms sit on the M&A sidelines, Toronto-based Thomson Corporation (2002 revenues: $7.8B) went on a recent shopping spree purchasing legal publisher Andrews Publications from Haights Cross Communications for an undisclosed...

... As West Also Adds Elite Legal and Financial Management for a Cool $122M.(Thomson's West, Elite Information Group)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Additionally, Thomson's West also recently purchased legal and financial management solution provider Elite Information Group for $14 a share, or roughly $122M. Elite joins West as part of the newly formed Thomson Legal & Regulatory market...

Whitestone Report: War Will Unleash Pent-Up M&A Activity; Q1 Down 11%.(mergers and acquisitions)
April 14, 2003... Worries of terror, war and a weak economy spilled over into 2003 as Whitestone Communication's Who's Buying Whom report released last week shows M&A activity among B2B publishers/trade show producers remained in a slump. (See chart below.) The...

Box Scores: Aero/Defense Books Bomb in February; Government Sector Soars.
April 14, 2003... Imminent war proved not enough to lift the CMR-tracked aerospace/defense sector spirits in February as ad pages (-17.90%) and ad spending (-21.75%) plummeted. COTS Journal (+6.97% ad pages/+5.87% ad revenues) joined Military & Aerospace...

Developer Titles Ad Pages/$$$ Dip Deeper in February.(computer software periodicals )
April 14, 2003... War and the economy continued to weigh on the developer sector in February as ad pages (-22.39%) and ad spending (-23.97%) suffered double-digit setbacks, per CMR. All books bombed except BZ Media's SD Times (+25.64% ad pages/+16.39% ad...

February Freezes CC/Info. Systems; Computer Sector Split.
April 14, 2003... CMR's corporate computer/information systems sector was downsized once again in February as ad pages (-12.02%) and ad spending (-13.14%) ran deficits. Due to continued contraction in IT spending, top titles such as CMP Media's InformationWeek...

Ahead of the Enterprise Ad Curve, PBI Launches Satellite Business Solutions.(PBI Media)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... While some B2B publishers have pulled back during the ad recession--either closing books or suspending launches--others have decided to cast their content net wider with complementary books in an attempt to snag the evermoreelusive marketing...

Saddam, Spiders and Tech Weirdness Befuddles B2B Traffic in Dismal February.
April 14, 2003... The shorter February is a natural slump month for traffic under the best of circumstances, but we are guessing that the warm-up to war had a lot to do with some of the double-digit dips we are seeing in this month's New Media Box Scores. (See...

Stock Watch: Investors Ignore B2B Media As War Winds Down.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... With war abating, investors once again turned their attention to the weak economy, sinking B2B media as stockwatch finished with four up and eight down for the week. Able to escape the fray were Primedia (+7.20% FTW, $2.39/+16.00% YTD), Alan...

Primedia's Prolonged Financial Pain Pushes CEO Rogers to Resign...(Tom Rogers steps down)(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... It appears Primedia chairman/CEO Tom Rogers' (ex-NBC) reign came to an end sooner rather than later as he announced his resignation last week citing "differences" with the company's board of directors and more importantly controlling...

... As B2B Insiders Bet For And Against Possible Primedia Sale.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... Meanwhile, B2B sources speculate that with the departure of Rogers may also come the eventual sale of Primedia in piecemeal or whole. "They were looking at selling when Reilly was there," says a source. (At the time of Reilly's departure the...

Penton Execs Pack Plenty of Pay in Terrible 2002; DJ's Kann Takes Cut (-30%).(Penton Media and Dow Jones & Co. Inc.)(Illustration)
April 21, 2003... Last year brought mostly bitter news for the B2B media companies tracked in this week's min's b2b executive compensation survey. Even so, four of the five top Penton Media brass might be plenty content with compensation for fiscal 2002 (see...

Venture Reporter/Rising Tide Buy Broadens Wicks Business...(Wicks Business Information makes purchases)(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... Wicks Business Information began bulking up once again with the acquisition of the Venture Reporter database/magazine and related Rising Tide Studio from media investment house MCG Capital for an undisclosed sum. The deal adds to WBI's stable...

... While Manoni Returns to Buy & Build Strategy at WBI.(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... Manoni, who put WBI on the market late last spring only to reconsider three months later (min's b2b, 8/12/02) after continued B2B market/economic pessimism failed to produce bids in the $200M-$300M "asking price" range, understands the...

Box Scores: Healthcare/Pharma Titles Fly High (+37% Ad $$$) in February.(Illustration)
April 21, 2003... One of two CMR sectors bucking the current ad recession trend (foodservice is the other; see below), healthcare pharmaceutical titles soared in February as ad pages (+34.50%) and ad spending (+36.61%) climbed by doubledigits. Top moneymakers,...

Foodservice Books Weather Economic/War Storm Fine in February.(Illustration)
April 21, 2003... The typically recession-proof foodservice sector rang up ad pages (+8.04%) and ad spending (+13.80%) in February, per CMR. Even so, top titles proved mixed as Lebhar-Friedman Inc.'s Nation's Restaurant News (+8.05% ad pages/+12.67% ad revenues)...

B2B People: Movers & Shakers.(personnel changes)(Brief Article)
April 21, 2003... VNU's Billboard recently named Keith Girard (ex- The Washington Post/ CNN) to succeeds the late editor-in-chief Tim White (ex-Rolling Stone/Crawdaddy)--min's b2b, 7/10/02... Ziff Davis Media promoted Sloan Seymour senior VP/enterprise group......

Stock Watch: Investors Stock Up on B2B Media Pass on Penton.(Illustration)
April 21, 2003... As Wall Street began tallying Q1 earnings, B2B media was a winner once again as all but Penton Media (-21.60% FTW, $0.40/-41.20% YTD)--which continues to remain well below a buck--and VerticalNet (N/C FTW, $0.73/-13.20% YTD) moved higher....

Hanley-Wood Continues to Build With Public Works Book Buy.(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... B2B media construction company Hanley-Wood announced the acquisition of Ridgewood, NJ-based Public Works Journal Corp. last week for an undisclosed sum. Brokered by media bank DeSilva & Phillips, the deal--expected to close Wednesday, April...

Canon Buys Chem Week Pubs As Netburn Focuses on Franchise Titles.(Canon Communications buys titles from Chemical Week Associates)(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... Speaking of VSS, medical and healthcare equipment publisher Canon Communications (part of Fund II) recently acquired 78 year-old Modern Plastics (circ. 53K) and Modern Plastics International from Chemical Week Associates (part of VSS Fund III)....

ABM Spring Meet Has Execs Looking for 'New Directions' Down South.(American Business Media spring meeting)(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... Hoping that maybe some of that antebellum charm will bring better luck for B2B media this year, nearly 300 executives are packing their bags and heading south to Savannah, GA next week (May 3-7) to attend American Business Media's Spring...

Even in Down M&A Market, The Deal Dons New Look and Feel for Mag.(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... While most B2B media companies were figuring out how to put print publications on the Web, The Deal LLC was doing just the opposite. Exhibit A is the recent upgrade of six-month old The Deal (circ.43K) to "full-glossy" magazine status. Once a...

LePage to Lead IDG's Mac Publishing...(Rick LePage appointment)(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... International Data Group's Mac Publishing division last week named Rick LePage president and editorial director of MacWorld. LePage (ex-Creative Pro.com) replaces Colin Crawford. Once wholly owned by IDG, MacWorld (circ.400K+) became a joint...

... As Sextro Joins Intertec Alum at Ascend.(Darren Sextro becomes Ascend Media's director of corporate communications)(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... Elsewhere, B2B newbie Ascend Media, which recently purchased casino gaming publisher and event producer Atwood Publishing/GEM Communication (min's b2b, 3/10/03) named 16-year publishing vet Darren Sextro (ex-Intertec) as director of corporate...

PBI Premiers Electronic Gaming Business; IDG's GamePro Hits 'Sweet Spot'.(PBI Media)(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... If IDG's monthly GamePro (circ. 518K) is anything of a barometer, one category not being crushed by the current ad recession is gaming. Profiled in last week's launch of Electronic Gaming Business--the new biweekly newsletter from min's b2b...

Engineering Sector Ad Pages (+3%)/$$$ (-2%) End February Mixed.(Illustration)
April 28, 2003... Thanks to a shortened month, engineering titles tracked by CMR in February ended an ad page (+2.45%) drought and ad spending (-1.97%) finished near flat, even as the manufacturing sector stumbled early in 2003. Biggest building books, such as...

Eye On New Media: ITWorld.com Looks for Leads to Profitability.(Accela Communications opens 3 new sites)
April 28, 2003... B2B Webcaster and ITWorld.com publisher, Accela Communications opens three new sites this month; each trying to funnel the IT audience more effectively into solid sales leads for advertisers. Wireless.ITWorld.com, Security.ITWorld.com, and...

Editor's Note: min's b2b Moves to New Downtown Digs.(Brief Article)
April 28, 2003... Beginning today, Monday April 28 min, min's b2b and PR News will be located at: 110 William Street, 11th Floor New York, NY 10038 Email addresses (aderico@pbimedia.com) remain the same. Phone: 212.621.4877 and fax: 212.621.4879...