Those of us on the editorial side of publishing sometimes don't have the clearest picture of how things operate on the business side. If you've ever wanted to learn more...or if you hope to land a promotion to management...then consider taking this one-day course at New York University.
NYU's "Business of Business-to-Business Publishing" course promises to explain controlled circulation and advertising sales to the uninitiated.
The course also promises to explain how trade magazines differ from consumer magazines in "substantive ways" including "editorial content." That worries me. Look: There are obvious differences between the two styles of writing. For example, most B2B writers use industry jargon with abandon (a practice I abhor, by the way.) But when I hear claims that the differences are "substantive" -- ("We're not the Wall Street Journal, you know.") -- it's usually part of an argument that trade magazines not be held to the same standards as the mainstream press.
And I will always object to such arguments.
