Awards and honors in B2B media

I missed a few things of interest while I was away last week.
1.) There was more acquisitions news, as my friends David Shaw and Paul Woodward reported.
2.) Trade association American Business Media announced the winners of its B2B advertising awards. (I had been looking forward to actually seeing the winners, but no one yet has seemed to think of putting the ads on the Creative Excellence in Business Advertising Web site or linking to them from the ABM press release.)
3.) And, most interesting to me, Folio announced its Dream Team of the best minds in magazine publishing.
Remarkably, I didn't make the list. But I'm sure that's only because Folio didn't have a category for best-looking consultant. But I'm not going to complain, because Folio did agree with my nomination for best editor-in-chief in B2B publishing -- Whitney Sielaff of National Jeweler. Longtime readers of this blog know I'm a fan of Whitney's work and an admirer of his career. The Dream Team honor is well deserved.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, advertising

Writing with words, talking with pictures

Last week, while on vacation, I stood on a street corner in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, waiting for the light to change. And I was shocked to find that I was staring at an electronic sign that said "Don't Walk." Perhaps much of the country still has those things, but it has been ages since I've noticed one. I've grown accustomed to the graphic version, popular around the world, where a red hand tells me not to walk and a white outline tells me I'm free to cross. I'm not even shocked anymore when I find an artist here in New York has modified one of the graphic symbols.
But pedestrian directions in word form surprised me. It seemed old-fashioned, silly.
I thought of that again this morning as I read about an exhibit at the Science, Industry and Business Library of the New York Public Library about differences in advertising from medium to medium. Among the more notable observations is that online advertising -- more visual than radio or TV -- has more in common with print ads than it would first appear, using visual wit and "grabby graphics" to capture attention. At the same time, one lesson of the exhibit is that "the best online ads are not only visual but also kinesthetic."
There's a lesson here not only for the folks in the advertising department, but for editorial types as well. Interactivity, movement, graphical representations and visual presentation are the hallmarks of compelling online storytelling. Dropping text on a Web page does not create an online product. It's just a jarring reminder -- like a "Don't Walk" sign -- that things are out of date.
For a look at someone who understands the visual world of online storytelling, check out the beta version of CNET's redesign.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, advertising

Time for change, time for a break

For reasons that I'll probably never fully understand, I still live my life on an academic calendar. Perhaps it's a function of being raised in Boston, where each September brought thousands of new students to town. I never much cared for summer. It was too hot. And even as a child, summer seemed wasteful. Summer, it seemed, was for the less bright, the less ambitious.
But autumn was something else entirely. The city filed with students. And Boston seemed as full of promise as they did.
I left school a long time ago. But summer still bores me. And each September leaves me craving change, a new start. In the Septembers since I left grad school, I have moved seven times, started four new jobs and launched two businesses.
And as much as September leaves me yearning for something new, it also points me back toward the past. I miss New England in the fall. I want to be home in September, to see leaves of changing colors.
This year is no exception. Come morning, my love and I are heading out for vacation. We're driving north, leaving Brooklyn behind, and heading to the Berkshires. We'll do some hiking, sleep outdoors and take measure of what is important. It's September, when my year starts, and I'll begin anew in the mountains of New England.
Just a few days ago, I severed ties with OPIS, a publisher of B2B newsletters. It is September, after all, and time for change.
When I return in a week, my working life will be new. I'll be doing more consulting with Chief Marketer, an online product owned by Primedia Business. I'd done some work on that project in the past, but I've now been given the opportunity to increase my participation.
In the meantime, I don't expect to post much, if anything, to this blog.
I'll talk with you all again in October.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters

More on B2B journalism and Katrina

There has been considerable -- and well-deserved -- praise given to the mainstream media for its coverage of Hurricane Katrina. In particular, the tale of the Times-Picayune has captured the attention of the nation.
Industry watchers say Katrina may be remembered as a turning point in American media. The storm may have renewed mainstream media at the same time it introduced citizen media to millions of consumers.
But also worth noting is the response to the storm of B2B media.
As discussed here and here, the world of business-to-business publishing has tried to lend a hand to those affected by the storm. And most every day I hear word of other programs from trade publishers aimed at helping out.
I'm glad to see such kindness from our industry. And I applaud everyone who has gotten involved.
And I'll also take this opportunity to applaud Firehouse.com for its coverage of the storm. Take a look at this blog and the accompanying slideshow about an editor's journey with a rescue squad. And ask yourself if Katrina may also be remembered as the time when B2B journalism learned to embrace the immediacy of citizen journalism.
(FULL DISCLOSURE: Firehouse is owned by Cygnus Business Media. This summer I had the opportunity to teach a two-day seminar at Cygnus. Some of Firehouse's staff attended those sessions. But I can't take credit for anything the magazine has done in the wake of Katrina. The folks at Firehouse had a solid understanding of the potency of online storytelling long before they met me.)

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, advertising

Stealing stories

Every reporter knows what this is like: You break a big story. And the following day some rival organization takes your story, confirms it, and then publishes it as its own.
In daily newspapers, it's often the local TV station that "steals" stories and doesn't give credit.
In the B2B press, it's often the mainstream press that does the stealing.
And although I have heard a lot of reporters over the years complain about the practice, I've never seen anyone fight back until now.
Look at what Rafat Ali says about how the Wall Street Journal is taking stories from his PaidContent site and not giving credit.
The answer to this problem -- just as it is the answer to many of journalism's problems -- is transparency. If we can all learn to be more open about how we work, we will all wind up producing more truthful and professional work.
If you're unclear about how to attribute a story that someone else broke, use the phrase "was first reported in," as seen here and here.

ADDENDUM. 9/22: As reported in Cyberjournalist, the Wall Street Journal has seen the error of its ways.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Changes at ICIS; changes for me

Reed Business' ICIS unit is rebranding its Chemical News and Intelligence service and adding coverage of the oil industry. The news operation, now known as ICISnews, has reporters based in London, Houston, Singapore, Shanghai, Moscow, Buenos Aires, Washington and New York.
It's a little unclear to me how much of the service is actually new. Chemical News and other Reed properties have been global players for quite some time in the chemical world. Reed's Chemical Market Reporter has been around for more than 130 years. And Reed already publishes some newsletters about petroleum product prices. Nonetheless, the new ICIS does seem to be offering something that the old Chemical News service did not -- daily news stories from around the globe about the petroleum industry.
That's good news for journalists. The new ICISnews may offer some interesting job opportunities for B2B reporters and editors. It's also good news for traders and others in the petroleum business, because information is vital in a market where a move of a penny can cost millions around the globe.
But it's bad news for those companies that already cover the petroleum industry -- notably Reuters, Platts, Pennwell and OPIS.
Now this is normally where I would disclose my ties to newsletter publisher OPIS, as I have in earlier posts. But those ties were severed just yesterday.
I'd been arguing that OPIS was vulnerable to new competition because its products were old-fashioned (the electronic publications are text only), often shoddy (many OPIS products are published without being edited) and unprofessional (in-house ads are run inside of news copy.) But I failed in my attempts to impose some of my beliefs about quality B2B journalism. First and foremost, I failed to convince the company of the need to edit copy. So OPIS and I have parted ways.
Now it would certainly be fun if I could say that ICISnews is exactly the sort of threat to OPIS that I envisioned. But that wouldn't be true.
ICIS will compete against OPIS in some limited areas, including feedstocks and crude oil. But ICIS isn't going after the core of OPIS' revenue -- news and pricing data from the wholesale gasoline market. OPIS is nearly all alone in that niche. Although a few competitors have risen over the years, they've been other Mom and Pop operations (sometimes started by OPIS employees) with similar less-than-stellar products. OPIS has beaten them back.
But I remain convinced that some new competitor will emerge in that space -- most likely someone such as Reed that is already the benchmark player in similar markets -- and take advantage of OPIS' weaknesses.
In the meantime, I'm off to new challenges. I'll post more about those in the next few days.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, advertising

New plans, new media, new Web

I've spent some time in recent days feeling nostalgic for my time at CNN.fn.com, the online business-news site that is now known as CNN.Money.com. I was a producer there in the early days of the Internet boom. I worked with a slew of exceedingly bright people and we created some remarkably good work.
I've been thinking about the past because of an announcement about the future -- Time Warner plans to combine all of its business magazine Web sites into a single property under the banner of CNN.Money.
The move makes sense in at least one way -- editorial operations will be run by CNN.Money, which is a far superior site to anything else in the Time Warner universe.
And the consolidation was predictable, because Time Warner's Web operations continue to be roiled by corporate infighting. The purchase of AOL created open warfare among executives looking to control the conglomerate's new media offerings. There has never been peace. And it seems to me that battles are often fought solely for executive glory. So the latest decision may be nothing more than the result of corporate warfare; the new CNNMoney may prove to be an unmanageable mess held together, temporarily, by some leader's will and arrogance -- a sort of post-war Yugoslavia for the Internet.
Interestingly, Time Warner says the move is driven by advertising. And I'll confess to being confused by that. Take a look at what Prescott Shibles, the smartest guy who ever worked for me, thinks about Time Warner's ad plans.
But while I was reminiscing about CNNfn and contemplating the future, I had a thought worth exploring that may shed some light on what Time Warner is doing.
I worked the late shift at CNNfn, taking over the site a few hours after the markets closed in New York. I started my commute into Manhattan at around 3 p.m. or so, and just before I left my apartment each day I "synched" my Palm Pilot using a software system called AvantGo. The software would drop all of CNNfn's stories into my PDA. And I'd read those stories on the train. By the time I arrived at work, I was up to speed on everything we had covered around the globe while I slept.
Today I think of that software as an early warning of what I think now is a fundamental shift in information distribution. As I've written before, content is separating from its containers. RSS, podcasting, etc. are indicators of a new world where content moves outside the confines of a single Web site, magazine or device.
In this new world, a Web site becomes less important than the individual pieces of content that once lived on it. And thus, for someone like Time Warner, it becomes less important to operate a series of Web sites for each of its brands.
Instead, it may make more sense to consolidate all the content on a single site -- knowing that even that lone site is likely to grow less relevant with time -- and work on ways to distribute, monetize and brand content that moves across platforms. In other words, Time Warner may be making the exact right move -- dumping a bunch of unneeded Web sites and moving electronic content under the control of the smartest Web guys at the company.
For Businessweek's take on the new culture of the Web, click here.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Journalists as entrepreneurs

I've been talking for awhile about the competitive threat that B2B publishers face from their own staff. As I've said here and here and here, the tools of citizen journalism enable everyone to be a publisher. A journalist no longer needs a middleman to communicate with an audience.
And it looks like at least one major player in media shares my belief.
According to a post on the ASBPE Boston Blog, Tony Silber, editor and publisher of Folio magazine quoted me in a recent speech in which he predicted that entrepreneurship will be the next publishing trend. (Thanks Tony!)
Now the simple truth is that there are lots of people in this industry who don't listen to me. And that's fine. Not that I'm ever wrong. But on very, very, very rare occasions, I've been less than fully correct.
But not listening to what Tony has to say would be a move of remarkable stupidity. So my guess is that business-to-business publishers may now start to pay more attention to what citizen journalism means for them.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, entrepreneurial journalism, standalone journalism

Rex, some magazines and Katrina

Magazine executive and blogger extraordinaire Rex of Rexblog has "adopted" a magazine publishing company that has been displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
Romney and Charley Richard are the publishers of "Louisiana Cookin'" as well as a B2B publication called "Sugar Journal." And they were forced from their home and offices by the storm.
Rex is looking for volunteers from our industry to help in the efforts to keep the magazines operating. Rex has created a site called keepcookin.org about his plans (although the site couldn't be reached when I tried this morning. If it's still down when you try, you can also reach Rex through Rexblog or his business site.)
For some other assistance efforts by B2B publishers and journalists, look at this earlier post and the comment section.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, advertising, louisianacookin, keepcooking.org

More suggestions on journalism ethics

I'm really starting to think that B2B journalism is making some progress on ethics. I was pleased to see the topic is on the agenda at ABM's "Top Management Meeting," scheduled for Nov. 14-16 in Chicago. Rance Crain, president of Crain Communications, is hosting a one-hour session called "Editorial Integrity: Under Assault?" On the dais with Crain are Terry Evans, associate executive editor of Home Channel News; Pat Panchak, editor-in-chief of IndustryWeek; and B2B media's ethics hero -- Whitney Sielaff, editorial director and publisher of National Jeweler.
I'm afraid I won't be there. But I'd urge any of this blog's readers who can attend the meeting to make an effort to get to the ethics session.
Regular readers of this blog know that I've written quite a bit of late about ethics. I've published my thoughts on how to handle unethical requests by coworkers or advertisers.
I've applauded ASBPE for its decision to update its ethics guidelines, and did the same several months earlier when ABM issued its new guidelines. I've condemned the gross violators in our industry, and pointed with disgust at the unethical types who claim to lead us.
I'd like to think that my discussions of integrity in B2B journalism have some value; I'd like to think that my opinions have some influence. That's why I'm going to make a suggestion to the folks on the panel in Chicago (and to the board of ASBPE as it reworks that group's guidelines.).
No doubt much of the talk in Chicago will be about the blurring of lines between advertising and editorial. And I thank you for that in advance. I applaud any discussion aimed at recommitting B2B publishing to a clear line between those two worlds. I've spoken to too many journalists of late who face growing pressure from the dark side.
But I'm also going to ask that the panelists take on one of the trickier areas in B2B journalism ethics: the use of anonymous sources. I'm convinced that we are doing damage to our reputations through the casual and unjustified use of anonymity. And it's not a problem we can blame on the advertising staff.
I'll also ask that the panelists give some thought to the difficult area of reporting on our own companies -- for time and again I find that otherwise good companies stumble by confusing press releases with news, and by cutting corners for themselves that they wouldn't cut for others.
And I'll suggest that the answer to both problems can be found in the post-objectivity movement and Dan Gillmor's work on transparency.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, journalism ethics,
advertising

Video clips for B2B news sites

Short-form video offerings -- brief clips of news or entertainment content distributed via the Web -- "are booming," according to the Wall Street Journal. The article suggests that as broadband penetration rises, the online medium becomes more video friendly.
More importantly, technology has put video production -- once the sole domain of those with TV studios and millions of dollars worth of equipment -- in the hands of everyone. Just as blogging means that anyone can now be a publisher, vlogging means that anyone can produce a TV newscast.
Some B2B publishers understand the potential.
You can find video offerings on CMO's Web site. CNET has tons of video. And Variety offers videos as well, although the publication recently downsized that department.
But most of our industry seems not to have noticed that video production has suddenly become easy and inexpensive. That's disappointing, but not surprising. Regular readers of this blog know that I have complained again and again that much of our industry doesn't seem to have a clue about even the basics of multimedia storytelling.
If you're a B2B journalist, it's well past the time for you to master multimedia skills -- if for no other reason than to increase your pay.
If you want to see one version of the journalist of tomorrow, keep your eyes on what Yahoo and Kevin Sites will do.
And if you want to see the video clip -- strange, lovely, addictive and otherworldly -- that I've been playing compulsively the past few days, click here.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Layoffs at CXO diminsh all of B2B publishing

Now this is discouraging news.
Some 10% of the staff at CXO Media have been laid off, according to Folio magazine.
Layoffs are always bad news. But CXO is the parent of CMO magazine -- which may be the best publication in B2B. I love CMO. And I'm not alone; the magazine has been a big winner in B2B journalism awards this year.
CXO is also the parent of CIO, a magazine I adore nearly as much as CMO.
And CSO, winner of three Neal Awards from ABM this year, is also a CXO property.
So I'm left more broken-hearted by these job losses than I would be by almost any other layoffs anywhere in B2B journalism. For the lesson here is unpleasant -- excellence doesn't protect us.
Granted, CXO says the job cuts are part of restructuring aimed at refocusing on growth areas -- including online. And I tend to agree with strategies that emphasize online over print. Also, Folio says editorial jobs "remain largely untouched" by the layoffs. And that's certainly good news. But other folks on the creative side, including people in the art department, have lost their jobs. I would imagine that every one of these people is talented. CXO's products are lovely, remarkable and extraordinary. And I would imagine that each of them will find new jobs soon.
But that doesn't lessen the loss to our industry. I fear we may be losing something rare and inspirational.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

B2B journalism and Katrina

Three times yesterday people asked me what the B2B publishing industry was doing to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
And I had to admit that I had little idea.
That may be because I haven't been paying attention. Or it may be a question of public relations -- some publishers may be taking action, but failing to issue a press release for fear that a public-relations statement would seem ... tacky.
For example, one company that I work with is taking steps to "adopt" a family left homeless by the storm. But the plan is being implemented quietly.
On the other hand, some B2B publishers with clear links to the recovery effort have been very open in their actions. Cygnus' Firehouse.com and Pennwell's Fire Engineering both serve the search and rescue community. Both sites are awash in Katrina coverage and links to charities.
I notice that the Magazine Publishers of America have published a page of ways to help. And ASBPE has a link to the Council of National Journalism Organizations, which is organizing help for journalists who were displaced by the storm.
And I've seen some individual efforts by some of the publications and bloggers that I follow on a regular basis. MeetingsNet, for example, has done interesting work related to New Orleans' convention industry.
If you're interested in helping, start by looking at Prescott Shibles' blog. He has links to finding banner ads for the Red Cross for your site and some discussion of what publications at the former Primedia Business are doing to help the storm's victims.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, advertising

The buying and selling of B2B

I can't keep up anymore.
It seems that everything in B2B publishing is for sale. And what isn't for sale was just sold a few days ago. And anything that hasn't been sold or isn't on sale is looking to buy something else.
Stamats has picked up a new property, according to BtoB Magazine.
101Communications is on the block, according to Folio.
Advanstar just bought some trade shows a few weeks after selling some magazines.
And VNU Business is thinking about a sale too, according to the Deal.
Of course it was the same group that owns the Deal that just bought Primedia Business.
The pace of all this seems ... somehow... too frantic. I believe with all my heart that this is a wonderful time of change in our industry. I'm excited by things such as participatory journalism, standalone journalists, RSS feeds and post-objectivity ethics.
But I'm also nervous. I fear that at a crucial time for our trade, too much attention is being paid to short-term returns.
There is, of course, the additional concern that the sudden arrival of a slew of B2B properties on the market may hurt values. Or, as my friend and fellow B2B blogger puts it: "Can the market bear another large overall deal?"

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, entrepreneurial journalism, standalone journalism

The ugly truth about ugly sites

John Maeda, a professor at MIT's Media Lab, has a new column at Businessweek about design. In today's column, Maeda wrote about a type of trail marker he came across while hiking. I was struck by this line: "The key is to provide the hiker, the user, or the viewer with enough -- but not too much -- information."
I wish that everyone with responsibility for a B2B journalism Web site would spend some time on that same trail, and digest that same lesson about simple design. Because perhaps the most consistently embarrassing thing about our industry is the preponderance of truly garish Web sites.
Take a look, for example, at Cleaning and Maintenance Distribution. The site is an exercise in visual overkill -- blinking ads, poor color choices and non-intuitive navigation. Putting aside the editorial issues -- advertorial copy in the news hole, lack of a feedback function -- and there's only one thing you can say about this site.
It's ugly.
And it's not alone.
I've written about sites that are just ugly, and I've written about sites that seem to not have a clue. And I remain perplexed as to why so much of what B2B publishers do on the Web is so amateurish.
If you're interested in what does and doesn't work in Web design, take a look at the work of Jakob Nielsen and read the Eyetrack study.
If you'd like to see an example of good design from a trade publisher, check out CMO Magazine.
And please take a look at brandchannel -- perhaps the loveliest B2B site on the Web.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Your readers are remixing your Web site

Unless you are younger or hipper than the average guy working at a trade magazine, you probably haven't paid much attention to remix artists. But now you have to.
Remix artists take existing work and redo it in a fashion more to their liking. The most well-known example is the "The Phantom Edit," in which a remix artist re-edited the Star Wars film "Phantom Menace" to remove the annoying character Jar-Jar Blinks. Perhaps more interesting is DJ Dangermouse's "The Gray Album," which combines the Beatles "White Album" with Jay Z's "The Black Album."
Remixing has also captured the attention of Web programmers. And there are now plug-in applications available for the Firefox browser that allow readers to see your site the way they want to see it, not the way you want them to see it.
Wired has an interesting article on the enabling technology, known as Greasemonkey, and some of the applications. B2B publishers should take a look. Greasemonkey lets users circumvent two of the major revenue sources of online publishing. First, by downloading a Greasemonkey script I can avoid seeing the ads on your page. Second, I can download scripts that offer up alternatives to any e-commerce applications on your site.
This is powerful, compelling stuff. And publishers ignore it at their peril.
Content is separating from its containers.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, advertising

When advertising lays an egg

When advertising is poorly done, it's bad news for the editorial department.
Cheap, stupid ads don't serve the advertisers' needs. And that can lead advertisers, publishers and salesmen to put pressure on editors to do something inappropriate to help. I've been watching this scenario play out for decades now. When an editor tells me that he's being pushed to help an advertiser by writing a puff piece, etc., I ask to see the ads that the company runs. Inevitably, I find that the company is using the dumbest, lamest, most amateurish ads you can imagine. Sometimes the ads are done in-house by the advertiser; sometimes they are done in-house by the publisher. But whatever the source, the problem is the same -- the ads suck.
That's why I believe that big companies with skilled marketing departments and creative ads aren't what threaten editorial ethics. It's always the little guy -- the little, dumb guy -- who makes outrageous and unethical demands.
I've argued that the best defense against such things is the use of compelling advertising. And perhaps B2B publishers need to invest in hiring more talented people to create ads for their customers.
Or, perhaps B2B publishers should hire less talented and creative people to create ads. Maybe the problem is too many people trying too hard to create serious ads. Take a look at this remarkable commercial. (Thanks to Adrian Holovaty for finding this thing in digital form.) Then ask yourself the following vital questions:
1) Does content have to be professional and well-done in order to be compelling and effective?
2) Is someone at my publication -- whether it be a salesman, support staff or the publisher -- helping advertisers to produce work that works?
3) If that thing is Eagle Man, why is it laying an egg?

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, advertising

Good association, bad association

Given the recent debate on this blog and elsewhere about ethics policies and B2B journalism, I asked Paul Heney, president of Trade, Association and Business Publications International, if we could expect an ethics guideline from TABPI. Paul's response gladdened my heart.
"TABPI does not have an ethics policy of its own, but that is one project slated for the summer/fall time period ... I plan on working with some of our overseas partners to see what the range of ethics policies are in the U.K., Australia, South Africa, etc. ," Paul wrote in an email. "I would imagine that TABPI will play more of a role of endorsing one or more ethics policies (not just in the U.S., of course) and providing some links to different samples from various countries."
Furthermore, Paul said he had "agreed to be sort of a silent partner" and work with ASBPE as it rewrites its ethics policy.
Longtime readers of this blog know that I have a soft spot for TABPI because the group calls me a "b2b champion, full of interesting information. Not afraid to tell it like it is." And I'm so tickled by that description I'd put it on my business cards if I wasn't afraid it would make me blush.
And although I shouldn't have to say this, I will -- I didn't pay for that mention and link on the TABPI site.
I mention that because of the actions of another trade association that claims to represent journalists.
I received an email yesterday from Patti Wysocki at the Newsletter & Electronic Publishers Association. I'd asked NEPA if that group had any plans for an ethics guideline. I found Patti's response less than encouraging.
"Our board of directors has voted not to have a code of ethics at this time. It has been considered several times during my 20+ year tenure here and every time we have concluded that we don't want to enforce a code of ethics and remove members who don't follow the code," she wrote.
Now I'd argue that enforcement is a separate issue. Ethics guidelines are guidelines, not laws. And not having an enforcement policy is not an excuse for not having an ethics policy.
I hope that NEPA will reconsider its decision. And it appears that is possible. "I would not rule it out for future discussion," Patti wrote.
But let me be frank. I don't anticipate that NEPA will do the right thing. Here's why:
Perhaps the most common ethical lapse in B2B journalism is disguising advertising content as editorial content. And not only does NEPA not tell its members not to do such things; NEPA does it itself.
Look at NEPA's homepage. On the left hand side you'll see a link for recommended suppliers. Click through, and you'll arrive at this list.
I have no doubt that many of the companies on that list are wonderful outfits worthy of recommendation. But that's not how they got on the list. NEPA doesn't review the suppliers. NEPA doesn't choose one competitor over another. Companies get on the list by paying to be on the list. If you pay a membership fee, you're placed on the recommended list.
I asked Patti about this, and suggested that NEPA was blurring the lines.
She disagreed.
"We are a membership organization. Those suppliers listed on our Website are members. They don't pay specifically to be listed on the site," she said.
Now perhaps I'm too rigid. Perhaps I'm naïve. But I find that reasoning grotesque.
It doesn't matter what NEPA chooses to call it -- a membership fee, a promotional fee or an advertising fee. It's all the same. The list is clearly a collection of paid links. And paid links must be marked as such.
Here's what ABM's guidelines say about such things: "Hypertext links that appear within the editorial content of a site, including those within graphics, must be solely at the discretion of the editors. Links within editorial should never be paid for by advertisers."
Over on the left-hand side of my blog, you'll see some links marked Trade Press Resources. I've had a link there for NEPA since the day I launched this site. But by the time you read this post, that will be gone.
That may not be much of a gesture. But it's the least I can do. I can't possibly recommend that any journalist use NEPA as a resource for anything.
On the other hand, if NEPA would like to see the link returned, the group can send me a check. Don't think of it as an advertising fee. Let's call it membership dues.
For more on ethics, look at this earlier post and the comments section.
For Folio magazine's look at ASBPE's decision to revamp its guidelines, click here.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, advertising, newsletters

More on sources interviewing us

Last week I wrote about how citizen journalism has given new powers to reporters' sources -- allowing them to go public with their complaints about a story. The old saying about not picking a fight with anyone who buys ink by the barrel is no longer valid in a world where everyone buys by the barrel.
Today Steve Outing at Poynter points to another example of a source striking back at what he deemed unfair treatment in the media.
I agree with Steve -- this is a welcome development. By being more accountable to our sources, we become more accountable to our audience. In a post-objective world, transparency is the key to credibility.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Standalone journalism and the small niche

Now here's something interesting -- a blog dedicated to covering a single company. (Thanks to Steve Rubel for pointing it out.)
I've been warning B2B publishers for awhile that their biggest competitive threat comes from their own staff and sources. The tools of citizen journalism allow anyone to be a publisher at next-to-no cost. And it's inevitable that talented people will emerge with compelling products to steal readers and advertisers from traditional B2B offerings.
I'll even go so far as to make this prediction -- we will soon see a slew of standalone, online, B2B publications being run by recently retired journalists. Those folks who have been working in your newsroom for 10, 20 or 30 years will no longer have to surrender a lifetime of industry knowledge when they walk out your door. Veteran reporters have always had value; now they can monetize that value themselves.
If you're a publisher, ask yourself honestly, what's to stop someone from your editorial staff from starting a product like the one above? Or one like this?

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, entrepreneurial journalism, standalone journalism

Edweek revamps Web site, will limit access

Edweek.org, the Web site for Education Week and Teacher Magazine, is moving to a paid-subscription model. For details, and an explanation of the reasoning behind the move, check out this post at the American Press Institute's Media Center blog.
Among the more interesting items is that Edweek expects the change to lead to a drop in readers, and thus to a decline in advertising revenue. To compensate, the company says it plans "to increase the number of advertisements on most of our pages." If you have a hard time following the logic of that, you're not alone. One person posted a comment suggesting that "it's not so easy to increase ad dollars."
More interesting, at least to me, is that the publisher plans to add blogs and RSS feeds to the site.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, advertising

The changing roles of journalists

My fellow B2B media blogger David Shaw came across an interesting piece about the role of journalism in the enthusiast press.
In brief, the reporters at a gaming magazine read Jay Rosen's provocative essay about journalism education "Things I Used to Teach That I No Longer Believe," in which the New York University professor looked at how citizen journalism, technology and post-objectivity ethics were changing journalism.
The reporters at GameDailyBiz then asked themselves what those same changes meant for their niche in the media world.
Take a look at their conclusions. And ask yourself those same questions about B2B media.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Look! It's a Web site!

I've been so disappointed so many times of late when I see a press release that a B2B publication has redesigned its Web site. More often than not, the new site is sheer idiocy. There are no links, no graphics, no feedback function and no multimedia capability. It's just black words on white space. In other words, there's nothing about the product that indicates that anyone who worked on it has a clue about how the Web works. There are no break-out boxes, word chunking or subheads to indicate that anyone who worked on it has any idea of how people read on the Web.
Then I heard that CMP had redesigned some sites.
I took a look. And my heart soared.
Now don't get me wrong. These sites aren't perfect. But at least they speak the language of the Web.
For example, take a look at CRN's new site. Click on one of the main stories, and you'll see that there's a feedback function at the bottom that allows readers to post comments. There's some video content on the home page, and there are links to five in-house blogs. Take a look at one of those and you'll see external links (I'd like to see external links in the news copy too, but I'll take what I can get.)
Check out sister sites Channelweb and VARbusiness and you'll see similar functions (and a cleaner design.)
None of the things CMP has done are revolutionary. Yet combined they make for a compelling online product.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Measuring and using RSS feeds

By now, regular readers of this blog know that I really like CMO magazine. And frequent readers know that I urge publishers to consider the possibility that RSS feeds are the first step toward a new world where content is separate from its container.
So now that CMO has published an explainer on RSS, I have to point to it.
Much of the article is about using RSS as a way to deliver advertising. I'm not convinced this will work. Nor is CMO, which notes that "RSS lacks standard performance metrics." But I have no objection to trying it, as long as publishers behave ethically.
But for consumer of news, RSS is "a no-risk proposition," according to CMO. If you aren't using RSS to organize your information sources, odds are you're not working as efficiently as you could.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, advertising

When sources write about us

Blogging and the other forms of citizen journalism are about the audience communicating with the media. The one-way lecture style of old-school journalism is yielding to a new, two-way conversation. I applaud this development. I am thrilled by it.
But I also recognize that as the audience finds it voice, the audience will find it has little need for a middleman.
And in B2B media -- where the audience by definition has specialized expertise -- I expect this newly empowered audience to become media competitors.
Yesterday I pointed to just such a threat.
Now BusinessWeek points to a similar phenomenon -- a source, armed with a tool of citizen journalism (a blog) and the core ethical value of the blogosphere (transparency), bypassing the journalist.
I applaud this development as well. Because I believe it will help force journalists to be more fair, more transparent and more professional.
For awhile now I've been suggesting that journalists consider posting their unedited notes, interview transcripts, etc. on the Web. I think that makes for a more complete, and thus more ethical, story.
Besides, as BusinessWeek points out, if you don't, someone else will.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, conversational media

Blogging tradeshows; competing with sources

Tradeshows -- self-contained, short-lived and full of sources, products and events -- are the ideal places for B2B publishers to try blogging. Shows only run for a few days, and the culture of a tradeshow is all about new products. So why not experiment?
The people-filled floor of the tradeshow is an endless supply of material for interviews, videos, audio, etc. And the real-time style of the blogosphere is an obvious improvement upon the old tradeshow daily newspapers. Primedia Business has had some luck with this, as was noted by Folio magazine. And it seems that tradeshows have become the center of blogging world in B2B...perhaps because of the large numbers of people who blog about the tradeshow industry itself -- including TSMI, Expophile, Tradeshow Blues and MeetingsNet.
So a post on TSMI last week that sang the praises of a particular blog about a tradeshow caught my eye. Take a look, and take a look at the blog in question.
The blog isn't flawless (for example, I hate seeing the over-the-top marketing phrase "Xtreme" used to describe anything that does not involve the possible loss of life.). But it deserves credit for being experimental and creative. There are photos. There are audio files. There are comment sections. There are a few well-turned phrases in the copy.
But what should grab the attention of B2B journalists is that the blog was produced by volunteers at the tradeshow, not by journalists. In other words, it's one more example of the traditional sources of B2B media becoming producers of B2B media. I've been predicting a surge in such source-produced content. And the arrival of such new forms of competition from the people and companies we rely upon for information should worry us.
As an aside, I also think tradeshows are the ideal setting for experiments in what I call immersion journalism. But so far, no one has taken me up on that idea. On the other hand, marketers continue to develop similar applications to sell products.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, advertising

More on the direction of directories

Another publisher seems to agree that directories -- those revenue-rich, phonebook-sized B2B guides -- have a future in print.
Lebhar Friedman, owner of Chain Store Age, is publishing two new directories for retailer buyers. "2006 Buyers of Women's and Children's Apparel" and "2006 Buyers of Men's and Boy's Apparel" are available online, on CD-ROM and in the old-fashioned, paperweight versions that I love.
I've said before that I'm more confident about the future of print directories than I am about the future of many other print products.
But there's only one way to know if I'm right. Here's hoping that Lebhar Friedman or some other B2B publisher will share the sales figures for the various versions of their directories.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Unethical advertising, unprofessional behavior

I suppose things will get worse before they get better.
AdAge has an interesting piece on the growing push by marketers to blur the lines between editorial and advertising. And if we're to believe this article, then part of the move toward unethical behavior is driven not by advertisers, but by publishers.
Take a look at this disturbing section of the article: "Magazine publishers, intent on offering unique programs to attract advertisers, have begun presenting their share of ideas, said Julie Roehm, director of marketing communications for Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler. 'We’ve talked about it several times and had all the big publishers in,' she said."
Ad Age says that the push for product placement in editorial has become so pervasive that the American Society of Magazine Editors is "finding it necessary to confront the issue more fully with more clearly worded guidelines to spell out its position."
Bravo for ASME.
The American Society of Business Publication Editors is also planning to update its ethics guidelines, as discussed here.
ABM updated its code of ethics in March, and the new document is quite clear in its call to divide advertising from editorial.
However, while ABM's guidelines are clear and professional, this post on ABM's blog is something else entirely.
I'm not sure exactly what ABM's spokesman was trying to say. The writing is less than clear. But I think it's fair to read the post as an attack on ASBPE. That's unfortunate. And I was pleased to see that Ira Pilchen, ASBPE's treasurer, responded in a comment on the ABM site.
Look -- there are hundreds of journalists in B2B media who have fought for decades to be treated as professionals, to work with dignity and pride. Holding the line between ad and editorial has been a tough battle for trade journalists -- far more so than in the mainstream press. That battle is getting tougher.
We have never needed the support of our trade associations -- ABM, ASBPE and TABPI -- as much as we do now.
This is a time for the associations to stand together with each other and with us. This is a time for all of us to applaud each and every attempt by an association, a journalist, a publisher or a salesman to do the right thing.

tags: advertising, journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Sources from hell

If you've been in editorial for very long you've had at least one encounter with a crazy source. You know the type -- foul-mouthed, paranoid and none-too-bright. These folks tend to be consumed with the need to try and control their press coverage.
My all-time favorite lunatic was a guy who insisted that I had no legal right to write anything about his company (a publicly traded transportation company) unless he approved it. Of course I ignored him. And about every week or so he'd leave a nasty message on my answering machine threatening to sue me for violating something he called "business reputation privacy rights."
I had another source -- a transportation analyst -- who grew erratic and paranoid. He eventually took to issuing reports via FAX that accused reporters of working with FBI agents to hand control of U.S. markets to terrorists.
But it seems like I had it easy.
According to the New York Post, Patrick Byrne, the CEO of Overstock.com, has "routinely fired off profane and belligerent e-mails to analysts and reporters with whom he disagrees." Byrne has taken to complaining that many reporters have joined with a group of 1980s-era financiers "and a shadowy mastermind he called "the Sith Lord" to destroy his company.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Veni, Vidi, Vici, Video

I had the good fortune to attend Boston Latin School, the oldest school in America. The school's curriculum revolves around the study of the classics and, of course, the Latin language.
Like most folks who attended Boston Latin, I have a soft spot for tales of Rome. And I'm actually snooty enough to believe that Quid quid latine dictum sit, altum videtur (Anything said in Latin sounds profound.)
And thus, sometime today, I'll download the "skin" for the Firefox browser that is part of HBO's marketing effort for its upcoming series "Rome." (More on this here.)
Just last week I mentioned a print ad for this same HBO series, and suggested that such creative ads offered protection against unethical behavior by publishers and sales staff. In other words, I think by encouraging creative accomplishments in advertising, we can take a stronger stance against the craven and weak among us. Good, effective ads are the defense against those who push journalists to write puff pieces for advertisers, disguise advertorial as editorial, etc. Good ads can help a B2B publisher resist the urge to destroy credibility in the pursuit of revenue. Or, as the Romans would say, bibere venenum in auro (drink poison from a cup of gold.)
Once I download the Firefox skin, I'm going to reread this piece on measuring the effectiveness of ads. Then I'll reread this piece on some playful ads. Then I'm going to reread this piece on the future of ads.
(NOTE: If you don't have Firefox, or don't know what I'm talking about, you're way behind. Read this. And heed the words of Cicero: Tarditas et procrastinatio odiosa est ( Delay and procrastination is hateful.)

tags: advertising, journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Ad Age understands the Web...to a degree

Ad Age has added RSS feeds (thanks to Rex for pointing this out.)
That's nice. I wish more B2B publications would do so.
But I'd be a heck of a lot more excited if Ad Age gave some indication it understood the Web better before it added another Web-based delivery system. You see, Ad Age is one of those sites that fail to understand the most basic premise of Internet media -- the Web is a web.
In other words, Ad Age doesn't provide external links.
I'm not the only person to notice this. Not linking outside your own site is increasingly looking silly, amateurish and cowardly. Publishers need to weigh whatever advantage they see in pretending that Web doesn't exist against the disadvantage of looking like a goof.
Besides, does anyone actually believe that their readers don't know how to use Google? Does anyone actually believe they are the sole source of news in their industry?
Note: Adweek doesn't do much external linking either. But they operate Adfreak , a site that is as filled with links as it is with insider info, quirky news bits and fun writing. Adfreak also has an RSS feed.

tags: advertising, journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Variety's old blood, new blood and bad blood

Variety has named Timothy Gray, a 22-year veteran of the entertainment-business publication, as editor.
But that won't be enough to get Gray an invitation to Variety's Centennial celebration, according to the New York Times. Variety's founding family is hosting a giant bash at Sardi's next month to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the magazine. But no one hired after 1987 is invited. Not Gray, not editor-in-chief Peter Bart, not anyone.
The host of the party is Syd Silverman, the 73-year old grandson of Variety's founder. Silverman sold the magazine in 1987, and he's inviting only those folks who worked at the publication when it was run by his family. That's unfortunate...but probably not unexpected. B2B media is full of formerly family-run publications. And my experience has been that the culture clash between big media and family-run companies can lead to bitterness that lasts for years.
But what's interesting to me about the Variety party is how gracious the company's present owners are about all this. Reed Business has given its blessing to the bash, even allowing Silverman to use the trademarked Variety logo. I dare say that such a sophisticated approach to public relations and such an adult way of handling a difficult situation is a rarity in publishing.
Longtime readers of this blog know that I am not a fan of Variety. But I have to congratulate Reed and Variety for acting with such aplomb.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Work online, make more money

The guy who can report a news story and write it up for publication is worth less to me than the guy who can report the story, write it and add a video clip.
So I'm not surprised by the latest survey that shows online, multimedia journalists are paid more than single-medium journalists. Similar surveys in the past have yielded similar results.
I don't expect this trend to continue, but that's because I think multimedia skills have become a requirement of journalism. Being unable to edit a sound file, create a hyperlink, resize an image, or create a slideshow is no more acceptable than being unable to type. Soon there will be no breakout of salaries by medium, because there won't be any more print-only reporters or TV-only cameramen or Web-only journalists.
I'm actually old enough to remember when pagination systems first came to the publishing world. I knew paste-up guys in the back room who were convinced that their skill set -- deep and narrow -- had value. They're all gone now. The smarter folks sensed that the world had changed. They learned the early versions of Quark and PageMaker. Look around your newsroom. Odds are some of those people are working on your copy desk even today.
The lesson is simple: either acquire multimedia skills or find another career.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines entrepreneurial journalism, standalone journalism

Good ads, bad behavior

Later today I'm going to run out and buy a copy of "Entertainment Weekly." I've never read the thing before, and may never do so again, but there's an ad running in this week's issue that I have to see.
Here's how the Wall Street Journal describes it: "The ad appears in three parts: The front and back covers will fold out, and the middle of the magazine will feature a two-page center spread devoted to the series (HBO's "Rome." ) By folding the pages in various ways, readers can mix and match scenes in the three sections to form six different configurations."
I mention this because good advertising -- which, by the way, I seldom see in print or online -- pleases me. I'm one of those folks who like TV commercials. I accept them as a distinct medium that attracts talented people. I see dozens of TV ads that I enjoy. And I celebrate the creativity that goes into the good ones.
And good advertising is becoming more important for journalists -- because good advertising is a defense against unethical behavior. If the ads in our magazines and Web sites are compelling and engaging, then the advertisers will get their money's worth. And if our advertisers are satisfied, they won't pressure the editorial side to engage in unprofessional and immoral behavior.
Folio magazine has a piece this week on ASBPE's decision to rewrite its ethics guidelines (DISCLOSURE: the Folio article refers to this blog.) I called on ASBPE to revamp its rules recently, and celebrated when the group announced its plans.
This is a crucial time in B2B media, and I applaud ASBPE (and ABM) for holding the line on journalism ethics. I'd urge everyone in editorial to follow ASBPE's progress as it enters this next stage of the good fight.
I'd also urge everyone in editorial to get a copy of Entertainment Weekly. Look at that ad. Pass it around to your advertising sales staff. Start a conversation. This is a tough time in the media business. So we should take the time to encourage and support those folks on the business side who are willing to look for solutions in creativity, not in ethical shortcuts.

tags: advertising, journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Economics bloggers, standalone journalists

I argue that blogging and the citizen-journalism movement got their start at About.com. About used "passionate" amateurs -- hundreds of them -- rather than professional journalists to cover a seemingly endless number of topics. When I worked there I oversaw the Money and Industry channels -- sites that covered personal finance, careers, small business, B2B, automotive, etc. And one of our more popular sites, much to the surprise of many, was about economics.
Today the Wall Street Journal has a piece about the growing popularity of economics bloggers. Given About's history, I'm not surprised by that news. Nor am I surprised that one of these blogging economists focuses on the oil industry. The petroleum space is likely to attract a number of standalone journalists. Traders such as Phil Flynn and analyst groups such as IFR Energy Services already compete with news providers by offering newsletters as brand extensions.
B2B publishers need to be aware that they are vulnerable to new, standalone journalists -- whether they be industry professionals turned bloggers; economists and academics with insight into the industry you cover; or former employees armed with online-publishing software.
The early successes in B2B standalone journalism are likely to be those folks who can carve a niche in a space that covers both B2B and B2C. In other words, look for people to launch products that serve two levels of news and information. One level is for professionals -- the classic B2B media model. The other level is for consumers who have an interest in how an industry influences their lives. Economics fits that model. So does petroleum. For everyone who makes his living trading gasoline futures, there are thousands who want to understand how gas prices work. The train industry is another example of this sort of hybrid B2B/B2C space.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, entrepreneurial journalism, standalone journalism

Primedia Business sold to Wasserstein

It's over.
And yet little has changed.
Primedia Business has been sold to yet another New York-based buyout firm. The seller, of course, was KKR. When I was an executive at Primedia Business, it was the folks at KKR who were in charge. And I found them to be -- almost entirely -- a repulsive group. KKR's chosen would gather in the executive dining room and complain whenever Primedia Business' workforce seemed unwilling to sacrifice more wages and time to further enrich KKR's investors. My time at Primedia Business was an endless series of meetings with people who genuinely disliked each other. And it was clear to me that KKR set that contemptuous tone.
Primedia Business' new owner is Wasserstein & Co., a private equity firm that also owns "The Deal." I know nothing about Wasserstein. And I would urge everyone at Primedia Business to try and maintain a positive attitude during these next few weeks. Perhaps Wasserstein will turn out to be a more skilled leader than KKR.
But I'll confess that I have little faith. Readers of this blog know that I dislike the management style of Wall Street. And I am saddened each time a B2B publisher is purchased by a private equity fund or leveraged buyout firm.
I prefer a different style of owner -- dedicated more to the product, the workers and the customers than to money.
It was years ago that I first came across the work of management guru W. Edwards Deming. Deming believed the purpose of a business isn't to make money. Rather, the purpose of a business is to stay in business so it can provide jobs. In Deming's model, profit is an intermediate goal, not a final purpose. In other words, Deming believed a company owed more to its stakeholders than to its shareholders. Deming's work has fallen from favor in recent years -- pushed to the side by stock booms, junk bonds, IPOs, LBOs and EBITDA.
I'd like to think that Wasserstein sees more in Primedia Business than cash flow. But a look at Wasserstein's Web site does little to encourage me. There's not a word about employees; there's no mention of products; there's no discussion about running a business. But there's plenty of talk about managing investments.
FULL DISCLOSURE: I'm the former vice president for online content at Primedia Business. Also, during this past weekend I took on a small, short-term consulting arrangement with Primedia Business.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

More on ethics guidelines

The American Society of Business Publication Editors says it will "completely rewrite" its ethics guidelines. I'm thrilled. And you should be too. ASBPE's move comes at a difficult time in B2B media. Publishers and advertising sales staff are feeling competitive pressure from new online publications, RSS and search. The smartest folks on the business side will find a way to succeed in this new environment. The dumbest will demand concessions from editorial.
Any B2B journalist who doesn't see how ugly things are likely to get in the next few months just isn't paying attention. Look at this piece in Mediaweek that talks about how Lexus is pressuring publishers to accept product placement. In particular, Lexus is calling for "modified “advertorial”-type stories that would not carry an advertorial label and would be written by staff writers in order to enhance the credibility of the piece." That would be about as clear a violation of the ethics policies of ASBPE and ABM as I can imagine.
For more on ethics, take a look at this earlier post and the comment section.
And to see what some creative advertising types are doing to compete, take a look here.

tags: advertising, journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Discovering the converged newsroom

I first saw the future of newsrooms at the Chicago Tribune. It must have been nearly 15 years ago. A friend of mine was working there, and she gave me a tour. And what struck me the most (besides actually seeing Mike Royko) was the giant remote-controlled camera in the center of the newsroom. The Trib had created a system where print reporters would stand in front of the camera and talk about their stories. That video would air on Tribune-owned WGN.
I was amazed and excited. My friend, however, was resentful. She saw the camera not as an opportunity, but as another in an endless series of demands on her time.
In later years I'd see that multimedia environment repeated time and time again. At CNN, our reporters worked on the Web, appeared on camera, did sound bites for radio. Certainly there was specialization, but the most successful and ambitious journalists transcended their niches and worked in more than one medium. And time and time again I have come across different versions of my friend from the Tribune -- resisting change and sabotaging their careers.
Just last month I met the editor of a trade magazine who told me he didn't even know the name of the person who ran his publication's Web site. (Certainly you can blame that guy's publisher for failing to combine his products into a unified brand run by a unified team. And ultimately it was the publisher who made the short-sighted decision to use shovelware -- thus allowing the print reporters to maintain their distance from the Web site. But I believe with all my heart that journalists have the responsibility to keep editorial control over all editorial products. Letting a tech department decide how to run a magazine's site is madness.)
Readers of this blog know that I tell journalism students that I want nothing to do with single-medium journalists. A journalist who fails to embrace the storytelling potential of hyperlinks, graphics, video, interactivity, feedback, etc. tells me that he is unambitious. A journalist such as that tells me not to hire him.
Now comes word that the Washington Post has hired the king of convergence and that the New York Times has embraced the converged newsroom. (FULL DISCLOSURE: The Times recently acquired About.com, where I was once a producer and executive.) When the Times and the Post, which for better or for worse are among the most influential publications in media, make such moves, there can be no doubt that none of us will ever again be tied solely to the world of hard copy.
To read more about multimedia reporting, read this post and follow the links.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

IDG's woes in Germany

Fellow B2B media blogger Hugo Martin says IDG is having some problems with audited circulation in Germany. It appears that qualified circulation for IDG's Computer Woche is about half what the company had earlier estimated.
I'm a fan of IDG, and a big fan of the company's push into the global marketplace. And whatever is behind these recent problems, I'm convinced that IDG will continue to prosper.
Perhaps Colin Crawford, a media blogger who happens to be vice president for business development at IDG and has a degree in accounting, will post something about the company's challenges in Germany.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Business opportunity in B2B?

Can this be true? Is there really such a business opportunity right under our B2B publishing noses?
TSMI's Trade Show blog says that industry doesn't have a "resource that would allow tracking of competitors and industry bellwethers by the events where they were exhibitors and/or sponsors along with total spend on these events." In other words, the B2B media, which makes much of its money by publishing industry data and running trade shows, hasn't found a way to merge those two opportunities.
I'm not an expert in trade shows. Nor do I do much in data publishing. So perhaps I'm missing something. But this would seem to have some potential.
ADDENDUM: Check out what Paul Woodward, who writes about B2B media in Asia, has to say about this issue.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Are they paying you enough?

Folio magazine has published the results of its editorial management salary survey.
Take a look. It's hard to push your boss for a pay raise when you don't know what your competitors make. (It can also be hard to keep from punching someone when you find out how much they pay your supervisor...so try to exercise some restraint.)
Among the findings: the mean salary for editorial directors in consumer magazines is $97,000, and the highest salary for that job title was $250,000. Editorial directors in the B2B world didn't fare as well. The mean was $85,900 (about the same as a tow boat captain in Florida, according to this game at People magazine), while the top reported salary was $160,000.
On the other hand, editors and executive editors do better in trade publishing than in the consumer press -- $67,500 vs. 65,600. (Association publishing tops this category at $73,400.)
So how can you boost your salary?
Try getting a haircut or a nose job.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines