Deals and errors

Folio: has a special feature this month on the top magazine deals of 2004, including the sale of Thomson Media, parent of the Bond Buyer and American Banker; a purchase by a group of displaced Primedia Business executives; and the sale of Hart Publications.
Check out the series. There's a lot to be learned there.
There's also something to be learned from seeing the absolute mess of errors that these articles contain. Take a look. Note the run-on words throughout. The very first sentence of the piece about Hart contains such errors as "fundmanaged," "investmentteam" and "variouslyreported."
That's a result of the shovelware that Primedia uses to move magazine copy on to the Web site. Back when I was a vice president at Primedia, I had many an argument with other executives about the absolute uselessness of our in-house software system. I also had a slew of disappointing conversations with editorial staff who didn't think they should have to clean up the copy once it arrived on the Web page.
Here's some advice. Never use shovelware. And always take responsibility for the final product.
Let's hope that Folio's new owners get this problem solved.

Getting rich in B2B

In our little corner of the journalism world, no one has had more success than Pat McGovern. And no one in any corner of journalism has been more modest about it. Media moguls are noted for boorish, piggish, spotlight-grabbing behaviors. But McGovern, founder and chief executive officer of IDG, has a reputation not only for brilliance, but for modesty. (Click here and scroll down the page for a little about his reclusive nature.)
So when I heard that McGovern won the Henry Johnson Fisher award from the Magazine Publishers of America, I applauded.
The Philadelphia-born McGovern has built a $2 billion fortune in trade journalism. And he's produced some of the most influential titles in the game.
So where does billionaire McGovern suggest that mere thousandaire journalists such as us look for wealth and prestige? Overseas.

Mold magazine

Key Communications, a B2B publisher in Garrisonville, VA, is launching a magazine for the building trade called "Mold and Moisture Management."
I'll try not to be snide about the press release, which says the controlled-circulation publication "debuted to excellent reviews." Public-relations writing is supposed to be a bit over-the-top.
Journalism writing is supposed to be something else entirely. And I trust that the all-woman editorial staff at Mold has the skill to create a magazine free of hyperbole.
Mold joins other Key publications such as USGlass and Shelter.

Vance sells three titles

Vance Publishing, a family-owned B2B company based in Lincolnshire, Ill., plans to sell three of its agricultural magazines. Vance has put Cotton Farming, Rice Farming and The Peanut Grower on the auction block as part of a plan to reorganize the company.
Under the new structure, Vance's agricultural holdings will be split between two units, both based at Vance's offices in the Kansas City suburb of Lenexa, KS. The Packer newspaper, where I was once a senior writer, Produce Merchandising magazine and related products will make up the produce unit. A second unit will consist of animal-food publications including Pork. Other Vance publications such as Modern Salon and Closets are unaffected by the change.

Neal Award finalists

American Business Media has released the list of finalists for this year's Neal Awards. IDG picked up the most nominations -- 10. VNU Business received nine. My former employer, Primedia Business, is in a three-way tie for fourth place with six finalists.
I'm particularly pleased to see Registered Rep magazine get a nod for Best Single Issue of a magazine. I was at Primedia when Geoff Lewis overhauled that book from top to bottom. He and his staff created a top-tier publication from an embarrassing, albeit profitable, magazine aimed at the low end of the investment sales business.
I'm shocked to see that Variety is a finalist for Best Web Site. Doesn't anyone at ABM ever visit that site? It's a mess of cluttered design and poor taxonomy. And it crashes more than any other B2B site I visit. If you're working on a Web site, ignore Variety and take a look at the Eyetrack study.
Check out the full list of Neal Award finalists here.

Ask for that pay raise

It may be a good time to ask for that pay raise. B2B ad pages rose 3.7% in November as compared with a year earlier. Advertising revenue increased 7% in the same period, according to a Business Information Network report released by American Business Media.
Take a look at the breakdown. If your niche did well, hit up the boss for some more cash.