B2B publisher Advanstar makes B2C buy

B2B publisher Advanstar continues its acquisition frenzy. The New York-based parent of "License," "American Salon" and 74 other B2B magazines bought a business-to-consumer property that ties in with some of its business-to-business operations.
Advanstar has purchased off-road.com, a Web site for off-road motorsport enthusiasts, from Rubicon Media. The idea, it seems, is to flesh out Advanstar's off-road group. That unit, which launched last year, contains trade publication "Off-Road Retailer" as well as a consumer mag and a trade show.
As a general rule, I'm a little leery of publishers who dabble in both trade and consumer press. That's what Primedia, one of my old employers, did. Primedia would buy almost anything: gobbling up Intertec B2B magazines, About.com, auction sites, Bacon's and "Teddy Bear and Friends" magazine. And I thought it was a disaster.
But Advanstar seems to be approaching this with a little more sense by choosing B2C properties that are related to its B2B holdings.

Further reorganization at Vance Publishing

One of my former employers, Vance Publishing, has completed the second stage of a companywide reorganization. Vance has merged its Decor and Industrial divisions into a new unit known as the Interiors group, which will house such magazines as "Furniture Style" and "Residential Lighting."
I've blogged here before about Vance's consolidation of its agricultural properties into a new unit based in Lenexa, Kan. This new announcement would seem to lend credence to my theory that Vance is planning on selling part of the company. And as I've said before, I'm betting that Kansas-based Ascend makes an offer for the Lenexa properties soon.

Help with your magazine launch

If you're one of those folks with dreams of launching your own trade magazine, there's a new Web site that claims to have the information you'll need. Magazinelaunch.com is an online resource for entrepreneurs with visions of earning wealth from publishing. The site, complete with chatboards for sharing ideas, is the brainchild of InfoSwell, a California-based company that designs Web sites for magazines.
Magazinelaunch is also a place for "leading vendors and consultants" to connect with professionals and entrepreneurs. There are also opportunities with the site for writers who wish to freelance articles about the magazine business.

Farm Journal buys agricultural TV program

Farm Journal Media, which has been in the B2B publishing business for 128 years, has purchased "U.S. Farm Report -- Town and County Living," the country's oldest agricultural television show, from Tribune Co. The 60-minute, weekly program features news, weather and rural-lifestyle feature segments.
Farm Journal already has agricultural-TV offerings -- "AgDay" and "WeekEnd Marketplace," which air on broadcast stations across the country. "U.S. Farm Report" has carriage deals with the 26 local stations owned by Tribune and its WGN superstation. Those deals will continue on after the sale, making Farm Journal's TV offerings available to almost every rural home in America.
This is a deal that's likely to be looked on favorably by everyone except for DTN, the other giant of agricultural B2B multimedia.

More on Variety layoff(s)

An anonymous reader of this blog wrote to ask for further details about the changes at Variety magazine's website. I reported last week that Variety had laid off "about a half-dozen employees." But I was called to task by Variety.com's Alex Romanelli, who wrote to say that only "one person" had been laid off. But in that email Alex also said "Any freelance work required to produce that content will first be offered to those affected by the recent layoffs." And the use of the plural "layoffs" implied that more than one person was out of work, according to Anonymous.
I asked for a clarification and received another email from Alex. Here's what it said: "Reed Business only employed one staff person for the broadband projects. He was laid off. Other people were utilized on a freelance basis, mostly for actual video shoots (sound, lighting, camera etc) as required." These freelancers, Alex said, "will soon no longer have scheduled work, but all will remain our first choices for the upcoming projects that are lined up."
So it sounds to me that one full-time guy is out of work, and some freelancers will be looking for new assignments. Thanks to Anonymous for asking the question. Thanks to Alex for answering it.

Will Ascend buy Vance?

Folio magazine points out that two of the three B2B publishers owned by Veronis Suhler Stevenson are now for sale. That must leave the folks at Access Intelligence -- the only VSS property in the U.S. that's not on the auction block-- wondering when someone will hang a "For Sale" sign around their neck.
If this stuff interests you, you may want to attend American Business Media's Spring Meeting in Boca Raton, Fla. Cam Bishop, president and CEO of Ascend Media, is on a panel where the topic is "The Merger & Acquisition Front: How aggressive should we be?" Cam has been doing a lot of acquiring of late, and I suppose it's possible he has his eye on something from VSS.
But if you attend the meeting, ask him about my theory that Ascend will soon buy the food publications of Vance Publishing, which have their offices right down the road from Ascend in Johnson County, Kan.
FULL DISCLOSURE: I was once senior writer at Vance. And I was once vice president for online content at Primedia Business, where Cam Bishop once ran all B2B operations.