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Tuesday, February 10th, 1998 Media Cynic | Forum | Advertising | Classifieds | Jobs ACP and Time Inc Announce New Magazine Joint Venture in Australia Australian Consolidated Press (ACP) and Time Inc., announced yesterday that they are forming a 50:50 joint venture in Australia. The new company will take over the publishing of six existing Sydney-based magazines; Time, and Who Weekly (from Time Inc); and The Bulletin, New Weekly, and Australian Gourmet Traveller and Wine magazine (from ACP). It plans to expand by launching new titles, including local editions of other Time Inc, magazines from the United States. The joint venture company will be called Premier Magazines. Marty Gardner, currently vice president of Time Inc. International, in New York, will be the Sydney-based Managing Director of Premier Magazines, reporting to joint ACP-Time board. The new company will benefit from editorial services from Time Inc. ACP will provide a range of financial, administrative and publishing services. Premier Magazines will have a staff of over 200, and will be based at Time Inc's existing offices in North Sydney. Relocation of the 70 staff on the four magazines being transferred by ACP will take place over the next six months. KVO Resurrects Anvil, An Online Marketing Magazine Karakas VanSickle Ouellette Advertising & Public Relations (KVO) announced its relaunch of Anvil, the free online marketing magazine. Anvil's mission is to provide new and unusual perspectives on the issues shaping today's communications. The monthly magazine will explore timely news, issues and trends relevant to online marketing, including advertising, public relations and interactive media. "KVO feels Anvil is a valuable magazine for the communications industry, and we are anxious to make the resource available again to subscribers," said Sharon VanSickle, KVO public relations principal. "It is also a good way for us to share the latest industry trends with clients and business partners, in a unique format." A monthly publication, Anvil will also include special supplemental issues when breaking news hits. Columns will be contributed by resident KVO experts dealing with such subjects as crisis communication, banner ads and new technologies like Web/CD-ROM hybrids. Each issue will also include surveys analyzing the latest issues and trends, and a "Portfolio Gallery" section focused on cutting-edge advertising, public relations and interactive work. A search engine and archived database are planned for future issues. Ladies' Home Journal and Essence Magazines Join Forces to Uncover the Racial Issues That Divide Black and White Women With a shockingly honest dialogue about what divides Black and White women and what can be done to bring them closer, Ladies\ Home Journal and Essence magazines have joined forces in their March 1998 issues to present a special report on race relations, entitled "Black and White Women: What Still Divides Us." The article, which will be published simultaneously in both magazines, reveals that thirty years after so many Black and White women marched together to promote harmony between the races, it appears that their lives are still distinctly separate -- and sometimes even hostile. At the heart of the issue is how Blacks and Whites perceive each other, often through a prism of race. The report is based on a roundtable discussion convened by the two magazines last fall. Serving as moderator of the group was Greer Dawson Wilson, president of a diversity consulting and training firm in Charlottesville, Virginia. She was joined by three Black and three White women, ranging in age from twenty-nine to fifty-seven, for an all-day session that was "at times raucous, at times painful, but always provocative," as the article notes. The women came from various professional backgrounds, from a freelance writer to a director of campus activities for a college to a grievance coordinator at a correctional facility. One of the first questions asked of the women was what comes to mind when they think of a White woman or a Black woman. The Black women in the group said they think of a White woman as "intelligent, manipulative, privileged." And when asked the same questions about a Black woman, the White women responded "strong, determined, attitude." Most important to the Black women was for White women to realize -- and accept -- that they automatically have privilege and power because they are White. As one woman put it at the end of the session, "I finally got it when I understood the privilege issue. What it means to be White is that I never have to think about being White. But every day a Black person has race in his or her face." What often accompanies these perceptions, unfortunately, is anger. This hostility, and the lack of communication about these issues, is a crucial element of what continues to drive a wedge between Black and White women. The group was encouraged to voice their frustrations and give examples. Moderator Greer Wilson reminded the panel that "change always starts with one person saying something to another person." Through this simple task, there can be an opening of minds and a birth of new respect Preparations Under Way for Third Annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books More than 150 popular and diverse authors have been confirmed to participate in what has become a highly anticipated annual event celebrating the written word: The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, which is being presented in association with UCLA, is set for the weekend of April 25-26 at UCLA's Dickson Plaza. Last year's Festival drew unprecedented crowds from across the Southland, with more than 100,000 people of all backgrounds attending book signings, author panel discussions, poetry readings and a variety of activities for children. The range of authors already confirmed to participate in this year's Festival of Books include popular names such as Betty Friedan, Sydney Sheldon, Isabel Allende, Olivia Goldsmith, Ray Bradbury, Barbara Taylor Bradford and Dom Deluise. New activities designed to appeal to teens and young adults also are being planned. Admission to the Festival will again be free to the public; on-campus parking is $5. Hours will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. The official Festival of Books program, which will provide detailed information on all Festival events and participants, will be published in a special Book Review section in the Los Angeles Times on Sunday, April 19. Festival of Books updates also will be published regularly in The Times' Sunday Book Review section. Stokes Tropicals Receives National Internet Recognition The Stokes Tropicals Web site at http://www.stokestropicals.com has received Lycos Point's Top 5% of the Web award that is given to those sites that best epitomize the best of the Internet. Besides allowing Internet visitors the ability to order over 300 varieties of tropical plants on-line, the Stokes Tropicals Web site offers growing tips for a variety of tropical plant groups including Bananas, Bromeliads, Plumerias, Gingers, and Heliconias. Interactivity is the key focus with allowing people visiting the Web site to post questions and answers on their Plant Forum. In addition, visitors to the site can register for free giveaways, purchase gift certificates for friends and family, and learn about other Internet plant resources. This site has been mentioned and reviewed in both National Gardening, Southern Living, Interior Landscape, Better Homes and Gardens as well as the Los Angeles Times. "Through our Web site, we offer our customers a higher level of service than is possible through our catalog or phone operators. We also offer Internet orders up to a 15% discount on all plants ordered over the web," says Glenn Stokes, owner of Stokes Tropicals. This service is seen on each of the individual plant pages where water, light, and care instructions are given in an easy to use and understandable format. Prices, descriptions, and new plants are constantly being added and updated on the site allowing for something new virtually every day. Einstein Digital Media, a local Web site design firm, kept the need for constant change in mind while creating and marketing the site. "We use the latest Internet technologies to help keep the Web site current and exciting. We are thrilled at this recognition for our client," says Rob Greer, Founder of Einstein. Tomorrow's Morning to Lead Panel Discussion on Newspapers in the Classroom Tomorrow's Morning Inc., a children's news publisher, is leading a panel discussion on the role of newspapers in the classroom at the National Conference of Communities in Schools Inc. (CIS), Feb. 15, 1998, in Washington, D.C. The conference, whose theme is "Seeking Solutions through Partnerships in Youth," will feature General Colin Powell as its keynote speaker. Attendees will include school principals and superintendents from across the nation, and leading corporations and foundations active in business-community-education partnerships. Panelists for the Tomorrow's Morning Seminar will include: Dr. Doris Gunderson, grants coordinator for the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy; Cathy Trost, director of the Casey Journalism Center for Children and Families; Margaret Kaplow, director of the Washington Post Classroom Program; Susan Thompson-Hoffman of the U.S. Department of Education's READ-WRITE-NOW! Program; and Jessica Mayorga, Washington, D.C. bureau editor, Children's Express. According to Colleen O'Connor, Tomorrow's Morning's Washington, D.C. representative, and formerly Deputy Assistant Secretary of Education and a national editor of Newsweek magazine, "Newspapers have always played a key role in maintaining our democracy and building communities. However, America's youth are less and less aware of current events at a time when reading skills and an expanded world-view are more important than ever." The panel discussion will explore the critical importance of newspapers in the classroom in helping children make the transition from "learning to read" to "reading to learn," as well as know about current events, and will provide information on how newspapers can be brought into schools through sponsorships and community alliances. Tomorrow's Morning Inc., based in Los Angeles, publishes Tomorrow's Morning, an award-winning weekly home-and school-delivered national newspaper for kids 8-14, in print and on-line (www.morning.com). The company also is developing multimedia and other educational products. The company's overall goal is to enhance the education and world-view of children. Click here to return to the homepage of The Write NewsTM Click here to subscribe to our free weekly email newsletter.  www.writenews.com Copyright © 1997-2009 by Writers Write, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
