writenews.com
|
Friday, May 21, 1999 Media Cynic | Forum | Advertising | Classifieds | Jobs Tribune Company Creates Tribune Interactive Group Tribune Company has announced the creation of Tribune Interactive, a new group that brings together the interactive functions of the company's four newspapers and 17 television stations, as well as other Internet activities currently performed within Tribune Publishing Company. Jeff R. Scherb, senior vice president and chief technology officer of Tribune Company, will lead the newly formed group. Scherb will retain his responsibility as chief technology officer. "Our publishing group has built many successful local Internet businesses and also has been instrumental in the creation of national partnerships," John W. Madigan, Tribune chairman, president and chief executive officer, said. "From this solid foundation, we have great potential for creating a profitable business opportunity. The future of interactive is so important that the time has come for it to take its place beside the publishing, broadcasting and education lines of business within Tribune Company." In addition to continuing to build interactive sites in Chicago, Orlando, South Florida and Hampton Roads, Va., the group will develop new Internet products and services. "Because the Internet is growing so rapidly, the formation of the new group enables us to execute and grow our interactive businesses quickly," Scherb said. "With a scale of 33 million page views per month and with $25 million to $30 million in revenue, we already have a powerful Internet business, and we're well positioned to continue our leading edge in the interactive world." Women.com Networks and Rodale Press Unveil NewWoman.com Women.com Networks, a leading online resource for women, and Rodale Press, a global leader in healthy, active, living information, have announced the launch of NewWoman.com on the Women.com Network. Based on Rodale's New Woman Magazine, this new website will provide women with advice, interactive tools and community on beauty, health, fashion, fitness, and relationships. The joint effort brings not only a new content area to Women.com Networks, but also offers significant cross promotional opportunities with New Woman Magazine which has a circulation of over one million subscribers. Consistent with the print magazine's modern tone and content, NewWoman.com features four channels reflecting its areas of expertise. Beauty & Fashion provides beauty and fashion tips, quizzes and Q&As. Health & Fitness presents weekly stories on health news, for mind and body; food and nutrition; and workouts. Relationships & Sex offers expert advice from Harriet Lerner, Ph.D, New Woman's resident expert on love and relationships and Brian Alexander, New Woman's "Men in Love" columnist answering questions on the male psyche. News & Views presents monthly polls on hot topics to be covered in upcoming issues. Eben Shapiro Joins Newsweek as Business Editor Eben Shapiro has been named senior editor of Newsweek's Business section, effective July 6, Editor Mark Whitaker announced. Shapiro will lead Newsweek's team of business journalists -- including Contributing Editors Jane Bryant Quinn and Robert Samuelson, Wall Street Editor Allan Sloan and Business/Entertainment Writer Johnnie Roberts. He will also edit the magazine's "Focus On Your Money" section. "As a reporter and editor, Eben has always combined a wonderful story sense with a deft writing touch and a keen competitive drive," Whitaker said. "And in our discussions over the past month, he has articulated a compelling vision for how to best showcase Newsweek's incredible lineup of business talent and make our coverage stand out in the increasingly cluttered and competitive world of financial journalism." At the Wall Street Journal since 1992, Shapiro has covered the tobacco industry, the big entertainment mergers of the mid-90's and, most recently, the intersection of the Internet and the media. From 1989 to 1992 he worked at The New York Times, covering computers, tobacco and marketing in New York and food industries and marketing in Chicago. Previously, Shapiro served as managing editor of the Twin Cities Reader in Minneapolis. New Online Literary Directory Launches Pilot-Search.com has announced the launch of its literary search engine. Pilot-Search.com is a free online search engine - comprised strictly of literary links. Pilot includes over 10,000 searchable links. Pilot links to the internal pages of big sites like Salon, Project Gutenberg, and the New York Times Book Review, but it also links to the pages of smaller sites like Georgejr.com, Scribendi!, and E-Script Workshop. Each day in the Featured Pages section, Pilot-Search spotlights five worthwhile articles or sites. Pilot also has an up-to-date Events Calendar for happenings on- and off-line. Pilot-Search.com will celebrate its official launch on June 1st, but users are invited to take a sneak peek at the fully functional site now online. Freedom Communications Creates New Interactive Media Division Freedom Communications, Inc. has established Freedom Interactive Media, a new division that will launch and manage community specific and customer interest web businesses as well as investments in new media companies, announced Freedom President and CEO James N. Rosse. Freedom Communications is a diversified media company of 27 daily newspapers, 35 weeklies, 22 magazines and eight broadcast television stations. Greg Hurst, formerly Freedom's vice president of new technologies, has been named president of Freedom Interactive Media. The new division will be based at Freedom's headquarters in Irvine. "Freedom has reached a point in both size and expertise in new technology where having an Interactive Media Division is important for our future growth," Rosse said. "We are in the information and entertainment business and in the business of serving consumers and advertisers. The Internet is a natural and important extension of that business. We are fortunate to have someone with Greg Hurst's experience and stature to lead us in this new venture." Although Freedom Interactive Media's new community and customer web businesses will operate as stand alone businesses, Rosse stressed they will have strong relationships with the company's existing newspaper, television and magazine properties. Jeff Barrington Named Associate Publisher of Firehouse Magazine Cygnus Publishing has announced the promotion of Jeff Barrington to associate publisher of Firehouse Magazine, the country's leading fire and emergency services publication. He will report to its publisher Bruce T. Bowling, and oversee all editorial, art and production functions, sales and marketing opportunities as well as assist in managing the magazine's operations and industry events. "Jeff has worked very hard to help Firehouse maintain its leadership position within the U.S. Fire Service," says Bowling. "In addition to his publishing background, Jeff's experience as a volunteer firefighter and fire department administrative officer has been invaluable in fostering Firehouse's strong relationships with our readers and advertisers." Barrington joined the magazine in 1994 bringing with him more than 20 years of newspaper and magazine publishing experience. He has served as managing editor and executive editor of Firehouse Magazine and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. He is currently a volunteer firefighter and past-president of the Glenwood Fire Company on Long Island. He previously held editorial management positions at CMP Publications and Miller Freeman Inc. where he worked on several trade and industry publications. "I have been fortunate to work on one of the country's premier fire service publications," says Barrington. "Firehouse offers exceptional opportunities to advertisers while delivering quality editorial to our readers. We have continued to maintain a loyal subscriber list of well over 100,000 fire and emergency service personnel with a pass-along readership that rivals other publications." OnlineRock Allows Musicians and Music Fans To Build Free Websites A new Web community called OnlineRock is helping musicians and die-hard fans use the Internet to promote their musical endeavors. At OnlineRock, music enthusiasts can easily create their own website, post messages on the site's bulletin board, chat interactively with others, and learn about new online and offline music technology. All of the site's services are free, and OnlineRock gives its members 10 megabytes of web space. "The future of music is on the Internet," said Steve Beck, founder of OnlineRock. "I've been playing in rock bands for more than 18 years and know how difficult it is for many musicians to get the recognition they deserve. Our members, however, have the necessary tools and information that they need to promote themselves. They can easily build their own website and include sound files, graphics, tour dates. It essentially becomes their online promo kit for the whole world to see and hear." Penton Media to Launch Supply Chain Technology News Magazine Penton Media, Inc. has announced it will launch Supply Chain Technology News (SCTN) in September 1999. The magazine joins Penton's group of publications, trade shows and online media serving supply chain markets. Supply Chain Technology News will focus on the practical application of technology in supply chain operations such as purchasing, transportation logistics, information systems, manufacturing, warehousing, sales and marketing, and customer service. It will provide news and best-practice features designed to help readers use technology to improve efficiency and reduce costs. SCTN will be a controlled circulation magazine mailed to 45,000 qualified managers at mid-size and large companies in the automotive; aerospace; computer/electronics and electronic equipment; pharmaceuticals and chemicals; food processing; and consumer goods industries. SCTN will be introduced at Penton's Supply Chain Expo 99 Conference & Exposition, to be held September 21-23 in Baltimore, MD, and its website is set to launch in January 2000. Editor-in-Chief Robert G. Rosenbaum said SCTN will be published in tabloid format with a fast-read news orientation. Around the Web Amazon to restore Scientology title News.com Bookstore Besieged Chicago Sun-Times Italian Writer Tomizza Dies at 64 Washington Post Shel Silverstein Was a Poet With a Heart and an Edge St. Paul Pioneer Press 'Star Wars' Titles Hit Stores at Warp Speed San Antonio Express-News Thomson Financial Realigns into 6 New Markets Media Central Tribune Interactive Combines Online Ventures Editor & Publisher 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 © 1997-2010 by Writers Write, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
