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Wednesday, August 25th, 1999 Disney Agrees to Sell Fairchild Publications Inc. to Advance Publications Inc. The Walt Disney Co. has agreed to sell Fairchild Publications Inc., a subsidiary of ABC Inc. and publisher of W, Jane and Women's Wear Daily, to Advance Publications Inc., it was announced Tuesday by Disney Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael D. Eisner and Advance Chairman S.I. Newhouse Jr. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to be completed by the end of the 1999 calendar year Advance has agreed to grant Disney certain nonexclusive rights for its Buena Vista Internet Group to publish content from W, Jane and Women's Wear Daily within its online properties, including a new women's site. In addition, Disney and Advance have agreed to explore forming an Internet joint venture using the content of all appropriate Advance and Disney magazines. Included in the sale are more than a dozen consumer and trade publications, a book-selling division and Fairchild Urban Expositions, a trade-show partnership. Disney will retain Los Angeles Magazine, a monthly lifestyle and city-guide publication. "Fairchild Publications has long been a standard-bearer in the publishing industry under the strong leadership of Michael Coady and Patrick McCarthy," Eisner said. "During the past several years, we have been able to strengthen its competitive position even further, and we're confident that the publications will continue to thrive under Advance's leadership. Despite Fairchild's strengths, Disney is focused on the long-term growth of our core brands and entertainment assets." Disney will continue to be a leading book and magazine publisher with assets include Hyperion Publishing Inc., publisher of best-selling titles such as Mother of Pearl and the Don't Sweat the Small Stuff series. Disney also publishes a wide array of magazines such as ESPN, Family Fun and Discover. The most recent addition to Disney's publishing businesses is Talk, a monthly pop-culture and literary magazine jointly owned by Miramax Film Corp., a subsidiary of Disney, and Hearst Communications Inc. United News & Media Acquires MP&A Editorial, Inc. United News & Media plc has announced that one of its trade magazine subsidiaries, Miller Freeman PSN, Inc., has acquired MP&A Editorial Inc., a New York-based magazine, Internet and trade show publisher specialising in entertainment technologies. In the transaction, Miller Freeman PSN acquired the assets of MP&A, including Surround Professional magazine, and its subsidiary, Car Sound, LLC, which includes Car Sound and AutoMedia magazines. MP&A publishes a range of properties for audio production and media installation professionals. Its Car Sound Division publishes seven magazines, event publications, and websites directed at professional auto sound, security and multimedia installers and dealers. MP&A has also developed a range of CD-ROM and Internet-based technologies for trade show communications, and provides marketing services and custom publishing for the industries it serves. Martin Porter, the founder of MP&A, will join the executive team of Miller Freeman PSN, where he will assume the title of Senior Vice President/Publishing Director. MP&A will continue to conduct business as an operating unit of Miller Freeman PSN and the MP&A marketing services unit will provide trade show publishing support and marketing services to Miller Freeman PSN's other publications, expositions and conferences. Ellen Kunes Named Editor-in-Chief of New Oprah Winfrey Magazine Hearst Magazines President Cathleen P. Black has announced that Ellen Kunes has been appointed editor-in-chief of the new Oprah Winfrey magazine, the co-venture between Hearst Magazines and Oprah, which will debut in spring 2000. The appointment is effective September 13. Kunes most recently served as executive editor at Cosmopolitan. Prior to that she was also executive editor at Redbook. "My goal is to improve the lives of women, and this magazine will be another important way to help them achieve their own goals," said Oprah Winfrey. "Ellen's ability to connect with women is extraordinary. Combine that with her unique editing and writing skills, and I am certain we will have a magazine that is both trusted and inspiring." "I am thrilled to join the staff of the new Oprah magazine as editor-in-chief," said Kunes. "With each issue I plan to translate Oprah's message of empowerment and inspiration to the magazine's pages. We want to make this the personal growth guide for the new century -- giving readers all the tools they need to get what they want out of life." Kunes served as lifestyle director at McCall's from 1991 to 1994. Previously she held the posts of senior editor at Self, contributing editor at Omni and consulting editor at Mademoiselle. Kunes is also the author of Living Well -- Or Even Better -- On Less, published in 1991 by Perigee/Putnam. Search Engine For Software Developers Launches Sourcebank.com, a new search engine for software developers and programmers has launched. Sourcebank.com's backend technology crawls through the Internet searching for Assembler, C, C++, Java, Matlab, Perl, and Visual Basic source code. In addition to source code, Sourcebank.com also indexes online articles from trade magazines and research papers. "Sourcebank.com provides the power and reach of a traditional search engine, but uses a system tailored towards the resource needs of developers," said Sameer Samat, Project Manager of Sourcebank.com and partner at Revolution9. "Mainstream search engines do not help software professionals quickly locate reusable source code or other information that would help them accomplish their development tasks quickly. Sourcebank.com fills this information need." drkoop.com Enhances Its Website drkoop.com, Inc., an Internet healthcare network led by Dr. C. Everett Koop, former U.S. Surgeon General, has announced it has launched a new design of its website, drkoop.com. "We believe the new look and feel of our Web site will provide visitors with an even more user-friendly interface. This more dynamic design allows new features and tools to be implemented in the very near future," said Donald Hackett, President and Chief Executive Officer of drkoop.com. "Our mission is to empower consumers with trusted healthcare information, and we feel this new, more user-friendly site design better allows us to continue fulfilling our mission." Women.com Announces First International Alliance Women.com Networks, Inc. has announced an alliance with Mitsui Comtek Corp. Women.com will license its content in Japan to Sankei Living Shimbun Inc's Living Ladies Community, a website for Japanese women online. Living Ladies Community was launched in February 1999 by Sankei Living, a publisher of free newspapers for women in Japan. Mitsui Comtek will translate Women.coms existing content into Japanese and upload it to the site. Content that best matches the needs and interests of todays Japanese women will be selected. Mitsui Comtek and Sankei Living will also provide their own original content to Living Ladies Community. "When you get right down to it, women in every country are looking for the smart way to get things done", said Marleen McDaniel, CEO of Women.com Networks, Inc. "With Living Ladies Community in Japan, we are taking the next step in reaching women across the globe with the best quality content and community online." MSNBC.com Rated #1 Online News Site For July 1999 MSNBC.com is again the No. 1 news website according to the latest July 1999 data from Media Metrix. On July 21, MSNBC.com saw record breaking traffic, with 2.4 million unique users logging on in one day. "Our traffic numbers have placed us well ahead of the competition, so far this year we have been breaking both news and audience records," said Merrill Brown, editor in chief of MSNBC.com. "With a record 2.4 million users logging onto MSNBC.com in a single day, there is no question that we are a major source for the most up-to-the-minute news in any medium. We have clearly succeeded in building the biggest news brand on the Web." New Website Explores How American Couples Bridge Differences What happens when two people who seem very different from each other fall in love? What challenges do they face? What joys do they discover? A new website on PBS Online explores how Americans bridge differences in relationships by combining a "quilt" of first-person stories contributed by visitors to the site. The site, American Love Stories was inspired by Jennifer Fox's ground breaking 10-part documentary series, An American Love Story, which chronicles a 30-year interracial relationship, and premieres on PBS from September 12 to 16. Expanding on the theme of the series, the site provides a glimpse into the lives of couples who are "negotiating differences" like race, ethnicity, religion, age, culture, or economic background. The stories, told by one partner -- and sometimes both -- reveal how people met and realized they wanted to be together, how they've dealt with disapproval from friends and family, and how their relationships have not only survived despite their differences, but in many cases been enriched by them. PBS Online features more than 85,000 pages of content as well as companion websites for nearly 400 PBS programs and specials. PBS Online has won the Webby Award for best TV website in 1998 and 1999. The site is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS. Around the Web Arizona Republic Details Case Against Columnist Media Central BBC Reportedly Explores U.S. Publishing Venture Media Central Bestselling Author Founds Small Press PublishersWeekly Big Brother, Big Fun at Amazon Wired Books on Usage: Whom Do You Trust? BookWire Disney Grabs Online Toy Seller Wired Financial Times Staffers May Jump Ship Editor & Publisher Good Lord, an Essay for a Job? CBCNews.com Stellar Year for HarperCollins PublishersWeekly US Magazine to go Weekly New York Post Web is Shrinking BBC 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 © 1997-2011 by Writers Write, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
