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Monday, December 20th, 1999 Media Cynic | Forum | Advertising | Classifieds | Jobs Newsweek, Inc. Acquires Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel Magazine Newsweek, Inc. has acquired Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel magazine, published by Group XXVII Communications L.L.C. Newsweek Chairman and Editor-In-Chief Richard M. Smith and President and Chief Operating Officer Harold Shain made the announcement. Newsweek is making the acquisition through its wholly owned subsidiary, Newsweek Budget Travel, Inc. "We're delighted to join with Arthur Frommer, one of the true giants in travel journalism, and the superb editorial and business teams that Group XXVII's Don Welsh and publisher Jake Hill have put together," said Smith. "The magazine is off to a wonderful start, and we are confident that it can continue on its path to becoming an enduring industry leader and an excellent business." Arthur Frommer, co-founder and editor-in-chief, said: "This new affiliation will permit Budget Travel to become, even more quickly than before, the nation's leading travel magazine. I will continue as its editor-in-chief and I'm delighted to be part of such a distinguished and principled media company as Newsweek/The Washington Post. Budget Travel, and all that it stands for, will be in good hands." Under the agreement, Budget Travel will remain independent, maintaining its own editorial staff, support personnel and infrastructure. In addition, Frommer will oversee the magazine's content as well as contribute articles and commentaries in each issue. Jacob Hill, publisher and a co-founder of the magazine, will continue in his role. Additional Arthur Frommer-branded properties, to be included in the agreement, are a monthly newsletter, a weekly syndicated newspaper column and The Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel Club that was launched earlier this year. IDG Launches TechInformer MicroNetwork International Data Group (IDG) has announced the launch of its TechInformer MicroNetwork. The TechInformer MicroNetwork is a network of sites for IT industry enthusiasts, featuring research, media reviews, columnists and news articles that are updated daily alongside related interactive elements such as polls, forums and Q&As. Content featured on this MicroNetwork is drawn from more than 250 of IDG's websites including PC World, SunWorld, Computerworld and Industry Standard, as well as from content partners such as Feed Magazine. "The launch of the TechInformer MicroNetwork delivers a unique mix of technology and cultural news along with insight into hotly debated issues that bridge technology with broader societal trends," said Jeff Julian, publisher of IDG.net. "Tapping into IDG's extensive online publication resources, we are able to deliver focused, targeted content, based on the personality of the reader - making the TechInformer MicroNetwork both an entertaining and informative news site." Spain's Largest Publisher Chooses Microsoft Reader to Launch Its eBook Businesses Planeta Actimedia, the electronic publishing division of Spain's largest book publisher, Grupo Planeta, and Il Sole 24 Ore SpA, the leading publisher of economic, legal and financial information in Italy, have announced they will distribute eBook titles along with Spanish and Italian versions of Microsoft Reader in their respective markets. "Our cooperation with Microsoft to create a Spanish-language market for eBooks represents an important step in our global Internet business strategy," said Juan Juan General Manager of Planeta Actimedia. "The Microsoft Reader with ClearType will enable us to take advantage of a new and exciting way to provide our content through the Internet and will help us substantially expand our core publishing business." Planeta Actimedia will create a CD-ROM for distribution with its most popular magazines that will include eBook titles and Microsoft Reader. Microsoft Reader-compatible titles will also be available from its new online eBook store, expected to open in 2000. Il Sole 24 Ore will make available for download a range of business and financial eBooks via its corporate website. Golf Illustrated Launches Portal for Golfers Golf Illustrated Magazine has launched Golf Illustrated Online. Golf Illustrated Online combines golf information with Internet tools including web search, headline news, sports, weather, and stock tracking. "We looked at existing web-based golf offerings and saw one of two things," said Gerald Pope, publisher of Golf Illustrated. "You either find golf content with no support for the everyday needs of Internet users, or good portal services with weak golf content. Golf Illustrated On-Line delivers great content and excellent Internet services, so every golfer will benefit by using our portal as a gateway to the world wide web." To introduce the new portal, Golf Illustrated and AltaVista are sponsoring a 60-Day Grand Opening Webstakes. For five weeks, beginning the week of December 20, the first 1,000 visitors who register on-line each week will receive a free sleeve of Dunlop Double Titanium golf balls. Beginning the week of Monday, January 24, 2000 -- visitors who registered online will be eligible to win daily prizes, including Adams Fairway Woods, Carbite Polar-Balanced Putters, Pure Spin Wedges, golf vacations to Myrtle Beach and Southern California, and much more. No purchase is necessary to win. Established in 1914, Golf Illustrated is known for publishing game-improvement advice, equipment reviews, and extensive golf travel features. Current magazine subscribers and online visitors can gain access to the magazine's archives, as well as other resources such as: a personalized start page, trial subscriptions, weekly email golf news updates, product reviews, Q&As, advice and promotional offers. 3dfx and Imagine Media Announce Partnership 3dfx Interactive Inc. and Imagine Media, Inc., have announced that the companies have signed an exclusive agreement to promote 3dfx and its gaming website 3dfxgamers.comon the DailyRadar.com site. As part of the partnership agreement, 3dfx will have a major presence in many areas of the new site. 3dfx will continue to sponsor the popular game of the week feature, while delivering exclusive content to DailyRadar.com. 3dfx will also sponsor contests throughout the year, in addition to cross-promotional activities. "With millions of visitors since we launched in September, 3dfxgamers.com has been a phenomenal success," said Scott Taylor, director of Internet marketing at 3dfx Interactive, Inc. "Partnering with Imagine is a strong opportunity for us to drive even more traffic to 3dfxgamers.com and introduce more people to the Voodoo experience and the ever-growing 3dfx user community." "3dfx has long been a leader in the 3D graphics industry, with clearly one of the strongest brands in 3D hardware," said Roddy de la Garza, publisher of DailyRadar.com. "By working with 3dfx, we hope to further both brands within the gaming community while building larger user bases for 3dfxgamers.com and DailyRadar.com." Metropolitan Home to Furnish Interactive Content to Bluefly.com Bluefly, Inc., a retailer of designer fashions, has announced that Metropolitan Home magazine will supply original content for the House and Home Department on Bluefly.com. Under the terms of the agreement, merchandising editors from the magazine will create interactive content for Bluefly on a monthly basis. Metropolitan Home, one of the nation's leading home fashion magazines is the fourth content partner of Bluefly. Earlier this year, Bluefly announced similar agreements with Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire and Esquire. The original content from Metropolitan Home will be prominently featured throughout Bluefly's House and Home Department and in Flypaper, its trend and information area. Specific content will focus on hot product categories and emerging designers as well as trends for the home. The products featured will match the trends identified and be available for purchase. The Company expects to launch this content during the Spring of 2000. "The young, tech savvy readers of Metropolitan Home make the magazine a natural partner for us. This alliance gives Bluefly both world class content and the credibility of Metropolitan Home's powerful brand," said Ken Seiff, Chief Executive Officer of Bluefly. "Our House and Home Department represents one of Bluefly's most significant growth opportunities and this partnership is a strong signal that we intend to aggressively invest in this emerging growth sector," added Seiff. Eveo Appoints Alan Sternfeld to Chief Content Officer Eveo Inc., a digital entertainment company, has announced the appointments of Alan Sternfeld to Chief Content Officer, and Ron Lightstone to Eveo's board of directors. Most recently, Sternfeld was Executive Vice President at ABC Entertainment. Lightstone was CEO of New Star Media, a publishing, entertainment production and distribution company, and Chief Operating Officer of Spelling Entertainment. Eveo is creating an online service where users can produce and premiere original videos. The company is launching in the first quarter of 2000. Sternfeld has held executive positions at the ABC, NBC and Fox television networks. Most recently, Sternfeld was Executive Vice President at ABC Entertainment, responsible for the development and production of the company's entertainment series and film acquisitions, including primetime shows such as America's Funniest Home Videos. In an earlier post ABC, Sternfeld directed the network's program planning and scheduling. Before joining ABC, Sternfeld was Vice President at Fox Broadcasting Network where he oversaw creative production of all primetime series. Ron Lightstone was President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of New Star Media Inc., a publicly traded company engaged in book publishing, production and distribution of television programs. Prior to that, Lightstone was Chief Operating Officer of Spelling Entertainment Group Inc., a company that develops, produces and distributes television series, movies for television, mini-series and feature films worldwide. Lightstone oversaw all of the companies operations including Worldvision Enterprises, Spelling Films International, Laurel Entertainment and Hamilton Projects. Alibris to Supply barnesandnoble.com With Rare and Out-of-Print Books Alibris, a leading source for hard-to-find books, has announced an agreement with barnesandnoble.com to supplement barnesandnoble.com's current listings of rare, secondhand, and out-of-print books. "By partnering with Alibris, barnesandnoble.com will have additional access to a global network of dealers," said Tom Simon, Vice President of Content for barnesandnoble.com. "Book lovers will easily find even more rare, secondhand, and out-of-print books as well as discover titles they never knew existed before by browsing our new collections of particularly interesting finds." The Millbrook Press Announces New Appointments The Millbrook Press of Brookfield, Connecticut, a publisher of children's books for the library and consumer markets, has announced the appointment of two industry veterans to its board of directors: Joseph Kanon and Bruno Quinson. Joseph Kanon's most recent positions include Executive Vice-President for Trade and Reference Publishing at Houghton Mifflin and President and CEO for E.P. Dutton. He has also published two best-selling novels, Los Alamos and The Prodigal Spy. Bruno Quinson's career in publishing has included positions as President and CEO of Henry Holt and Co., Inc. and President of the General Books Division at the Macmillan Publishing Co. Of the new appointments Millbrook's CEO Jeff Conrad said, "We are excited to have Joe and Bruno become part of the Millbrook team. Their wide range of knowledge and experience will bring an added dimension to our board." 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