FOLIO: Personalities -- The Blog People Page

Today is a day when all of us in b-to-b journalism should pause, look at the news in our industry, and ponder what it means for each of us, because it doesn't get any bigger than this: Bloomberg LP is restructuring.

Bloomberg is arguably the smartest and most profitable news operation in history. It is certainly the biggest money-making operation in the history of b-to-b. (Now that Reuters and Thomson have merged, Bloomberg may or may not be the biggest player in business journalism—depends on how y More...

I've been writing for a long time about the new competitors that traditional b-to-b publishers are finding on the Web.

Whether we're talking about Web-only publishers, editors who strike out on their own, sources who become publishers, or marketers who become journalists, the days in More...

The latest numbers from the Business Information Network show that things ain't looking good for print publications in b-to-b. Ad revenue and ad pages are down. And no doubt there's not a soul anywhere in the industry who is surprised by this latest bit of bad news.

As I said a little more than a month ago, much of the b-to-b publishing world, weighed down by heavy debt loads and soaring print costs, "has sunk into a death spiral." Heck, things are getting so bad on the print s More...

Harry McCracken is leaving PC World to start his own technology Web site. That's big news for the world of b-to-b journalism for several reasons.

Harry may be the biggest name in b-to-b editorial circles. Anyone who follows this industry will remember Harry's clash with management last year. Harry's ethical stance in that dispute won him the most important award in B2B publishing—American Business Media's Timothy White Award for editorial integrity. And certainly Harry More...

Longtime readers of my blog, as well as the folks who have seen one of my speaking engagements, know that I often point to b-to-b publisher IDG as a guide to the future. No publisher I know has done a better job of understanding the Web and making the transition away from print.

I've had a pretty good view of the struggles the company has faced as it moved to a Web-first model. And just like everywhere else in journalism, most of those struggles involved stubborn and close-minded people.

Truth be told, IDG has fewer stubborn and close-minded people than any publisher I know. That has given the company a tremendous advantage. But as in most publishing companies, the slow-witted ch More...

ASBPE has not yet issued an official ruling on the controversy that began two days ago when I wrote about my concerns over CIO magazine's use of in-text links. That's understandable. Unlike the ad-in-links controversy that I've written about repeatedly, the CIO issue is more complex.

If you're not familiar with the issue, please take a look at the earlier post (and make sure you read the comments, which contain a number of interesting insights.)

But ASBPE has done the next best thing.

Steve Roll, president of the orga More...

The b-to-b publisher that has perhaps the best reputation in the industry for ethical behavior is behaving unethically. And I'm sick about it. CIO magazine, which is owned by CXO Media, a unit of IDG, is adding links to editorial copy without the approval of editors.

Longtime readers of my blog will understand why that has broken my heart. But if you're new to my work, allow me to explain.

I've been fighting against in-text ads such as those sold by Vibrant Media for a very long time now. And the reason I do so is because such links are—clearly—a violation of the ethical guidelines of b- More...

Things are awful and getting worse.

That's my conclusion about b-to-b publishing, as yet another company takes drastic measures after finding it can't carry an absurd debt load in a recessionary economy.

In an e-mail to employees, Penton CEO John French announced a company-wide salary and hiring freeze. He also requested ideas on cutting costs. John also "asked for a complete reforecast from all of our product managers, including a restated revenue forecast and a projected expense forecast for the remainder of 2008." That process should be completed More...

Bad news in the world of b-to-b journalism. Nielsen Business Media, formerly known as VNU, has laid off a number of editorial staffers. FOLIO: magazine says it's "not immediately clear how many employees have been let go." FishbowlNY says between 40 and 50 jobs have been eliminated and cites an anonymous tipster who claims "most cuts (are) coming from the company's digital and More...

Just days ago I urged journalism teachers to force students to learn about business and finance. In particular, I want students to understand debt financing, which has put a stranglehold on many publications.

My hope is that by understanding the murderously difficult environment in which many publishers operate, students will made better decisions about their career path.

To that end, I offer a reading assignment.

Reuters has published a lengthy and well-reasoned article showing that it will be damn near impossible for Sam Zell to avoid a default at the Tribune Co., which is groaning beneath $4 billion of debt and More...

I recently had the opportunity to visit a number of universities and to attend two conventions for college journalists. This is the conclusion of a four-part series on my experiences. You can see part one here. You can read part two here. Check out part three here. More...

Late last month came news that b-to-b publisher Questex was buying FierceMarkets, the online-only publisher best known for its niche, email newsletters. I said then that I thought the deal had some major implications for our industry. Today I'd like to elaborate.

First, I want to make it clear that the FierceMarkets deal doesn't change my opinion of email newsletters. As a general rule, I can't stand the things. I much prefer to get my news and information via RSS feeds. As I wrote on this blog slightly more than two years ago: "More...