Rodale Pages, Revenue On the Rise
Rodale saw an increase of 18.3 percent in ad pages and 27.4 percent in ad revenues for the first half of 2007, compared to the -0.7 percent decrease in pages and the 6.1 percent increase in revenue across the remainder of the industry, according to PIB.
The Men’s Health brand continues to be the flagship title as the September issue of the magazine is expected to be the biggest single-issue ever produced by the company. Pages for the September issue are up 7.1 percent to 155 and revenues are up 15.3 percent. Year to date, MH pages are up 17.2 percent while ad revenue is up 25.6 percent.
Best Life ad pages are up 49.4 percent and revenue is up 74.5 percent compared to the first half of 2006. The September issue is expected to see gains in pages and revenue of 46.6 percent and 72.8 percent, respectively. Women’s Health saw page increases of 50.6 percent and revenues increase 197.3 percent.
BusinessWeek.com Receives 1 Million Podcast Downloads
BusinessWeek.com, the online component of the McGraw-Hill Companies’ BusinessWeek magazine, announced that it received more than one million podcast downloads in June.
The Web site’s two most downloaded podcasts, "The Welch Way" and "The Cover Story," helped propel the organization to the achievement. "The Welch Way" features Jack and Suzy Welch’s answers to readers’ questions about business, managing and careers. Jack Welch is a former CEO of General Electric. Suzy Welch is a former editor-in-chief of the Harvard Business Review.
"The Cover Story" is a compliment to the current print issue’s cover story, providing interviews with the writers and editors.
IDG acquires online IT network
IDG Communications, a subsidiary of the International Data Group, announced the acquisition of Accela Communications’ ITworld.com network and its database of hundreds of thousands of IT professionals.
IDG will maintain the ITworld.com network of Web sites – which include smallbusiness.ITworld.com, security.ITworld.com, and wireless.ITworld.com – as a stand-alone brand, the media company says. ITworld will benefit from marketing and sales services from Computerworld, one of IDG’s major worldwide magazines.
The two companies have shared a close business relationship for several years. ITworld has often featured news and information from IDG media sources, while Accela Communications leverages IDG’s media audiences for its AccelaCast media programs. IDG’s online network includes more than 450 Web sites covering topics such as business technology, consumer technology and digital entertainment.
A minority investor in Accela Communications, IDG sold a majority stake in the interactive marketing service firm to a management team in 2003. Details of the sale were not disclosed.
Magazines Launch Redesigned Web Sites
African American business and finance magazine Black Enterprise, and landowner news magazine The Land Report, have announced the redesign and re-launching of their Web sites.
Black Enterprise this week unveiled its redesigned Web site, which includes new features such as a multimedia library with unlimited and free video access to Black Enterprise television programs such as "Our World with Black Enterprise" and "Black Enterprise Business Report." The site also features audio access to the radio program, "Black Enterprise Magazine’s Keys to a Better Life."
Black Enterprise says its redesign Web site features a "wider, cleaner layout" which provides easier access to content and better usability and navigation through its signature lists, including the "Top 50 Colleges for African Americans" and the "40 Best Companies for Diversity."
The Land Report’s redesigned Web site will feature a shift in editorial focus from listing solicited news to generating original content, including how-to sections for first time land owners, the magazine says in a statement. Other new features will include market reviews and lists, a spotlight on regional properties and a new "Ask the Experts section.
The new site is scheduled to launch in early August.
Middle East Web Site Sees 2 Million Monthly Visitors
Global media auditor BPA Worldwide has announced that internet information portal Albawaba.com saw nearly two million visitors during the course of the November 2006 audit period.
The audit report shows that Al Bawaba – which features Middle East-focused news – also had more than six million page requests over the same period.
Al Bawaba is the only Web site in its region with audited geographic user data, the BPA says. The Web site is visited by readers worldwide.
National Geographic Story Most Read Article
Marketing and media research company Affinity Research ranked National Geographic’s June 2007 cover story "The Big Thaw" as the most read article in the first half of 2007. The study measured more than 1,3000 articles from over 100 magazines online. The story drew a 90 percent read/looked-into rate, with 79 percent of respondents reading more than half of the article and 87 percent of readers taking some sort of action with the article.
