Meredith

Meredith’s acquisition of Time Inc. is not paying the big dividends hoped for, according to a report on Bloomberg. While the merger made Meredith the biggest magazine publisher in the country, the combined company is not as profitable as had been expected. Meredith stock closed at 33.63 on Sep. 5, down 46 percent from its 52-week high of 62.40. Meredith CEO Tom Harty said on a conference call that ad sales for the former Time Inc. titles that remain under Meredith’s control (People, InStyle and Real Simple) have been sluggish. For the coming year, Harty predicts an increase in the mid single digits for digital ad sales, with print ad sales expected to decline slightly. Following the merger, Meredith unloaded Time, Fortune and Sports Illustrated. The company is still trying to sell FanSided, the Sports Illustrated blog that remained behind after Meredith’s deal with Authentic Brands for the magazine.

E&P

Editor & Publisher, which narrowly averted closure almost a decade ago when Nielsen was shedding titles, has been purchased by multimedia consulting firm Blinder Group. The magazine’s October issue will be the first under its new management. Nu Yang, who has served as managing editor, will take over the editor-in-chief spot from Jeff Fleming. Fleming is remaining with Duncan Macintosh Co., which acquired E&P in 2010. While Blinder Group founder and president Mike Blinder says he will continue to publish the monthly print magazine, he adds that he will pursue more opportunities that focus on online platforms, podcasting and events. He also told Folio that the editorial scope of the magazine will shift to include “anyone who needs to create news, create an audience around that news, and then monetize that audience.” E&P’s offices will remain in Los Angeles.

David Cuillier
David Cuillier

The Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at the University of Florida has launched the Journal of Civic Information, an open-access, interdisciplinary journal that publishes peer-reviewed research related to the field of public information accessibility. The online quarterly will publish articles from both scholars and practitioners, addressing such topics as access to public records and meetings, court transparency, access to public employees and elected officials, open data and technology, and other related matters, with an emphasis on issues relevant to the state and local levels of government. The journal’s inaugural editor is David Cuillier, associate professor at the University of Arizona School of Journalism and former national president of the Society of Professional Journalists.