I subscribe to Meg Cox's newsletter, and she may have the answer for you in her latest: (I am sorry that it is long, but I didn't want to take anything out of context) .......so, don't be quick.....wait and see what happens with the new owners.
NEWS FLASH: MAJOR MERGER OF QUILT MAGAZINES
We all know the economy sucks and magazines and newspapers everywhere have gone under due to steep drops in ad revenues. There have been rumors for months that magazine publisher CK Media was in trouble, followed by reports of layoffs at its various titles. These are some of the most beloved quilt publications around, from the long-lived Quilter's Newsletter to the fun, new kid on the block, Mark Lipinski's Quilter's Home. Personally, I subscribe to both of these as well as other CK titles like McCall's Quilting and couldn't bear to contemplate their demise. In all, CK Media put out 9 magazines with a combined circulation of about one million.
The news is mostly good. Earlier this month, CK Media was acquired by New Track Media LLC, a publishing company based in Cambridge, Mass. that already owns such high-profile quilting properties as QNNtv, Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting and the Keepsake Quilting catalogs.
There's been grumbling over the subsequent firing of more than 20 CK Media employees, from editorial staffers to management and back-office types. I can see why New Track wouldn't want to keep circulation, accounting and other such functions in Denver and Salt Lake City when it's got these departments elsewhere. But I also understand why this mega deal might make some folks nervous. The lion's share of quilt magazines are now owned by one company. That's a lot of eggs in one basket, so let's take a look at whether that basket is sturdy.
New Track Media is part of the portfolio of a well-regarded private equity company called Boston Ventures that specializes in media and communications. But the key player here is New Track's CEO Stephen Kent. As a former reporter for the Wall Street Journal, I know there are investor groups full of meatheads who buy up assets willy nilly, with no passion for the products in question and no more than greed as a strategic plan, but I don't believe that's the case here. I had an opportunity recently to put some questions to Stephen Kent about the deal, so I'll share his responses.
First off, Kent is a savvy, Harvard-educated guy who formerly spent 5 years as CEO of F & W Publishing, a publisher of hobby and special interest magazines, books and book clubs that grew to $250 million in annual revenues from $65 million when he began. So he gets the publishing business and he knows how to grow it. He founded New Track in 2006 and since has acquired Keepsake Quilting, Fons & Porter and QNNtv, among other properties including the magazine Sky & Telescope.
In defending the staff cuts, Stephen Kent told me: "We believe that the entire group (at CK Media) was at risk before our transaction, which is to say that we feel like we protected most jobs while having to reduce some." Going forward, he says, quilting is now the biggest component of New Track's business, and thus he is committed to "seeing the category grow and helping it do that by serving quilting enthusiasts in the best ways possible... The objective is to do more not less, so eliminating publications is not in our plans."
I was eager to ask Stephen Kent about the Quilting in America survey, a popular census of quilters which has been published every 3 years since 1993. The last survey came out in 2006 from CK Media, so 2009 would seem to be time for an update. "The former ownership let this slip, presumably due to cost," he said. "We are now trying to figure out if we can make this happen. If at all possible, our intention would be to continue the research." So, there may or may not be a 2009 Quilting in America survey announced at Quilt Festival in October, but they're trying.
It's impossible to predict how this company will change these publications going forward, but so far things look promising. For one, this deal puts two powerhouse talents in the same company: Mark Lipinski and Jodie Davis, president of QNN, who will debut their new quilt TV show, Quilt Out Loud, on the web later this month. (For details go to www.quiltoutloud.com). Also, Angie Hodapp was just named editor-in-chief of Quilter's Newsletter, taking over from Jan Magee. Angie is a young, passionate and very able editor who understands the high-tech tools of today's quilters, so this bodes well.
Bottom line: I think we should all celebrate this move because it represents a humongous investment in the future of quilting. These are smart people and they clearly think quilting is going to continue growing. Let's surpass their expectations, shall we?