MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
July 5 – July 12, 2006 Edition
Meredith Trims
Book Staff, Output
To Focus On Internet
DEMOINES, IOWA/7/3/07Meredith Corporation, a leading media and marketing company centering on magazine and book publishing, television broadcasting, and interactive media, is cutting back its book publishing program to concentrate on its core businesses. The New York office of Meredith Books has cut 15 jobs from its 110-person office, most in the children’s department. Trade editorial director Linda Cunningham is also leaving the company.
The company had been growing its do-it-yourself book imprints for the past several years, but is now dramatically changing course to concentrate on the electronic marketplace. In a June 19 mid-year media review for the Newspaper Association of America, Meredith CEO Steve Lacy said, “We are aggressively growing our online footprint, driving revenue growth across our interactive properties with a goal of delivering 10 percent of Meredith total company revenue by the year 2010. We’re actively developing revenue streams. Our broadband channels and online custom marketing acquisitions, I think, are excellent examples of execution against these initiatives.”
Meredith’s efforts to branch into new areas of publishing and to use its extensive magazine network to help promote its books have met with mixed results. The company will now concentrate on publishing authors in areas such as food, diet, gardening, and home improvement. Lisa Berkowitz, executive editor, will manage Meredith’s New York office. Cunningham had been with Meredith since 2002.
About Meredith Corporation
Meredith Corporation, headquartered in Des Moines, IA, is one of the nation’s leading media and marketing companies with businesses centering on magazine and book publishing, television broadcasting, integrated marketing and interactive media.
The Meredith Publishing Group features 26 subscription magazines – including Better Homes and Gardens, Ladies’ Home Journal, Family Circle, Parents, American Baby, Fitness, and More – and publishes over 200 special interest publications under approximately 80 titles.
Meredith has more than 400 books in print and has established marketing relationships with some of America’s leading companies including The Home Depot, DIRECTV, DaimlerChrysler, Wal-Mart and Carnival Cruise Lines. Meredith’s customer database, which contains approximately 85 million names, is one of the largest domestic databases among media companies and enables magazine and television advertisers to target marketing campaigns precisely.
Additionally, Meredith has an extensive Internet presence that includes 31 web sites and strategic alliances with leading Internet destinations. Meredith Hispanic Ventures publishes five Spanish-language titles, making Meredith the largest Hispanic publisher in the United States. Meredith owns 14 television stations including properties in top-25 markets.
