"Reed Business Information has taken another step in the divestment of its U.S.-based magazines," Folio magazine reported yesterday, saying that the publisher has sold Library Journal and School Library Journal to Media Source Inc., based in Plain City, Ohio.
The acquisition includes the print and online properties associated with the two brands, Folio reported, but "financial terms of the deal were not disclosed." Media Source CEO Randall Asmo said the two imprints are “valuable magazines that deserve a corporate home focused on libraries. . . . Our goal is to build upon those strengths to provide a vital and comprehensive service to the librarian community.”
Media Source Marketing Vice President Andrew Thorne told Folio that the company plans to continue both magazines in print. "Circulation is always a tough challenge, but we don't have any plans to cut the circ levels. In fact, we'd like to reverse the slight decline in circulation that these titles have shown over the past couple years."
Thorne added, "Overall, Media Source is looking for growth from these titles and from our other companies in the library market. Bringing SLJ and LJ together with sister companies Junior Library Guild and The Horn Book creates some exciting opportunities for both librarians and the advertising community." Media Source is the parent company of the Junior Library Guild and The Horn Book, Inc.
In the announcement, Folio reported, Asmo said LJ and SLJ’s editorial and advertising teams will maintain their operations in New York City. "It was not immediately clear if any layoffs are associated with the deal or if any changes (frequencies, circulations, etc.) are planned for the magazines." It is also unclear where this leaves Publishers Weekly when its sister magazines have parted ways.
Library Journal Editor-in-Chief Francine Fialkoff blogged about the sale today on the magazine's website, saying she was "pleased, and relieved, at the turn of events that has aligned us with a library company, Media Source." She noted that the magazines' offices would be moving to new digs in New York City and will continue to be led by publisher Ron Shank. She also noted that sibling publication Publishers Weekly is not part of the deal, even though "we have been integrally tied to PW ever since our founding in 1876 by Melvil Dewey and R. R. Bowker, three years after Bowker launched PW for the book trade. Many of us have worked together for years, sharing expertise, gossip, and leads. We refer back and forth to each others' publications. I have no doubt that they will survive without us, but it will still seem strange to go forward without them."
Fialkoff also noted that "there is one thing we may not miss. Our previous ownership by Reed Elsevier raised valid concerns among many readers, though we've put Reed through the same editorial lens as other companies in the library market, and it has never interfered with our editorial content. Still, there may be some bloggers and other writers who preferred not to be affiliated with Reed and who now may have a welcome change of heart."
Those concerns about corporate ownership date back many years. Fialkoff's comments reminded me of the article we published in American Libraries in November 1996 titled "Advocacy for Profit: Library Journalism by Corporate Design." We decided to do the article largely because so many librarians were urging us to investigate how for-profits make money in a largely nonprofit world. To write the article, we went to New York City and interviewed key staff members, including then-publisher Fred Ciporen, who said, "The editors work very hard to be independent." He pointed out that many were "highly critical" of some of the actions of Reed Elsevier—"a known price gouger," as one editor put it. Ciporen added presciently, "We don't want to be painted with their brush."