BOULDER, CO (BRAIN) Tuesday July 3 2012 12:28 PM MT—An investment group led by three former VeloNews executives has bought a space industry magazine and website, Space News and www.spacenews.com.
Felix Magowen is the chairman of Space News Inc., a new entity set up as parent of the titles. Magowan was a co-founder of Inside Communications, the parent company of VeloNews, VeloNews.com, Inside Triathlon, VeloPress and VeloGear, which was sold to Competitor Group Inc. in 2008.
Magowan is a partner in the private investment group, Pocket Ventures, LLC, that bought the titles. Other partners are Greg Thomas, the former chief operating officer of Inside Communications and later a senior vice president at CGI, and Andy Pemberton, the former publisher of VeloNews. Pemberton is also a part owner of Panache Cyclewear.
The group purchased Space News from Imaginova Corp. The new owners said Space News will retain its staff, with Paul McPherson as vice president and publisher, and Warren Ferster as editor.
"Space News as the only weekly exclusively covering space issues has a clear world-wide leadership position in print," said Magowan. "We intend to build upon that by investing in various digital enhancements, including a radically redesigned and updated website, e-newsletters, microsites, and apps. These digital investments are necessary to better support the evolving needs of the key decision-makers who drive the space business around the globe. The space industry can be assured that we are responsible, long-term media investors who have the highest regard for Space News’s editorial quality."
Space News was founded in 1989 and is published 49 times a year. It has a subscription price of $209 per year and claims 45,000 readers in 50 countries. Its website gets 75,000 unique monthly visitors.
