BOULDER, Colo., Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Active Interest Media, Inc. (AIM)
has acquired Yellowstone Journal Corporation (YJC), AIM President and Chief
Executive Officer Efrem "Skip" Zimbalist III announced today. The new
acquisition adds to AIM's growing portfolio of enthusiast magazines, consumer
shows, books, and Internet sites (http://www.aimmedia.com), and further
advances its expansion into the outdoor and Western travel markets. The terms
of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 1994, YJC is a tourism focused media group that produces two
print publications, Yellowstone Journal and 99 Things to Do in Yellowstone
County, as well as the industry-leading website, YellowstonePark.com.
Together, YJC's print and online products reach over 4 million people
annually, influencing both prospective and committed Yellowstone Park tourists
during their trip planning and visit.
For over fourteen years, the Yellowstone Journal has been the most trusted
voice on local Park and recreational news, providing in-depth, comprehensive
coverage on everything from grizzly bear management to backcountry adventures
to geyser gazing. 99 Things to Do in Yellowstone County is the definitive
guide to Yellowstone Park and the surrounding regions, relied on by hundreds
of thousands of visitors each year for its detailed overview of available
activities and destinations in the area. Both publications are distributed to
visitors in the six states surrounding Yellowstone Park (Montana, Wyoming,
Colorado, Utah, Idaho, and South Dakota), and together boast an estimated
total readership of approximately one million.
Since its launch in 1996, YJC's website, YellowstonePark.com, has won
numerous national and international awards. YellowstonePark.com was honored by
the Webby Awards' People's Voice in 2005 as the Best Tourism Site in the
World. In 2007, a redesigned YellowstonePark.com swept the tourism category,
winning both the People's Voice and the Critical Judges' Award for Best
Tourism Site in the World, as well as numerous other prestigious honors.
Today, YellowstonePark.com is widely regarded as one of the premier
tourism website in the world, serving as a total trip-planning resource for
travelers, offering timely and relevant travel tips and tools that influence
prospective travelers around the world. The site is also available in French,
Italian, and German.
"The Yellowstone Journal Corporation is an excellent company with
outstanding future growth potential, and represents the best kind of
multi-platform media properties we seek to acquire," said Andy Clurman, Chief
Operating Officer of AIM. "Its family of print and web products provide a
perfect fit with AIM's Backpacker and American Cowboy magazines, both in terms
of sharing content, audience, and trip planning tools, and because of the
potential it provides for combining YJC's model and expertise with AIM's
resources to expand to other travel markets."
Shelli Johnson, original founder and CEO of Yellowstone Journal
Corporation, as well as the rest of the YJC team, will remain with the
company.
"This is an exciting day for us," said Johnson. "We founded this company
as a little newspaper, and over the years we have worked hard to build a
thriving business. This acquisition will not close the book, but rather turn
the page to the next chapter. We are excited about our partnership with AIM
and look forward to realizing an even grander vision that will extend the
reach of our tourism partners, providing more extensive content and even
better experiences for our customers around the world."
To learn more about YJC, go to http://www.yellowstoneinternational.com
About AIM:
Based in El Segundo, California, AIM (http://www.aimmedia.com) is a
consumer enthusiast media company that serves a base of loyal constituents
through print, event and online products that connect consumers with their
passions.
AIM operates in four distinct vertical segments; Healthy Living, Marine,
Homebuyer, and Western Art and Living. Its titles include Yoga Journal,
Backpacker, Vegetarian Times, Better Nutrition, Optimum Wellness, SNEWS(R)
Whole Foods Market(R) magazine, Southwest Art, American Cowboy, Log Home
Design, Log Home Living, Timber Home Living, Building Systems, Black Belt, The
Collector's Guide, New Old House, Old-House Journal, and Yachts International.
AIM produces and markets conferences, DVDs and books, and produces 12 shows on
log homes and more than two dozen building seminars. The company also produces
the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show(R), the largest boat show in the
world.
About Backpacker:
Backpacker brings the outdoors to readers' doorsteps, inspiring and
empowering them to get out and enjoy nature more often. The authority on
active adventure, Backpacker is the world's first GPS-enabled magazine, and
the only magazine whose editors personally test the hiking trails, camping
gear, and survival tips they publish. Backpacker's Editors' Choice Awards --
an industry honor recognizing design, feature, and product innovation -- have
become the gold standard against which all other outdoor-industry awards are
measured. The magazine won the 2008 National Magazine Award for Editorial
Excellence, the highest honor in the magazine industry.
Backpacker's award-winning website, http://www.backpacker.com, is updated
daily and features more than 3,000 hikes, a searchable and comprehensive
database of outdoor gear (http://www.gearfinder.com), special sections for
beginners and female hikers, the most active community forums in the outdoor
space, and a wealth of trail tips, videos, and GPS know-how.
About American Cowboy:
Published for devotees of the cowboy and the West, American Cowboy
(http://www.americancowboy.com) covers all aspects of the Western lifestyle,
delivering the best in travel, entertainment, personalities, rodeo action,
human interest, art, poetry, fashion, food, horsemanship, history, and every
other facet of Western culture. With stunning photography and you-are-there
reportage, American Cowboy immerses readers in the cowboy life and the magic
that is the great American West.
SOURCE Active Interest Media, Inc.
Joanne Reynolds of Active Interest Media, Inc., +1-303-247-8095, Fax,
+1-303-449-4635, jreynolds@aimmedia.com
