Is Rodale looking to sell Runner's World and Bicycling mags?

Letsrun folks are so smart, let's see a group here buy RW and turn it into a "real runners magazine".

If you work in publishing for very long you realize that all titles and media groups are always "on the table." It's unlikely that Rodale is going to find a buyer for RW and RT anytime soon.

And ... turning either title into a hardcore "runner's magazine" would be a great way to burn through money and ensure a financial collapse. Like it or not, it's the jogger-level participants that float the sport, not the (actual and wanna-be) elite runners.

Why would the guy given credit for making the Rodale purchase of RT have moved on so soon? Is the company having misgivings about the acquisition?

They perhaps could be looking to sell it to Falconhead...the group that bought Triathlete/Inside Triathlon and Elite Racing among others?

It's true that "joggers" subsidize a good deal of the sport... but that demographic could still be managed by a better publisher. Hersham saw the writing on the wall. The new publisher was the one who facilitated the sale of Backpacker and I believe Scuba. All Ro-sell mags are as good as gone. The head of Rodale(Steve Murphy)is a "slam bam thank you mam" kind of guy. He'd sell his children to make a $. He stands to make a huge windfall when the mags are sold. Rodale is managed by a bunch of bed wetting liberals anyway...have you seen the titles they print? I thought Inconvenient Truth was eye opening as best...but

The Italian Letter...that is one of the most ridiculous

book ideas I've ever seen...I actually read about 30-40 pages of it. Here's the deal...Rodale management comes up with lame book ideas and then has people in "position" ghost write them.

F-Rodale

Gee, 007...when's the mothership due?

007. About the CEO - kind of funny because there is a small about of truth to it. Mags - probably true. Books - a little off base.

about = amount

The following is from Rodale's 2007 report:

The Runner's World Media Group, which includes Runner's World and Running Times, recorded an 11% revenue increase in 2007 compared to 2006. Runner's World magazine saw an 8.2% increase in advertising revenues, while advertising pages remained basically flat with a slight 0.6% decline, according to PIB. Second-half single copy sales of the magazine were up 11.9% over the second half of 2006, as filed with the Audit Bureau of Circulations, subject to audit. Online revenues rose by 121.7% compared to 2006.

None of which means Rodale would not sell it. But using a quarter's worth of results to extrapolate a done deal would be more than an active-isolated stretch. Print circulation and revenue in general is flat to down, largely because of the Internet. But some magazines, obviously, will survive if not thrive.

Besides, I didn't think anyone in this forum read Runner's World.

One possible scenario would be for RW to fold RT or make it a Web site only. I mean, I love running, too. But two national magazines for this sport? Seems like one too many.

Two magazines is too many?

Runner's World is targeted towards the "common man" runner, while Running Times focuses more on elite competition. How is that over saturating the market?