December 1, 2008 – The Phoenix Media/Communications Group (PM/CG) today announced its acquisition of the Spanish-language weekly newspaper El Planeta.
With a circulation of 50,000, El Planeta is the largest of the four Spanish-language weeklies published in and around Boston. (A fifth such paper serves Worcester.)
El Planeta launched in May 2004. The Phoenix became an investor as of August 2005. With today’s announcement, the PM/CG assumes full operational and financial control.
The editorial, sales, and marketing staffs will move from their current Brookline location to the Boston office of the PM/CG early in 2009.
El Planeta was founded by Javier Marin and Jon Urruzuno. Speaking for the duo Marin said: «By nature, Jon and I are entrepreneurs and we look forward to our next venture. El Planeta, however, was a special project. I’m proud that my partners at the Phoenix will be the ones to carry it forward.»
Explaining what differentiates El Planeta from its competition, editor Marcela Garcia said: «Rather than cater to specific audiences from specific countries, we seek to find common ground in the Hispanic community by reporting on issues such as immigration, politics, higher education, and health care and hospitals. We seek to be inclusive — we aim to build bridges.»
Characteristic of that mission are El Planeta’s quarterly, bilingual Health and Family magazine; its annual Powermeter 100, which spotlights those who make things happen in and for the Latino community; and the just launched, annual 20 On The Move project, a joint venture with the Boston Business Journal designed to bring into the mainstream stories about Latinos who have achieved success in the professional business world.
While other Hispanic publications repurpose their content online, El Planeta goes a step further. Launched earlier this year, its website, TuBoston.com, is more like a blog, dynamically serving additional stories, links, and announcements from a variety of sources. Within a matter of months, TuBoston.com became one of the most visited sites for Boston area Latinos.
«El Planeta is an exciting and natural addition to the Phoenix family,» said Brad Mindich, President of the PM/CG. «The paper’s commitment to editorial excellence, and its presence in the community as a politically active and culturally aware voice, fits perfectly with the Phoenix and our mission. From a purely business point of view, our sales force will be able to extend the reach of El Planeta across our converged platform that includes print, radio, the Internet and mobile, and in today’s media world, selling across multiple platforms is vital to future success and growth.»
More about the PM/CG publications and companies: The Boston Phoenix began as a four-page arts-and-entertainment weekly in 1966. The Phoenix is the flagship property of the Phoenix Media/Communications Group, which in addition to the Phoenix weekly newspapers in Rhode Island and Maine and Stuff@Night magazine, comprises the FNX Radio Network; Phoenix Interactive (thephoenix.com, fnxradio.com, stuffatnight.com); Phoenix Ventures (the sports and magazine group that publishes the official yearbooks for the Boston Bruins, the Boston Celtics, and the Boston Marathon; People2People Group (audio text and social networking applications); g8wave (marketing and content using SMS and other mobile technologies); and Mass Web Printing (four-color offset printing).
All Phoenix companies are privately held.
Phoenix Media/Communications Group adquiere semanario en español El Planeta
December 1, 2008 – El Phoenix Media/Communications Group (PM/CG) anunció hoy la compra del semanario en españo
