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Lumina Media
Founded1974; 50 years ago (1974) (as Fancy Publications)
FounderNorman Ridker
DefunctFebruary 2020
Country of originUnited States
Headquarters locationAnn Arbor, Michigan, United States
Publication typesMagazines, books
Nonfiction topicsPets, lifestyles, and hobbies
Official websiteluminamedia.com

Lumina Media was an American publisher of magazines, books, and associated websites. Throughout all its incarnations, the business has focused on the pet-keeping and -breeding market, though also with some other topical lifestyle and hobby publications. The original company was founded in 1974 as Fancy Publications (later renamed BowTie Inc.) by Norman Ridker, absorbing Kennel Club Books in 2004, which made BowTie a main competitor to TFH Publications in the pet-book market. In 2002, Bob Garfield of On the Media called Fancy Publications "the Time Warner of the pet magazine business".[1] After some financial difficulties, BowTie was restructured as I-5 Publishing in 2013 under the new ownership of David Fry and Mark Harris, and took on its present name in 2016.

Over the years, the company has launched, acquired, divested, or consolidated many pet-related paper and digital publications, including a number that have been dominant in their niches among North American speciality magazines and sites during various periods, including Bird Talk, Cat Fancy (merged into the Catster website and magazine), Dog Fancy (merged to Dogster), Dog World (purchased from Primedia Inc., and originally dating to 1916), Ferrets Magazine (merged to the Small Animal Channel website), and Reptiles. Lumina has also dominated the American market for magazine-format newsstand specials about pets (usually annually issued). In 2016, Lumina sold its book division – responsible for more than 400 paper books and e-books, mostly about specific breeds – to Fox Chapel Publishing, forming the new imprint CompanionHouse Press. Some other noteworthy Lumina publications have included Motorcycle Consumer News, Veterinary Practice News (later published by Kenilworth Media), and the first magazine devoted to animal rescue, Rescue Me (later Rescue Proud). As of February 2020, Lumina Media was dissolved and had ceased their business operations. A letter was sent to subscribers without explanation as to why.

History

[edit]

Fancy Publications was started by Norman Ridker in 1974.[2] Ridker subsequently renamed the company to BowTie Inc. (publishing books as BowTie Press) to show his love of bow ties.[2] By 2013, BowTie had experienced months of financial difficulties caused in part by significant decreases in readership and in advertisement proceeds.[2] In 2013, I-5 Publishing LLC, a new company founded by David Fry and Mark Harris, bought BowTie's businesses for an eight-figure sum.[2] I-5 started to decrease their "breeder-centric" publications in favor of rescue-focused content, and launched a topically unique magazine titled Rescue Me,[3] later followed up by Rescue Proud. The company was renamed to Lumina Media in 2016.[4]

Timeline

[edit]
  • 1993 – Fancy Publications published the magazines Aquarium Fish, Bird Talk, Cat Fancy, Dog Fancy, Horse Illustrated, Pet Product News, Reptiles, and Wild Bird.[5][6]
  • 1998 – Fancy Publications operated the website Animal Network and published Bird Breeder magazine.[7]
  • 1998 – Fancy Publications sued Primedia over alleged copyright infringement by Primedia's Cats magazine.[8]
  • 1999 – Fancy Publications published Bird Talk, Critters, Dog Fancy, Ferrets, Koi World, Natural Cat, Natural Dog, Rabbits, and Reptiles.[9]
  • 2004 – BowTie acquired Kennel Club Books, a publisher in Allenhurst, New Jersey, that specialized in dog-breed books, adding about 200 titles to their then-current collection of around 100 titles.[10] The Library of Congress has 265 books published under the Kennel Club Books imprint.[11]
  • 2012 – BowTie stopped publishing a print version of Bird Talk magazine.[12]
  • 2012 – Thoroughbred Times magazine filed for bankruptcy and terminated operations. The Times had been started in 1985 and was acquired by BowTie in 1993.[12][13]
  • 2013 – I-5 Publishing signed a 10-year deal to print and distribute Rat Rod Magazine, adding to its several auto titles, including Auto Restorer magazine.[12]
  • 2013 – Lumina Media purchased Dog Fancy and Cat Fancy magazines from BowTie.[2]
  • 2013 – I-5 Publishing acquired the Dogster and Catster websites from Say Media.[14]
  • 2013 – I-5 Publishing acquires Poultry World (previously The Poultry Magazine)[15]
  • 2014 – Lumina Media launched alternating bimonthly print magazines for Dogster and Catster and stopped publishing Dog Fancy and Cat Fancy magazines.[16][14]
  • 2016 – Lumina Media sold its book division to Fox Chapel Publishing, including 330 print books and 440 e-books to be sold under the new imprint CompanionHouse Press.[17][18]
  • 2017 – Lumina Media sold Veterinary Practice News to Kenilworth Media, Inc.[19]
  • 2017 – Lumina Media sold the Web publication Petcha and Reptiles magazine to PetSmart.[20][21]
  • 2017 – Lumina Media sold Horse Illustrated, Young Rider, Hobby Farms, and Chickens magazines to EG Media Investments.[22]
  • 2017 – Lumina Media sold Dogster and Catster to Belvoir Media Group.[23]

Magazines

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Magazines published by I-5 Publishing (monthly, unless otherwise noted) include or formerly included:[24][25]

  • Aquarium USA (annual)
  • Auto Restorer
  • Bird Talk[26]
  • Cats USA (annual)[27]
  • Chickens
  • Cigar & Spirits (50% stake,[28] sold back to the magazine's original founder in 2015)
  • Critters USA (annual)
  • Dog World (annual)
  • Dogs USA (annual)[29]
  • Dogs in Review[30]
  • Ferrets Magazine (bimonthly, later online-only)[1]
  • Hobby Farms
  • Horse Illustrated
  • Horses USA (annual)
  • Kittens USA (annual)[31]
  • Lucky Puppy
  • Marine Fish and Reef USA (annual)
  • Motorcycle Consumer News
  • Popular Horse (series of specials)
  • Puppies USA (annual)[32]
  • Puppies 101
  • Quarter Horses[33]
  • Rabbits USA (annual)
  • Rat Rod (pertaining to hotrods, not rodents)
  • Reptiles
  • Reptiles USA (annual)
  • Rescue Proud
  • Road Rider
  • Urban Farm (bimonthly)
  • Young Rider (pertaining to horses, not motorcycles)
  • Your New Horse[33]

Websites

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I-5 Publishing has operated several websites (with domain names corresponding to their titles, e.g. SmallAnimalChannel.com for Small Animal Channel) including:[25]

  • Bird Channel[34]
  • Cat Channel[35]
  • Dog Channel[36]
  • Fish Channel[37]
  • Horse Channel[33]
  • Reptile Channel
  • Small Animal Channel[24] (devoted primarily to rabbits and rodents)

References

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  1. ^ a b Garfield, Bob; Gladstone, Brooke (January 4, 2002). "Ferrets Magazine". On the Media. WNYC Studios. Retrieved August 25, 2019. (Click the "Transcript" tab to get the transcript.)
  2. ^ a b c d e Clough, Richard (January 2, 2013). "Pet Publisher BowTie Sells Magazines". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on August 25, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  3. ^ Jow, Lauren (October 16, 2014). "Company Revamped Pet Publishing". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on August 25, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  4. ^ Guaglione, Sara (March 17, 2016). "I-5 Publishing Rebrands as Lumina Media". MediaPost. Archived from the original on August 26, 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  5. ^ Siegel, Suzie (May 7, 1993). "Half a Century of Cat Tales". The Tampa Tribune. Archived from the original on August 25, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Spadafori, Gina (August 25, 1993). "Unusual Pets in Print". Ellensburg Daily Record. McClatchy. Retrieved August 25, 2019 – via Google News.
  7. ^ Szadkowski, Joe (June 16, 1998). "Site Gives Pet Owners Wealth of Information". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on August 25, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2019 – via NewsBank.
  8. ^ Kuczynski, Alex (December 16, 1998). "Cat fight Breaks Out in Specialty World: Cats Magazine Takes on Cat Fancy, the Big One on the Block – One Lawsuit Has Already Been Launched". Vancouver Sun. The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 25, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Rivenberg, Roy (January 25, 1999). "Cosmo for the Cold and Scaly". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 25, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  10. ^ Milliott, Jim (May 14, 2004). "BowTie Inc. Adds to Pet Book Offerings". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on August 25, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  11. ^ "List of Books by Publisher 'Kennel Club Books' - LC Catalog - Titles List". Catalog.LoC.gov. Library of Congress.
  12. ^ a b c Clough, Richard (March 17, 2014). "Dog Fancy Publisher Adds Hot-rod Title". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on August 25, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  13. ^ Crosby, Claire (September 15, 2012). "Thoroughbred Times Declares Bankruptcy".
  14. ^ a b Madans, Hannah; Gohri, Imran (December 13, 2014). "Viral Pet Antics Come to Print with Two New Magazines". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on August 25, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  15. ^ "Press Release: I-5 Publishing Acquires UK-based Poultry World Magazine". I5Publishing.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  16. ^ Riesman, Abraham (December 11, 2014). "Who Killed Cat Fancy?". New York. Archived from the original on August 25, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  17. ^ Maher, John (February 2, 2017). "Fox Chapel Acquires Lumina Books Division".
  18. ^ "Fox Chapel Acquires Lumina Books Division". December 30, 2016.
  19. ^ "Kenilworth Media, Inc. Acquires Veterinary Practice News from Lumina Media LLC". May 24, 2017.
  20. ^ "About Petcha". Petcha. Archived from the original on December 28, 2018 – via Web.archive.org.
  21. ^ "Lumina Media LLC Sells Petcha.com and Reptiles". TheFisherCompany.com. August 2017.
  22. ^ "EG Media Investments Acquires Hobby Farms, Chickens, Horse Illustrated, and Young Rider from Lumina Media LLC". TheFisherCompany.com. December 18, 2017.
  23. ^ "Press Release: Belvoir Media Group Acquires Catster and Dogster from Lumina Media LLC". TheFisherCompany.com. April 25, 2017.
  24. ^ a b "Rabbit Information, Rabbit Care and Rabbit Health". Small Animal Channel. March 19, 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-03-19 – via Web.archive.org.
  25. ^ a b "Our Products". i5Publishing.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2016 – via Web.archive.org.
  26. ^ "Bird Talk Annual Magazine". Archived from the original on April 14, 2016 – via Web.archive.org.
  27. ^ "Cats USA 2013 Table of Contents". Archived from the original on February 6, 2013 – via Web.archive.org.
  28. ^ "Cigar & Spirits Magazine and I-5 Publishing Form New Partnership". Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  29. ^ "Dogs USA 2011". Dog Channel. Archived from the original on April 6, 2016 – via Web.archive.org.
  30. ^ "Dogs in Review". Dog Channel. Archived from the original on April 18, 2016 – via Web.archive.org.
  31. ^ "Kittens USA 2012–2013 Table of Contents". Cat Channel. Archived from the original on April 3, 2016 – via Web.archive.org.
  32. ^ "Puppies USA 2012". Dog Channel. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016 – via Web.archive.org.
  33. ^ a b c "Horse Books and Magazines". Horse Channel. Archived from the original on April 17, 2016 – via Web.archive.org.
  34. ^ "Pet Birds, Parrots, Cockatiels, Macaws, Conures, Parakeets Care, Facts and Information". BirdChannel.com. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016 – via Web.archive.org.
  35. ^ "Cat Fancy Presents CatChannel.com". Cat Channel. Archived from the original on April 21, 2016 – via Web.archive.org.
  36. ^ "Dogs, Dog Training, Breed Info & More". Dog Channel. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016 – via Web.archive.org.
  37. ^ "Aquarium Fish, Tropical Fish, Freshwater and Saltwater Aquariums". Fish Channel. Archived from the original on April 23, 2016 – via Web.archive.org.
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