David M. Cole, the proprietor of The Cole Group, a publishing and consulting business that has published THE COLE PAPERS since 1989, announced today that he has acquired NEWSINC. from Cowles.

"I believe strongly in the newspaper business and I believe strongly in NEWSINC.," said Cole. "As both a slick magazine and a newsletter, NEWSINC. has provided insight into the newspaper industry for more than eight years. I feel honored that Cowles would accept my offer to publish the newsletter in the future."

Cowles Business Media publishes a variety of newsletters and magazines, including Catalog Age, Directory World, Folio:, Marketing Tools and Pre. It is a division of the Minneapolis-based Cowles Media Co., a diversified media company that also publishes newspapers and consumer magazines. The transaction was handled by the New York-based investment banking firm of DeSilva & Phillips Inc.; terms were not disclosed.

NEWSINC. was founded in 1989 as a slick semi-monthly magazine by Gary Hoenig and Jack Berkowitz. Hoenig, a former editor at the WASHINGTON STAR and NEWSDAY, aligned with Berkowitz, a magazine publishing consultant, to create a publication about the business of newspapers. In 1993 the magazine ceased publication, and Hoenig and Berkowitz sold the nameplate to Simba Business Information, which started publishing NEWSINC. as a 24-times-a-year newsletter. Simba was acquired by Cowles in 1995.

Cole said that his vision for NEWSINC. is simple: "We won't be the publication of record about the newspaper industry; we will provide strong analysis of the trends of the business."

The new owner of NEWSINC. said that his operation was uniquely qualified to run the newsletter. "The staff and I have almost 150 years of daily newspaper experience among us," said Cole. "We live newspapers and breathe newspapers. Speaking for myself, I believe my entire career has been pointed toward publishing NEWSINC."

The Cole Group, founded by Cole in 1989, is a consulting and publishing company. Cole Group products include a monthly newsletter, THE COLE PAPERS (which covers publishing technology such as editorial systems, advertising systems, pre-press systems and the Internet); COLE'S GUIDE TO PUBLISHING SYSTEMS (an annual directory of industry suppliers), and COLE'S NEWSWIRE (a free weekly Internet-delivered roundup of supplier news). A new line of books -- COLE'S NOTES -- was started with the release of PROFILES IN PAGINATION, which details the case histories of six newspapers that have recently installed systems that automate page makeup.

Cole Group consultants have assisted publishers ranging in size from the WASHINGTON POST to the CASA GRANDE (Ariz.) DISPATCH (an 8,000-circulation daily paper). Recent clients include the CHRONICLE-TELEGRAM in Elyria, Ohio, the ASPEN TIMES in Colorado, Thomson Newspapers of Stamford, Conn., Phoenix Newspapers Inc. (ARIZONA REPUBLIC), EL NUEVO DIA in San Juan, P.R., and Associated Newspapers of London.

The Cole Group is affiliated with Seybold Seminars, a division of SOFTBANK EXPOS, and presents conferences under the Seybold banner. The Seybold/Cole Newspaper & New Media Seminar will be held Sept. 30 in San Francisco in conjunction with Seybold San Francisco.

The Cole Group is completely independent and does not represent suppliers to the industry; as such, readers and clients can be assured of opinions not influenced by any conflicts of interest. More information is on its web page at http://www.colegroup.com/.

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COLE'S NEWSWIRE is compiled by Pete Wetmore and distributed by The Cole Group, publishers of THE COLE PAPERS, COLE'S GUIDE TO PUBLISHING SYSTEMS and consultants to newspapers and magazines worldwide. To receive more information about The Cole Group, send e-mail to: info@colegroup.com.

Copyright (c) 1997, The Cole Group. All Rights Reserved. This transmission may not be copied, archived or retransmitted without the express written permission of The Cole Group. If you are not a subscriber to COLE'S NEWSWIRE, you have received this transmission illegally.

The Cole Group, 2590 Greenwich, Suite 9, San Francisco USA 94123-3333. V: (415) 673-2424; F: (415) 673-2449; I: info@colegroup.com.