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Entering a new field of business, a unit of Cowles Publishing Co., of Spokane, has begun delivering magazines here for national publishers.
The Cowles subsidiary, New Media Ventures Inc., is delivering more than 15,000 copies of 20 magazines, most of which are monthlies, in six ZIP code areas. It's working to build volume by adding titles and expanding its delivery area.
New Media' titles include big sellers like Better Homes & Gardens, of which it delivers 4,327 copies a month, and small sellers such as Saltwater Sportsman, of which it delivers eight copies.
Shaun Higgins, president and chief operating officer of the New Media unit, says Spokane-area residents who subscribe to any of the 20 titles and live in the six ZIP code areas are now receiving their magazines from New Media rather than the U.S. Postal Service. He says New Media will guarantee delivery on certain days, while the Postal Service won't.
"To magazine publishers one of the big issues is, 'Can you get it there on the day I want it there?'" says Higgins, who's also sales and marketing director of Cowles Publishing.
Cowles, which owns the Spokesman-Review, KHQ-TV, and seven farm magazines, founded New Media late last year, saying the unit would "spearhead the company's efforts in new media, including CD-ROM, audio services, data-base marketing, and computer on-line services."
The company says it foresees alliances with such partners as telephone companies, cable-television companies, software manufacturers, and other publishers.
By comparison, magazine delivery is decidedly low tech, but Higgins says the company already had...