EVERET – The Herald has purchased Seattle’s Child magazine for an undisclosed price, adding the parenting monthly to a growing list of publications.
Under the deal, the seller, Linda Watson, will remain to oversee advertising and marketing, and the magazine’s founder, Ann Bergman, will rejoin the publication to oversee content.
“We want to do more of what we’re doing and do it better,” Bergman said.
The publication has 70,000 readers.
Watson said she was “delighted to be working with Ann” and looked forward to being associated with a company with “the editorial integrity of the Washington Post and the community history of The Herald,” which is owned by the Post.
Herald publisher Allen Funk said the magazine supports The Herald’s plan to grow by adding other publications, has a strong name and is in an exciting publishing niche.
“It’s another way to expand our company’s presence in the Seattle area,” Funk said. “It’s a way of getting beyond our self-imposed borders.”
About a year ago, The Herald began publishing La Raza, a Spanish language weekly newspaper distributed in King, Pierce, Snohomish and Skagit counties. Other media offerings include The Herald, which serves Snohomish and Island counties, the Heraldnet Web site, the Enterprise weekly newspapers in King and Snohomish counties, The monthly Snohomish County Business Journal and the Pickle Press, a mailed shopper.
Funk promised a “very hands off” approach to the magazine’s content, saying Bergman and Watson are the experts. “We’re mostly a back office operation for them,” he said.
Bergman, who founded the magazine in 1979, said she was pleased to rejoin the publication. She said parenting remains difficult despite all the resources available and that she looks forward to “making the job a little easier.”
Watson called parenting an important publishing niche because parents care deeply about their children, the publications have a strong shelf life and readers are looking for helpful products from advertisers.
“Readers look to these publications for their advertising,” Watson said. “They are very loyal and they pick it up month after month.”
Herald executive Jorge Rivera, also publisher of La Raza, will serve as general manager for the publication.
Funk wouldn’t talk about long-term business plans for the purchase. The first goal, he said, is to reinvigorate the Seattle’s Child brand. “Other options will flow from that,” he said.
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