American City Business Journals

American City Business Journals, Inc. was founded in 1982 by Mike K. Russell with the launch of the Kansas City Business Journal.{{Cite news |last=Singer |first=Dale |date=September 30, 1986 |title=Business Journal, St. Louis Magazine Sold |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/46081889/business-journal-saint-louis-magazine/ |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |publisher=Pulitzer, Inc. |location=St. Louis, Missouri |page=7C |via=Newspapers.com |volume=108 |issue=273}} Three years later the business became a public company via an initial public offering and was traded as an over the counter stock. Starting 1985, ACBJ set out to acquire as many as fifty business newspapers across the United States. The goal was to establish a network of newspapers selling national advertising packages.{{Cite news |last=Davis |first=Jim |date=October 29, 1985 |title=Business press aims to expand |work=The Kansas City Times |pages=48}}

In 1986, ABJC acquired all the publications owned by Mark Vittert and his company, Business Journal Publications Corp, for $40 million. The sale included business journals in Cincinnati, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and St. Louis. Later that year American City merged with Scripps Howard Business Journals. At the time the division of Scripps-Howard Newspapers operated publications in 10 cities: Los Angeles, Seattle, San Diego, San Francisco, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Phoenix, Atlanta, Washington, D.C and Miami/Fort Lauderdale.{{Cite news |date=November 1, 1986 |title=2 publishers of business newspapers to merge |work=The Courier-Journal |pages=12 |agency=Associated Press}}

After expanding to 35 weeklies, ABJC faced mounting debts and losses reaching $13.5 million in the first nine months of 1987. This resulted from sales of national advertising packages falling short of goals amid the 1987 stock market crash. The company began divesting in 1988. ACBJ sold eight publications to various unnamed buyers, including five business newspapers in Westchester, Rochester, Richmond, Hartford and Southern Connecticut; St. Louis Magazine and partial-ownership of two legal papers: St. Louis Daily Record and St. Louis Countian.{{Cite news |date=February 6, 1988 |title=Business First's Parent Selling 8 Publications |work=The Buffalo News |pages=9 |agency=Associated Press}} Two weeks later ACBJ sold another six of its business newspapers in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Indianapolis and San Jose and Sacramento to Metro Collegiate Publications for $46.3 million.{{Cite news |last=Demick |first=Barbara |author-link=Barbara Demick |date=29 February 1988 |title=From Concerts To Consolidations, Publisher Evolves With His Readers |url=http://articles.philly.com/1988-02-29/business/26242981_1_mcp-weeklies-american-city-business-journals |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017195512/http://articles.philly.com/1988-02-29/business/26242981_1_mcp-weeklies-american-city-business-journals |archive-date=17 October 2015 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer}} Then Russell sold his controlling stake in the company.{{Cite news |date=September 11, 1989 |title=Trying to rebuild business journals {{!}} A new chairman tackles financially troubled American City, parents of Pacific Business News |work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin |pages=15 |agency=New York Times}}

In 1989, Shaw Publishing, Inc., owned by Ray Shaw and The Oklahoma Publish Co., purchased a million shares of common stock in ACBJ for $22.75 million. Shaw was then elected as the company's chairman and chief executive officer. Previously he retired earlier in the year from working as president of Dow Jones & Company.{{Cite news |date=June 29, 1989 |title=Oklahoma-Tied Publishing Firm Buys Stock |work=The Daily Oklahoman |pages=53}} Shaw served as ABJC's chairman for two decades. Under his leadership, the company moved its headquarters from Kansas City, Missouri, to Charlotte, North Carolina, and greatly increased the number of its publications.{{cite news |last=Shaw |first=Whitney |date=July 20, 2009 |title=ACBJ Chairman Ray Shaw dies at 75 |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/2009/07/20/daily2.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101228043733/https://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/2009/07/20/daily2.html |archive-date=December 28, 2010 |access-date=January 3, 2025 |work=Jacksonville Business Journal}} In 1995, ACBJ was acquired by Advance Publications for {{US$|258.8|link=yes}}{{nbsp}}million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US-GDP|258.8|1995|r=1}}{{nbsp}}million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}).{{cite news | url=https://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2020/08/14/this-week-in-08-14-2020.html | title=This Week in 1995: Advance Publications buys ACBJ | first=Emon | last=Reiser | work=American City Business Journals | date=August 14, 2020}} A year later ACBJ acquired CityMedia Inc., which published six business journals in Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Sacramento.{{cite news |last=Margolies |first=Dan |date=June 30, 1996 |title=American City Business Journals agrees to buy six weeklies |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/1996/07/01/story4.html |work=American City Business Journals}}

In 2001, the company partnered with Microsoft to provide content for bcentral.com.{{cite press release | url=https://news.microsoft.com/2001/01/22/microsoft-and-american-city-business-journals-form-alliance/ | title=Microsoft and American City Business Journals Form Alliance | publisher=Microsoft | date=January 22, 2001}}

In 2007, the company acquired Inside Lacrosse.{{Cite news | url=https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2007/11/19/daily12.html | title=American City to buy Inside Lacrosse Magazine | work=American City Business Journals | date=November 20, 2007}}

In 2012, sister company Condé Nast redirected Portfolio.com to the startups page of ACBJ.{{cite news | url=https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2012/06/13/upstart-business-journal-launches-with.html | title=Upstart Business Journal launches with focus on entrepreneurship | first=Lance | last=Murray | work=American City Business Journals | date=June 13, 2012}}

In 2020, the company launched a book publishing partnership.{{Cite news | url=https://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/bizwomen/news/latestnews/2020/07/acbj-advantage-books-start-business-journals-books.html?page=all | title=Bizwomen's parent company partners with Advantage Media Group to launch Business Journals Books | work=American City Business Journals | date=July 22, 2020}}{{cite news | url=https://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/news/2020/07/21/acbj-advantage-books-start-business-journals-books.html | title=Business Journal Books Starts Advantage Books | newspaper=City Business Journals | date=July 21, 2020}}{{cite web | url=https://businessjournalsbooks.com/be-considered-for-publication | title=Business Journals Books website}}

The publication publishes the following annual awards for each city:

• The Business Journal's Forty Under 40 lists the 40 most successful entrepreneurs under the age of 40. It has been published since 1992.{{cite news | last=Kass | first=Mark | url=https://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/blog/2012/01/business-journal-names-forty-under-40.html | title=Business Journal names Forty under 40 winners | date=January 5, 2012}}{{cite news | url=https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/search/results?q=Forty+Under+40 | title=Columbus Business First 40 under 40 search | publisher=American City Business Journals}}

File:Best Places To Work awards.jpg

• The Business Journal's Best Places to Work ranks top businesses in local areas for best employee experience. Rankings are determined based on surveys on leadership, corporate culture, and communications. Different cities can use different methodologies and rank a different number of employers.{{cite news | last=Kuehn | first=Nancy | url=https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2018/08/16/all-of-mspbjs-2018-best-places-to-work-honorees.html | title=Best Places to Work | date=August 16, 2018}}{{cite news | url=https://labusinessjournal.com/news/2019/aug/16/best-places-work-los-angeles-2019-look-winners/ | title=The Best Places to Work for in Los Angeles 2019: A Look at the Winners | work=American City Business Journals | date=August 16, 2019}}

{{As of|2023}}, American City Business Journals (ACBJ) publishes print copies of 44 different newspapers, addressing business news in 44 different cities, generally under the names City or Region name + Business + Journal (33 cities) or First (5) or Times (2) or Chronicle (1) or Courier (1) or News (1) or Review (1).

• Hemmings Classic Car - Launched in 1970 as Special Interest Autos, which was acquired by ACBJ in April 2002 with the purchase of Hemmings Motor News Publishing, renamed in 2004
• Hemmings Motor News - Launched in 1954, acquired by ACBJ in April 2002 with the purchase of Hemmings Motor News Publishing
• Hemmings Muscle Machines - Launched in 2003 by ACBJ
• Inside Lacrosse - Launched in 1996, acquired by ACBJ in 2007

• L.A. Business First
• Chicago Business Journal
• Cleveland Business Journal – Launched in May 2020
• New York Business Journal
• Providence Business First
• The Business Journals - in addition to links to the websites of the individual city business publications, this main page curates an assortment of direct links to some of the current week's stories from across the company's websites

{{reflist}}

{{Portal bar|United States|Companies|Journalism}}

• {{Commons category-inline}}
• [https://acbj.com/ American City Business Journals corporate website]
• [https://www.bizjournals.com/ The Business Journals]
• [https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily.aspx Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal]
• [https://www.hemmings.com/ Hemmings Motor News]
• {{Twitter|bizjournals|The Biz Journals}}

{{Advance Publications}}

Category:1990 initial public offerings

Category:1995 mergers and acquisitions

Category:Advance Publications

Category:American corporate subsidiaries

Category:Business newspapers published in the United States

Category:Companies based in Charlotte, North Carolina

Category:Mass media companies established in 1985

Category:Weekly newspapers published in the United States

Category:1982 establishments in the United States