Adweek: Brooklyn Magazine relaunches as BKMag after BSE Global buys it, plans to emphasize guides and short-form videos. Editor-in-chief gone after 7 months.
In a friendly article likely goosed by a press release, Adweek reported yesterday, Brooklyn Magazine Relaunches As BKMag After BSE Global Acquisition, confirming I reported in July, So, once-indie Brooklyn Magazine is now part of Nets owner Tsai's BSE Global, which plans a larger media enterprise to champion/amplify Brooklyn.
(H/t to Brownstoner for noticing the Adweek article.)
From Adweek:
As I've written, Brooklyn Magazine had a record of "solid, if generally upbeat, coverage." I also wrote that it's "surely advertiser-friendly, though, as stated regarding the most recent print issue, not advertiser-driven." That may change, because the publication is no longer independently owned, nor led by the longtime Editor-in-Chief.
BKMag last week profiled and interviewed Derrick Hamilton, co-founder of Friends and Family of the Wrongfully Convicted (as was he), a recipient "of the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation’s Social Justice Fund and Brooklyn Org’s second annual Just Brooklyn Prize, which celebrates outstanding champions in the fight for social justice in Brooklyn."
He was a worthy subject, so that was "organically relevant." It was also relevant to disclose that the owner of the publication is the Tsais' BSE Global. That's a basic journalistic responsibility.
From Adweek:
The relaunch is the first step in a broader bid from BSE Global to build a global media brand, called Brooklyn Media, early next year, according to global chief products and experiences officer DeJuan Wilson.That means, according to the article, "BKMag will more heavily emphasize guides, such as lists of the best restaurants in the borough and short-form video content." It won't publish a print magazine this winter year--expensive!--and is "evaluating the print product’s role for 2025."
“We want to put Brooklyn at the center of the BSE ecosystem and connect people to Brooklyn through all the things they love,” Wilson said. “The relaunch is about positioning BKMag as the ultimate guide to Brooklyn.”
I'd bet more print is unlikely, given that BKMag's business model will be "custom content, sponsorships, and brand integrations."
As I've written, Brooklyn Magazine had a record of "solid, if generally upbeat, coverage." I also wrote that it's "surely advertiser-friendly, though, as stated regarding the most recent print issue, not advertiser-driven." That may change, because the publication is no longer independently owned, nor led by the longtime Editor-in-Chief.
Either way, don't expect coverage of, say, the argument that the parent company should be paying for use of the arena plaza, given huge savings from the sites's tax exemption.
The editor departs
The AdWeek article didn't mention that the new owners parted ways with Editor-in-Chief Brian Braiker. Three days ago, Braiker wrote on Instagram that it was his last day at the publication, citing his pride in reviving the publication over nearly five years:
We tapped the excellent folks at SJR for a visual overhaul and to build out our backend. We brought on Tom Franke as publisher to help out on the business/sales side and just started grinding. Over time, we took a dormant website/zombie brand and we turned Brooklyn Magazine into something new — a community. We ran events. We held an exciting music and ideas festival (I got to introduce our headliner DJ Premier!). We produced five stellar print issues with minimal resources and were a National Magazine Award finalist in our first year. Tom spearheaded our incredible Movies in the Park series with Brooklyn’s parks and Showtime, and then Paramount+, as partners. The magazine, newsletter and podcast became viable and vital guides to Brooklyn life and culture.
So much so that we were able to garner enough interest to sell to BSE Global — the parent company of Barclays Center, the Liberty and the Nets — in March of this year. Total validation, complete success.
Or so I thought: Seven months into our new arrangement, the new ownership has decided to take things in a different direction — one that does not include me. So that’s all she wrote … for now.
That suggests there was some disagreement about the publication's direction, given that they had worked together for seven months. In response to a comment from a journalism professor, he wrote "happy to be a cautionary tale for all your brilliant students!"
In response to another comment, Braiker wrote:
The most rewarding part of this experience has been the 165 interviews I conducted as host of “Brooklyn Magazine: The Podcast,” conversations with folks who have some kind of connection to the borough...
Yes, it was a good podcast.
Marketing > journalism
Wilson came to BSE Global in February 2024, according to his LinkedIn profile, and is "Responsible for building BSE’s portfolio of experiences, events, location-based entertainment, consumer products, and media channels for local, national and global audiences."
He previously served as "Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Endeavor, where he focuses on the development and commercialization of the IMG Events and On Location growing portfolio of brands and partnerships."
Endeavor is a holding company that includes "sports operations and advisory, event management, media production and distribution, and brand licensing through IMG." BSE Global CEO Sam Zussman came to the company in June 2022 after spending 16 years with IMG/Endeavor.
He previously served as "Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Endeavor, where he focuses on the development and commercialization of the IMG Events and On Location growing portfolio of brands and partnerships."
Endeavor is a holding company that includes "sports operations and advisory, event management, media production and distribution, and brand licensing through IMG." BSE Global CEO Sam Zussman came to the company in June 2022 after spending 16 years with IMG/Endeavor.
Zussman's big on the concept of an "ecosystem," in describing BSE Global's expansion plans in the borough.
Sparse details
Adweek wrote that the acquisition "was not widely reported at the time," which seems a bit of a fig leaf for the fact that neither BSE Global nor Brooklyn Magazine announced it.
That also seems like a way to avoid crediting who actually noticed it. As I wrote, starting July 12, emails from the publication were sent from email@info.bseglobal.net.
While BSE Global does plan to expand the publication--indeed, I wrote that it had been advertising for a Managing Editor, Brooklyn Media--it wouldn't share headcount or financial specifics with Adweek.
While BSE Global does plan to expand the publication--indeed, I wrote that it had been advertising for a Managing Editor, Brooklyn Media--it wouldn't share headcount or financial specifics with Adweek.
"Organically relevant"
From Adweek
Okay. BKMag's new list of 15 things to do in November includes three events at the Barclays Center, operated by BSE Global. Is that more than in the lists pre-acquisition? I think so, but it's not overwhelming.Although BKMag will be part of the BSE Global umbrella, the publisher will only cover its fellow portfolio companies when organically relevant, according to Wilson.
BKMag last week profiled and interviewed Derrick Hamilton, co-founder of Friends and Family of the Wrongfully Convicted (as was he), a recipient "of the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation’s Social Justice Fund and Brooklyn Org’s second annual Just Brooklyn Prize, which celebrates outstanding champions in the fight for social justice in Brooklyn."
He was a worthy subject, so that was "organically relevant." It was also relevant to disclose that the owner of the publication is the Tsais' BSE Global. That's a basic journalistic responsibility.
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