Lumina Media Explained

Founded:	(as Fancy Publications)
Defunct:	February 2020
Founder:	Norman Ridker
Country:	United States
Headquarters:	Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
Publications:	Magazines, books
Topics:	Pets, lifestyles, and hobbies

Lumina Media was an American publisher of magazines, books, and associated websites. Throughout all its incarnations, the business has focused on the pet-keeping and -breeding market, though also with some other topical lifestyle and hobby publications. The original company was founded in 1974 as Fancy Publications (later renamed BowTie Inc.) by Norman Ridker, absorbing Kennel Club Books in 2004, which made BowTie a main competitor to TFH Publications in the pet-book market. In 2002, Bob Garfield of On the Media called Fancy Publications "the Time Warner of the pet magazine business".^[1] After some financial difficulties, BowTie was restructured as I-5 Publishing in 2013 under the new ownership of David Fry and Mark Harris, and took on its present name in 2016.

Over the years, the company has launched, acquired, divested, or consolidated many pet-related paper and digital publications, including a number that have been dominant in their niches among North American speciality magazines and sites during various periods, including Bird Talk, Cat Fancy (merged into the Catster website and magazine), Dog Fancy (merged to Dogster), Dog World (purchased from Primedia Inc., and originally dating to 1916), Ferrets Magazine (merged to the Small Animal Channel website), and Reptiles. Lumina has also dominated the American market for magazine-format newsstand specials about pets (usually annually issued). In 2016, Lumina sold its book division – responsible for more than 400 paper books and e-books, mostly about specific breeds – to Fox Chapel Publishing, forming the new imprint CompanionHouse Press. Some other noteworthy Lumina publications have included Motorcycle Consumer News, Veterinary Practice News (later published by Kenilworth Media), and the first magazine devoted to animal rescue, Rescue Me (later Rescue Proud). As of February 2020, Lumina Media was dissolved and had ceased their business operations. A letter was sent to subscribers without explanation as to why.

History

Fancy Publications was started by Norman Ridker in 1974.^[2] Ridker subsequently renamed the company to BowTie Inc. (publishing books as BowTie Press) to show his love of bow ties. By 2013, BowTie had experienced months of financial difficulties caused in part by significant decreases in readership and in advertisement proceeds. In 2013, I-5 Publishing LLC, a new company founded by David Fry and Mark Harris, bought BowTie's businesses for an eight-figure sum. I-5 started to decrease their "breeder-centric" publications in favor of rescue-focused content, and launched a topically unique magazine titled Rescue Me,^[3] later followed up by Rescue Proud. The company was renamed to Lumina Media in 2016.^[4]

Timeline

• 1993 – Fancy Publications published the magazines Aquarium Fish, Bird Talk, Cat Fancy, Dog Fancy, Horse Illustrated, Pet Product News, Reptiles, and Wild Bird.^{[5] [6]}
• 1998 – Fancy Publications operated the website Animal Network and published Bird Breeder magazine.^[7]
• 1998 – Fancy Publications sued Primedia over alleged copyright infringement by Primedia's Cats magazine.^[8]
• 1999 – Fancy Publications published Bird Talk, Critters, Dog Fancy, Ferrets, Koi World, Natural Cat, Natural Dog, Rabbits, and Reptiles.^[9]
• 2004 – BowTie acquired Kennel Club Books, a publisher in Allenhurst, New Jersey, that specialized in dog-breed books, adding about 200 titles to their then-current collection of around 100 titles.^[10] The Library of Congress has 265 books published under the Kennel Club Books imprint.^[11]
• 2012 – BowTie stopped publishing a print version of Bird Talk magazine.
• 2012 – Thoroughbred Times magazine filed for bankruptcy and terminated operations. The Times had been started in 1985 and was acquired by BowTie in 1993.^[12]
• 2013 – I-5 Publishing signed a 10-year deal to print and distribute Rat Rod Magazine, adding to its several auto titles, including Auto Restorer magazine.^[13]
• 2013 – Lumina Media purchased Dog Fancy and Cat Fancy magazines from BowTie.
• 2013 – I-5 Publishing acquired the Dogster and Catster websites from Say Media.
• 2013 – I-5 Publishing acquires Poultry World (previously The Poultry Magazine)^[14]
• 2014 – Lumina Media launched alternating bimonthly print magazines for Dogster and Catster and stopped publishing Dog Fancy and Cat Fancy magazines.^{[15] [16]}
• 2016 – Lumina Media sold its book division to Fox Chapel Publishing, including 330 print books and 440 e-books to be sold under the new imprint CompanionHouse Press.^{[17] [18]}
• 2017 – Lumina Media sold Veterinary Practice News to Kenilworth Media, Inc.^[19]
• 2017 – Lumina Media sold the Web publication Petcha and Reptiles magazine to PetSmart.^{[20] [21]}
• 2017 – Lumina Media sold Horse Illustrated, Young Rider, Hobby Farms, and Chickens magazines to EG Media Investments.^[22]
• 2017 – Lumina Media sold Dogster and Catster to Belvoir Media Group.^[23]

Magazines

Magazines published by I-5 Publishing (monthly, unless otherwise noted) include or formerly included:^{[24] [25]}

• Aquarium USA (annual)
• Auto Restorer
• Bird Talk^[26]
• Cats USA (annual) ^[27]
• Chickens
• Cigar & Spirits (50% stake,^[28] sold back to the magazine's original founder in 2015)
• Critters USA (annual)
• Dog World (annual)
• Dogs USA (annual) ^[29]
• Dogs in Review^[30]
• Ferrets Magazine (bimonthly, later online-only)
• Hobby Farms
• Horse Illustrated
• Horses USA (annual)
• Kittens USA (annual) ^[31]
• Lucky Puppy
• Marine Fish and Reef USA (annual)
• Motorcycle Consumer News
• Popular Horse (series of specials)
• Puppies USA (annual) ^[32]
• Puppies 101
• Quarter Horses
• Rabbits USA (annual)
• Rat Rod (pertaining to hotrods, not rodents)
• Reptiles
• Reptiles USA (annual)
• Rescue Proud
• Road Rider
• Urban Farm (bimonthly)
• Young Rider (pertaining to horses, not motorcycles)
• Your New Horse

Websites

I-5 Publishing has operated several websites (with domain names corresponding to their titles, e.g. SmallAnimalChannel.com for Small Animal Channel) including:

• Bird Channel^[33]
• Cat Channel^[34]
• Dog Channel^[35]
• Fish Channel^[36]
• Horse Channel^[37]
• Reptile Channel
• Small Animal Channel (devoted primarily to rabbits and rodents)

Notes and References

1. News: Garfield . Bob . Bob Garfield . Gladstone . Brooke . Brooke Gladstone . January 4, 2002 . Ferrets Magazine . . WNYC Studios . August 25, 2019. (Click the "Transcript" tab to get the transcript.)
2. News: Clough . Richard . January 2, 2013 . Pet Publisher BowTie Sells Magazines . . August 25, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190825100822/https://www.ocregister.com/2013/02/01/pet-publisher-bowtie-sells-magazines/ . August 25, 2019.
3. News: Jow . Lauren . October 16, 2014 . Company Revamped Pet Publishing . . August 25, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190825100926/https://www.ocregister.com/2014/10/16/company-revamped-pet-publishing/ . August 25, 2019.
4. News: Guaglione . Sara . March 17, 2016 . I-5 Publishing Rebrands as Lumina Media . MediaPost . August 26, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190826074830/https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/271523/i-5-publishing-rebrands-as-lumina-media.html . August 26, 2019.
5. News: Siegel . Suzie . May 7, 1993 . Half a Century of Cat Tales . . . August 25, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190825101904/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/35256520/the_tampa_tribune/ . August 25, 2019.
6. News: Spadafori . Gina . August 25, 1993 . Unusual Pets in Print . . . Google News . August 25, 2019.
7. News: Szadkowski . Joe . June 16, 1998 . Site Gives Pet Owners Wealth of Information . . NewsBank . August 25, 2019 . https://archive.today/20190825103335/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&docref=news/0EB0F31C9FF66305&f=basic . August 25, 2019 . live .
8. News: Kuczynski . Alex . Alex Kuczynski . December 16, 1998 . Cat fight Breaks Out in Specialty World: Cats Magazine Takes on Cat Fancy, the Big One on the Block – One Lawsuit Has Already Been Launched . . . . August 25, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190825104347/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/35256656/the_vancouver_sun/ . August 25, 2019.
9. News: Rivenberg . Roy . January 25, 1999 . Cosmo for the Cold and Scaly . . August 25, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190825105202/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jan-25-cl-1343-story.html . August 25, 2019.
10. Milliott . Jim . May 14, 2004 . BowTie Inc. Adds to Pet Book Offerings . . August 25, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190825092101/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20040517/34761-bowtie-inc-adds-to-pet-book-offerings.html . August 25, 2019.
11. Web site: List of Books by Publisher 'Kennel Club Books' - LC Catalog - Titles List . Catalog.LoC.gov . Library of Congress.
12. Web site: Thoroughbred Times Declares Bankruptcy . September 15, 2012 . Claire . Crosby.
13. News: Clough . Richard . March 17, 2014 . Dog Fancy Publisher Adds Hot-rod Title . . August 25, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190825101200/https://www.ocregister.com/2013/04/17/dog-fancy-publisher-adds-hot-rod-title/ . August 25, 2019.
14. Web site: Press Release: I-5 Publishing Acquires UK-based Poultry World Magazine . I5Publishing.com . August 11, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140812205820/http://www.i5publishing.com/dev/i-5-publishing-acquires-uk-based-poultry-world-magazine/ . August 12, 2014 . dead.
15. News: Riesman . Abraham . December 11, 2014 . Who Killed Cat Fancy? . . August 25, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190825100718/http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2014/12/who-killed-cat-fancy.html . August 25, 2019.
16. News: Madans . Hannah . Gohri . Imran . December 13, 2014 . Viral Pet Antics Come to Print with Two New Magazines . . August 25, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190825101046/https://www.ocregister.com/2014/12/13/viral-pet-antics-come-to-print-with-two-new-magazines/ . August 25, 2019.
17. News: Fox Chapel Acquires Lumina Books Division . February 2, 2017 . John . Maher.
18. News: Fox Chapel Acquires Lumina Books Division . December 30, 2016.
19. News: Kenilworth Media, Inc. Acquires Veterinary Practice News from Lumina Media LLC . May 24, 2017.
20. Web site: About Petcha . https://web.archive.org/web/20181228111243/http://petcha.com/about/ . Petcha . dead . December 28, 2018 . Web.archive.org.
21. News: Lumina Media LLC Sells Petcha.com and Reptiles . TheFisherCompany.com . August 2017.
22. News: EG Media Investments Acquires Hobby Farms, Chickens, Horse Illustrated, and Young Rider from Lumina Media LLC . TheFisherCompany.com . December 18, 2017.
23. Web site: Press Release: Belvoir Media Group Acquires Catster and Dogster from Lumina Media LLC . TheFisherCompany.com . April 25, 2017.
24. Web site: Rabbit Information, Rabbit Care and Rabbit Health . March 19, 2016 . Small Animal Channel . https://web.archive.org/web/20160319083759/http://www.smallanimalchannel.com/rabbits/default-3112.aspx#Sec3 . 2016-03-19 . Web.archive.org.
25. Web site: Our Products . https://web.archive.org/web/20160502095636/http://www.i5publishing.com/our-products/ . May 2, 2016 . dead . i5Publishing.com . Web.archive.org.
26. Web site: Bird Talk Annual Magazine . https://web.archive.org/web/20160414143248/http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-magazines/bird-talk/ . April 14, 2016 . dead . Web.archive.org.
27. Web site: Cats USA 2013 Table of Contents . https://web.archive.org/web/20130206141129/http://www.catchannel.com/cats-usa-2013-toc.aspx . February 6, 2013 . dead . Web.archive.org.
28. Web site: Cigar & Spirits Magazine and I-5 Publishing Form New Partnership . August 11, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140812212523/http://www.i5publishing.com/dev/cigar-spirits-magazine-and-i-5-publishing-form-new-partnership/ . August 12, 2014 . dead.
29. Web site: Dogs USA 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160406070402/http://www.dogchannel.com/dog-magazines/dogsusa/dogs-usa-articles/dogs-usa-2011.aspx . Dog Channel . April 6, 2016 . dead . Web.archive.org.
30. Web site: Dogs in Review . https://web.archive.org/web/20160418193712/http://www.dogchannel.com/dog-magazines/dogsinreview/ . Dog Channel . dead . April 18, 2016 . Web.archive.org.
31. Web site: Kittens USA 2012–2013 Table of Contents . https://web.archive.org/web/20160403222418/http://www.catchannel.com/magazines/kittensusa/kittens-usa-2012-2013-toc.aspx . Cat Channel . dead . April 3, 2016 . Web.archive.org.
32. Web site: Puppies USA 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160404185931/https://www.dogchannel.com/dog-magazines/puppiesusa/puppies-usa-articles/puppies-usa-2012-annual.aspx . Dog Channel . April 4, 2016 . dead . Web.archive.org.
33. Web site: Pet Birds, Parrots, Cockatiels, Macaws, Conures, Parakeets Care, Facts and Information . https://web.archive.org/web/20160422074239/http://www.birdchannel.com/ . BirdChannel.com . dead . April 22, 2016 . Web.archive.org.
34. Web site: Cat Fancy Presents CatChannel.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20160421155502/http://www.catchannel.com/ . Cat Channel . dead . April 21, 2016 . Web.archive.org.
35. Web site: Dogs, Dog Training, Breed Info & More . https://web.archive.org/web/20160422053106/http://www.dogchannel.com/ . Dog Channel . dead . April 22, 2016 . Web.archive.org.
36. Web site: Aquarium Fish, Tropical Fish, Freshwater and Saltwater Aquariums . https://web.archive.org/web/20160423001242/http://www.fishchannel.com/ . Fish Channel . dead . April 23, 2016 . Web.archive.org.
37. Web site: Horse Books and Magazines . https://web.archive.org/web/20160417051647/http://www.horsechannel.com/horse-books-and-magazines.aspx . Horse Channel . dead . April 17, 2016 . Web.archive.org.