I have written about the state of local news countless times in this space and it is mostly bad news. For once, I have some good news.
The two most prominent sources of business news in Indiana, the Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ) and Inside Indiana Business (IIB), are joining forces. More specifically, IBJ is buying IIB. Gerry Dick, the anchor of the weekly Inside Indiana Business television program, owns IIB and made the decision to sell.
In an IBJ podcast released Tuesday, host Mason King had IBJ co-owner Nate Feltman and Gerry Dick as guests and they talked about why IBJ bought IIB and why Gerry Dick decided to sell.
Both operations will stay with their current work force with no layoffs, according to both Feltman and Dick in comments made on the podcast. They will be housed in one location, most likely the current IBJ home on Monument Circle.
I have small connections to both operations. I wrote for the online version of Indiana Forefront for a few years, and authored a commentary on the first Fishers mayoral election back in 2014 published in the print edition of IBJ. I have had several IBJ reporters on my podcasts as guests.
When Gerry Dick decided to open an office at Launch Fishers, he graciously accepted my invitation to appear on one of my podcasts. We had a good conversation. Gerry Dick is a very affable yet professional news person.
The most important aspect of this transaction is this – both operations will remain local. Both will be owned by the current IBJ group – Nate Feltman, Mickey Maurer and Bob Schloss. They are all local people.
IBJ was owned by a national organization, American City Business Journals, in 1986 but Mickey Maurer bought the paper in 1990, believing local ownership of such a publication was (and is) important.
There is much each organization can gain from this new configuration. IBJ, which has focused on Central Indiana, now can use the IIB infrastructure than extends throughout the State of Indiana. IIB uses TV, radio and online presence. IBJ is a print enterprise with a heavy online operation and produces podcasts, as does IIB.
This arrangement will strengthen the business news reporting greatly in both Central Indiana and the entire state. Most importantly, ownership of this news organization will remain local.
In an age where large corporations own most media (the IndyStar is owned by national publisher Gannett) the business news in our area will be owned and operated locally. In today’s news business, that is very good news.