Originally Posted By schnebs The surprises just keep on coming this month! From about.com: +++ Amusement Business Readers and Staff Not Amused In surprising and sad news, the media company VNU announced the closure of the venerable publication, Amusement Business. Company officials informed the staff that the May issue, which had already been published, would be its last. Long respected as the authoritative industry journal covering theme parks, amusement parks, water parks, fairs, and other out-of-home entertainment, AB began as Billboard Advertising in 1894 by writing about posters and the advertising business. It later morphed into The Billboard and switched its focus to circuses, carnivals, and the broader entertainment industry. In 1961, the publication split into Billboard, which covered the music industry and Amusement Business, which focused on outdoor entertainment as its beat. (There is no indication that Billboard will be ceasing publication.) Readers turned to the journal for its news and features, including its annual year-end review and its charts that listed estimated attendance figures for theme parks. Perhaps the signs of impending doom were in the air when AB changed from a weekly to a monthly schedule a couple of years ago. +++ I wonder if another publication will hire Tim O'Brien, theri resident theme park guru, and continue the annual top 10 lists of theme parks in the US and the world. Hope so...
Originally Posted By brotherdave Tim O'Brien actually has only been working for AB part-time the last few years anyway. He's currently working for a major entertainment attraction company right now which is not in the amusement/theme park business.
Originally Posted By mrichmondj I don't know that this is all that surprising. These sorts of trade magazines usually follow the trends of their industry, and the trends in the amusement business aren't all that great right now. All the amusement park companies are heavily in debt and cash flow negative -- Disney is the exception in that they don't have the huge debt (but they are still cash flow negative). There have been more parks on the market over the past several years than there have been buyers. The industry is largely in decline. Disney's parks were among the few last year to show improvements in attendance and financial performance. It's hard to generate ad dollars for a magazine that covers and industry that doesn't generate much enthusiasm from a business perspective.
