Hibu closes hyperlocal print magazine unit

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A Hibu magazine in Spain.
A Hibu magazine in Spain.
A Hibu magazine in Spain.

hibu has shuttered its regional hyperlocal magazines in Delaware and other areas.

The British-based  Yellow Pages publisher  launched the publications as a way to combat the continuing decline of  the paper  directory  business.

Along the way, the company picked up veterans of Patch, the online  hyperlocal news website venture of America Online. Patch is now  under new ownership.  No Patch publications were launched in Delaware.

The number of magazines grew to several hundred in a couple of dozen states with journalism blogger Jim Romanesko  estimating that the number of journalists  publishing the magazines totaling about 200. The shutdown also affected  hibu  magazines in other countries.

The company operated  local four-color magazines targeting upscale areas in northern and southern Delaware  and had two editors who managed a number of magazines in both northern and southern Delaware.  On Thursday, the company was still advertising online  for a salesperson in Delaware.

Such publications are commonplace in many markets, even in the digital era. hibu and independent operators keep  costs down by having staff operate out of their homes, using commission-only sales staff and giving editors as many as 10 magazines in a region. Moreover, hibu also did not launch websites for the magazines

Competitors included Chester County, Pa-based Ad Pro, which publishes several  magazines twice yearly for Newark, Middletown, Hockessin-Greenville  and in Chester County communities.

The hibu  full-color magazines were free and mailed to 5,000 of the highest income homes in each community, Romanesko reported.

Click here  for the  Romanesko post:

Hibu closes its hyperlocal print magazine unit