Eh or ayuh? Two 'Maine' magazines sold to Canadian publishing group
Courtesy / Advocate Printing and Publishing
Advocate Printing and Publishing displayed these publications of State 23 Media in an announcement of the Maine company's acquisition.
Two Maine-branded magazines and their Portland-based publisher have been acquired by a media conglomerate in Canada.
State 23 Media, which produces Maine magazine and Maine Home + Design, sold to Advocate Printing and Publishing Co. Ltd., in a deal completed Wednesday, according to a news release. Terms were not disclosed.
Advocate, headquartered in Pictou, Nova Scotia, publishes 11 newspapers and over 20 magazines, and also operates an outdoor advertising subsidiary.
The company plans to retain all State 23 employees, Advocate said in an email to Mainebiz. State 23 employs about a dozen people and the publications have a circulation of 30,000, according to the company website. Maine magazine comes out nine times a year.
Although there will be an Advocate branch in Portland, Advocate Media USA Inc., it will produce the magazines in Canada.
“As Atlantic Canada’s largest printer we will be able to bring this aspect of the business in Maine to our facilities,” said Advocate President Crystal Murray.
"The team at Maine Magazine and Maine Home+Design are creating high quality products," she added. "We are impressed by their approach to authentic journalism and storytelling. This is becoming more important every day and it needs to be celebrated and supported ... Now that the deal has closed we will be working on our transition plan and getting to know our new team members."
This will be the company's first U.S. business, but Advocate already operates St. Croix Printing and Publishing, which serves the border communities of Calais and St. Stephen, New Brunswick.
The deal also may be something of a first for regional publications like Maine magazine and Maine Home + Design.
Throughout the U.S., many magazines and newspapers are owned by large publishers with multiple titles across local and regional markets. Mainebiz, for example, is published by New England Business Media LLC, which is based in Worcester, Mass., and also owns the Worcester Business Journal, the Hartford Business Journal and New Haven Biz.
But most such U.S. publications are owned by U.S. publishers.
Among the 78 members nationwide in the City and Regional Magazine Association — which includes magazines such as Boston, New Hampshire and Yankee — none are owned by a parent outside American borders.
Down East magazine, which like Maine magazine and Maine Home + Design strongly identifies with the state, is owned by Down East Enterprise Inc., based in Camden and with offices in Portland and Rockport.
The president, CEO and publisher of Down East, Bob Fernald, told Mainebiz on Wednesday how he views the acquisition.
“I’m not sure what it means to the state that a Nova Scotia company bought a Maine magazine — we’ll just need to watch. Most of all, I am pleased the people who work for these publications will keep their jobs,” he said.
Fernald noted that State 23, which relies heavily on advertising, follows a different business model than Down East. Founded in 1954, Down East has a circulation of 90,000 readers, many of whom are paying subscribers.
But that hasn’t stopped Down East from previously considering an acquisition of the other Maine properties.
“There are few publishers in Maine and we all play, ‘What if,’” Fernald said. “Of course we’ve thought about acquiring them. Down East has been publishing in Maine for a long time and we’re good at it.”
State 23 Media itself is the result of an acquisition. The publishing company formed in 2018 to purchase the magazines of Maine Media Collective, after allegations that the owner and former publisher sexually harassed a female employee.
Attempts to reach State 23 for comment were not immediately successful.
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