Monday, Nov. 8, 1999 | 9:54 a.m.
Pardon Del Rusher if he's experiencing a little deja vu in his role as the head of the recently formed Greenspun Media Group.
He took the reins of four magazines -- Las Vegas Life, Las Vegas Weekly, Showbiz and VegasGolfer -- when he joined the Greenspun Corp. last summer.
That's the same number of publications he took over when he was group publisher and vice president of Primedia, a media group based in Peoria, Ill. In five years, the group grew to 16 publications, revenues doubled and profits tripled.
Brian Greenspun, president of the Greenspun Corp., said the company's growth plan is to focus in areas where it has expertise. With a daily newspaper, four magazines, an interest in a cable television channel and a website dedicated to Southern Nevada, Greenspun feels the company is well-positioned in publishing.
Rusher, meanwhile, is attempting to duplicate the success he had in the Midwest in Las Vegas and is exploring the niches available for new publications.
"We're exploring every publishing opportunity that exists," Rusher said of his efforts in Las Vegas.
That includes researching whether there's enough advertising support for new publications or whether it makes more sense to acquire existing magazines and newspapers.
Greenspun has had successes both ways.
The company has developed Showbiz, a weekly entertainment magazine distributed free in local hotels.
Las Vegas Life magazine, a monthly publication chronicling the city's unique lifestyle, was started in 1998 and now has a circulation of 40,000.
On the acquisition side, the group purchased Scope magazine and turned it into Las Vegas Weekly in 1998. The alternative weekly has a circulation of 66,000.
The newest Greenspun publication is VegasGolfer, a 40,000 circulation magazine distributed six times a year. VegasGolfer founders Greg Frey and Brian Hurlburt continue to run the publication for Greenspun and also produce programs for three professional golf events -- the Las Vegas Senior Classic, the Las Vegas Invitational and the Wendy's Three-Tour Challenge.
The Greenspun Media Group has also entered a joint venture with the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce to distribute the Business Voice, the monthly tabloid-format newsletter of the Chamber. Under terms of the agreement, which takes effect in January, Greenspun will be responsible for pre-press work, printing and distribution of the publication, mailed to more than 6,100 chamber members and 7,000 other businesses.
The Chamber of Commerce will continue to sell advertising for the publication and both parties will explore new distribution options.
The Greenspun family also own the Las Vegas Sun.
Rusher wants to develop publications that fill a niche the way VegasGolfer does for the golf industry.
"Phoenix is really concerned about the growing Las Vegas golf industry," Rusher said. "There are a number of golf courses on the drawing board for Southern Nevada and our publication is positioned to handle anything associated with golf."
With four publications within the group, Rusher said there is potential to network advertising contacts. Rusher said that works especially well for national accounts.
Las Vegas Weekly doesn't accept some advertisements that rival Las Vegas publications take. Rusher said the Greenspun family's reluctance to sell advertisements to some adult businesses hurts the bottom line, but it "draws a greater distinction of who we are in the market."
There are other potential interests that could offer potential for niche publications. Rusher's job will be to sort out what can translate into a profitable magazine or newspaper.
"We want to publish in areas we understand and where we know the market," Rusher said. "There may be other opportunities for statewide or even nationwide publications."
But Rusher keeps what specific niches the company is pursuing close to the vest. Some are evident by the overtures the company has made to existing publications.
The Greenspun group has had discussions with Wick Communications, publisher of CityLife, the Las Vegas Business Press and the Las Vegas Senior Press.
Greenspun has also talked with Las Vegas magazine.
CityLife and Las Vegas magazine compete with existing Greenspun publications. But the Business Press serves a different market -- readers of a weekly journal devoted strictly to business news.
Where Greenspun will turn on potential startup publications remains wide open, Rusher said.
In addition to becoming a golf mecca, Las Vegas is a real estate hotbed and a haven for senior citizens. But Rusher wouldn't say if the company is looking into developing magazines to serve readers interested in those markets. A number of small publications already address those topics.
Electronic versions of the Greenspun publications appear online at vegas.com, which Rusher calls "the glue that binds the magazines together."
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