Vermont business magazine closes its doors

Business People-Vermont magazine has gone out of business.

Anne Wallace Allen of VTDigger.com reports, “Business People started in 1984 as part of a Portland, Maine-based franchise that grew to include 35 publications called Business Digest, all serving communities of 150,000 people or fewer, Paul Tenney said. The magazines did very well in the 1980s and 1990s, he said, but by 1998 their popularity had faded, and in 1998 Jack Tenney acquired the magazine and changed its name from Business Digest of Greater Burlington to Business People-Vermont.

“The magazine’s freelance writers and photographers created profiles of business owners all over the state, and until recently 6,000 copies were distributed statewide, Paul Tenney said.

“Now, only one of the original franchisees remains, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. That company has grown in the community of 265,000, and now publishes four other magazines as well.

“Business People-Vermont hadn’t made money in years, Paul Tenney said. Like most other print media, the magazine struggled to compete with much less costly online publications. Advertising revenues have dropped for most general interest publications, even those — like Business People-Vermont — with an online presence.”

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