Cowles Enthusiast Media Completes Acquisition of Canoe & Kayak Magazine

Posted on February 3, 1998

Cowles Enthusiast Media (CEM) has completed its announced agreement to purchase Canoe & Kayak Magazine and its family of paddlesports publications from Canoe America Associates. The announcement was made today by Philip L. Penny, president, Cowles Enthusiast Media.

In conjunction with the sale, Glen Bernard has been named publisher of Canoe & Kayak. Formerly the magazine's associate publisher and long-time advertising director, Bernard has nearly 20 years of publishing experience and is a regular speaker at Folios magazine publishing conferences. In the publisher role, Bernard replaces David Harrison, who with his wife, Judy, will remain with the magazine in an industry relations capacity. Canoe & Kayak will continue to operate out of its offices in Kirkland, Wash.

Canoe & Kayak, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary this summer, is published six times a year with a total circulation of 88,000. It publishes four annuals under its brand including Kayak Touring, Canoe Journal, Whitewater Paddling, and Beginner's Guide to Canoeing and Kayaking, as well as a quarterly trade publication, Paddlesports Business.

CEM's other outdoor recreation titles include Bowhunter, Climbing, Fly Fisherman, Horse & Rider, and Practical Horseman. The company, headquartered in Stamford, Conn., publishes 24 other special interest magazines, and operates TV/video and specialty distribution subsidiaries. PRIMEDIA Inc. has entered into an agreement to acquire Cowles Enthusiast Media from McClatchy Newspapers on completion of McClatchy's purchase of CEM's parent company, Cowles Media Company. These transactions are expected to close by March 31, 1998.