Financial World's Ellen Dweck: taking on the business books; selling FW as a business, as well as investment, magazine is challenge of former Forbes ad sales whiz

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Jan, 1988 by Karlene Lukovitz

Not everyone agrees, however. Says an executive at one of the major business magazines, "Financial World is in a particularly bad climate to try and position itself against general business magazines. With the postrash situation, a lot of advertisers are pulling in their horns; those that usually use the top three business magazines are now picking two out of the three."

Another competitor puts it more strongly. "For Financial Word to think it can compete with Business Week, Fortune and Forbes is just ludicrous," this executive says.

FW is promising advertisers 275,000 paid subscribers by the start of 1988, plus a bonus of nonpaid distribution to 18,500 corporate managers, Wall Street executives and securities analysts.

Dweck says the next circulation goal is 400,000 by 1989. One competitor asserts that FW "simply does whatever's necessary to get those projected numbers," including carrying many less-than-full-price subscriptions. According to FW's first-half of 1987 ABC statement, 188,315 of its total 202,674 circulation was at lower than basic prices. Dweck, however, counters that all of the business magazines either have large percentages of less-than-paid circulation, due to making lower introductory offers, or have substantial percentages of circulation sold through premiums.

One thing is certain: Whatever the odds against establishing FW as "the" or even "a" fourth business magazine, they've been considerably improved in Financial World's favor by the addition of Ellen Dweck to the team.