The Journey Continues ...
by Barry Vinocur

Last fall, Dow Jones & Co. decided to sell Dow Jones Financial Publishing Corp., the company my two former partners and I founded in 1991, and that Dow Jones had purchased from us in January 1995. Late last year, Dow Jones signed a letter of intent with Wicks Business Information, a Connecticut-based firm. Before the deal closed, Wicks concluded that the real estate arm of our company didn’t fit within its business plan. Wicks asked if I would be interested in acquiring those assets, which included this magazine and Realty Stock Review. In late January, Wicks and my new venture, Rainmaker Publications Group LLC, closed the deal.

Put simply, my business plan was to use Realty Stock Review and Property magazine as the cornerstones of a multichannel media platform focusing on commercial real estate. The plan in place, I set about finding the resources to build that platform, and that meant finding the right partner.

Early on in my search, Scott Rechler, the co-CEO of Reckson Associates, an office REIT, introduced me to Bruce Weissberg, the CEO of RealtyIQ.Com. FrontLine Capital Group, a company spun off to the shareholders of Reckson Associates in June 1998, and which Scott is the CEO of, had taken a major stake in RealtyIQ.Com. Bruce and I hit it off, and though I spoke with a number of people before I met Bruce and after, I decided Bruce and his colleagues were the "right" partner for what I had in mind. In August, Bruce and I signed the deal that made Rainmaker a part of the RealtyIQ.Com family.

As noted, this magazine and Realty Stock Review represent the core of a much larger business plan. That plan will be unveiled in the coming months by Bruce and myself. Though I am dying to say more, for now I have to leave it at that. Hopefully, when you hear what we’re working on, you’ll be as excited as we are about our plan.

Over the past 10 years, I have written frequently in this magazine, as well as Realty Stock Review, and the other publications that we owned, including Investment Advisor and Asset Management, about my view of publishing. Put simply, I see what we do as a journey, albeit a never-ending one. There are always-with apologies to Robert Frost-"miles to go before we sleep." That’s as true today-if not more so-than in the past.

-You are receiving this magazine because you were a subscriber to one or both of the publications (Dow Jones Asset Management or Dow Jones Investment Advisor) that previously were bundled with Property. To continue receiving Property you will need to fill out a form. It’s easiest for us if you fill out the card attached to this issue and mail or fax (732-493-8319) it back to us. That way, you’ll keep getting Property. If you prefer, you can logon to the Property Website (www.property-mag.com) and click on the subscription icon.

If you have questions or comments about this issue of Property, or anything else, please contact me directly. You can reach me by phone (732-493-8172), fax (732-493-8319), "snail mail" (Box 240, Oakhurst, New Jersey 07755), or e-mail (bvinocur@rainmaker-media.com). I look forward to hearing from you.


Property (ISSN 1529-2398) is published quarterly by RainMaker Media Group LLC, 802 West Park Avenue, Ocean, NJ 07712. Tel: 732-493-1999. Application to mail at the Periodicals rate is pending at Asbury Park, NJ. Postage paid at Asbury Park, NJ 07712 and additional mailing offices. Subscription Rate: $125 per year. POSTMASTER: Send all address changes to RainMaker Media Group LLC, P.O. Box 240, Oakhurst, NJ 07755-0240. Copyright 2000 by RainMaker Media Group LLC. Reproduction, photocopying, or incorporation into any information retrieval system for external or internal use is prohibited unless permission is obtained beforehand from the publisher in each case for a specific article. The subscription fee entitles the subscriber to one original copy only. Unauthorized copying is considered theft. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering investment advisory, legal, or accounting services. If such assistance is required, seek the advice of a competent professional.

Fall 2000 Property Volume V, Number 2