Logistics & Transport News South Africa

Biz-community announces new Editor

Veteran journalist and editor, Louise Marsland, has been appointed Editor of Bizcommunity.com from 1 May 2004. Bizcommunity.com is South Africa's most widely read and only daily news service for the advertising, media, marketing and communications industry in South Africa.

Launched in 2001, Bizcommunity.com has grown from a zero base to over 22 000 subscribers a week of its five daily electronic newsletters (ezines) and one weekly round-up ezine. An additional 6000 subscribers receive Communicate, its fortnightly PR ezine. Bizcommunity.com generates more than 750 000 pages viewed a month and readership is growing at a steady rate of a 1000 a month.

Owned and established by MD, Andre Rademan and current Editor, Ken van Ginkel, who moves to Editorial Director, Bizcommunity.com has grown at an exponential rate, requiring a permanent presence in Johannesburg where the hub of the industry is located. "We are very excited to have Louise on board. Her energy and passion for this industry will ensure that we drive business development at an increased rate, consolidating our position as the leading online and B2B news resource in our industry," says Rademan.

Marsland, who began her career in newspapers in 1987, spent the first eight years as a general and local government reporter covering everything from "bomb blasts to the breakdown of the infamous Group Areas Act". She left The Star newspaper end-1994 to join Primedia Publishing in editing and establishing publications in the B2B FMCG retailing division. The past 10 years were spent honing her skills in the media & marketing industry in B2B magazine and Internet publishing, most notably as Editor of Marketing Mix. She currently writes for various B2B and business magazines, consults as a Media Strategist and is studying for her M Com in Strategy & Organizational Dynamics from Natal University's Leadership Centre.

"My job as Editor is to make sure our readers get what they want from an industry news service and put a face to the medium. We will be introducing exciting new sections to stimulate debate and encourage innovation. However, online publishing is a very intimate medium as one engages in a direct dialogue with one's readers and I look forward to hearing from the industry what they want!" comments Marsland.

Bizcommunity.com is one of the best examples of viral marketing - outstripping the circulation of all business-to-business media in this industry with negligible advertising – just plain, old-fashioned word-of-mouth uptake from the business community it serves.
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