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Lumina Media was an American publisher of magazines, books, and associated websites. Throughout all its incarnations, the business has focused on the pet-keeping and -breeding market, though also with some other topical lifestyle and hobby publications. The original company was founded in 1974 as Fancy Publications (later renamed BowTie Inc.) by Norman Ridker, absorbing Kennel Club Books in 2004, which made BowTie a main competitor to TFH Publications in the pet-book market. In 2002, Bob Garfield of '' On the Media'' called Fancy Publications "the
Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( doing business as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned by AT&T. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City. It was established as Time Warne ...
of the pet magazine business". (Click the "Transcript" tab to get the transcript.) After some financial difficulties, BowTie was restructured as I-5 Publishing in 2013 under the new ownership of David Fry and Mark Harris, and took on its present name in 2016. Over the years, the company has launched, acquired, divested, or consolidated many pet-related paper and digital publications, including a number that have been dominant in their niches among North American speciality magazines and sites during various periods, including '' Bird Talk'', ''
Cat Fancy Cat fancy describes the subculture that surrounds cat lovers and their Hobby, hobbies involving the appreciation, promotion, Cat show, showing, or List of cat breeds, breeding of cats. Animal fancy, Animal fanciers of cats may refer to themselve ...
'' (merged into the ''
Catster ''Catster'' was a North American monthly magazine dedicated to cats, owners of cats, and breeders of cats and also a website that publishes content for cat lovers. Its sister publication was Dogster, a website for dog lovers. In October 2023, ...
'' website and magazine), '' Dog Fancy'' (merged to ''
Dogster Dogster is a bimonthly magazine and website for dog lovers. Its sister publication is Catster, a bimonthly magazine and website for cat lovers. Dogster magazine (formerly Dog Fancy) has been continuously published since 1970, celebrating 50 ye ...
''), '' Dog World'' (purchased from Primedia Inc., and originally dating to 1916), '' Ferrets Magazine'' (merged to the ''Small Animal Channel'' website), and ''
Reptiles Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...
''. Lumina has also dominated the American market for magazine-format newsstand specials about pets (usually annually issued). In 2016, Lumina sold its book division – responsible for more than 400 paper books and e-books, mostly about specific
breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...
s – to Fox Chapel Publishing, forming the new imprint CompanionHouse Press. Some other noteworthy Lumina publications have included ''
Motorcycle Consumer News ''Motorcycle Consumer News'' (MCN) was a monthly motorcycling magazine that reviewed motorcycles and accessories, and covered motorcycle safety, training and industry news. Unlike most publications, it was wholly subscriber-supported and did ...
'', ''Veterinary Practice News'' (later published by Kenilworth Media), and the first magazine devoted to animal rescue, ''Rescue Me'' (later ''Rescue Proud''). As of February 2020, Lumina Media was dissolved and had ceased their business operations. A letter was sent to subscribers without explanation as to why.


History

Fancy Publications was started by Norman Ridker in 1974. Ridker subsequently renamed the company to BowTie Inc. (publishing books as BowTie Press) to show his love of bow ties. By 2013, BowTie had experienced months of financial difficulties caused in part by significant decreases in readership and in advertisement proceeds. In 2013, I-5 Publishing LLC, a new company founded by David Fry and Mark Harris, bought BowTie's businesses for an eight-figure sum. I-5 started to decrease their "
breeder A breeder is a person who selectively breeds carefully selected mates, normally of the same breed, to sexually reproduce offspring with specific, consistently replicable qualities and characteristics. This might be as a farmer, agriculturalist ...
-centric" publications in favor of
rescue Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, removal from danger, liberation from restraint, or the urgent treatment of injury, injuries after an incident. It may be facilitated by a range of tools and equipm ...
-focused content, and launched a topically unique magazine titled ''Rescue Me'', later followed up by ''Rescue Proud''. The company was renamed to Lumina Media in 2016.


Timeline

*1993 – Fancy Publications published the magazines ''Aquarium Fish'', ''Bird Talk'', ''
Cat Fancy Cat fancy describes the subculture that surrounds cat lovers and their Hobby, hobbies involving the appreciation, promotion, Cat show, showing, or List of cat breeds, breeding of cats. Animal fancy, Animal fanciers of cats may refer to themselve ...
'', '' Dog Fancy'', ''Horse Illustrated'', ''Pet Product News'', ''
Reptiles Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...
'', and ''Wild Bird''. *1998 – Fancy Publications operated the website ''Animal Network'' and published ''Bird Breeder'' magazine. *1998 – Fancy Publications sued
Primedia Primedia is a South African media group, headquartered in Sandton, Johannesburg. History Primedia was established in 1994 and its listing on the JSE Securities Exchange was completed in April 1995. Primedia remained listed on the JSE until 1 O ...
over alleged
copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of Copyright#Scope, works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the c ...
by Primedia's ''Cats'' magazine. *1999 – Fancy Publications published ''Bird Talk'', ''Critters'', ''Dog Fancy'', ''Ferrets'', ''Koi World'', ''Natural Cat'', ''Natural Dog'', ''Rabbits'', and ''Reptiles''. *2004 – BowTie acquired Kennel Club Books, a publisher in Allenhurst, New Jersey, that specialized in dog-breed books, adding about 200 titles to their then-current collection of around 100 titles. The
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
has 265 books published under the Kennel Club Books imprint. *2012 – BowTie stopped publishing a print version of ''Bird Talk'' magazine. *2012 – ''Thoroughbred Times'' magazine filed for bankruptcy and terminated operations. The ''Times'' had been started in 1985 and was acquired by BowTie in 1993. *2013 – I-5 Publishing signed a 10-year deal to print and distribute ''Rat Rod Magazine'', adding to its several auto titles, including ''Auto Restorer'' magazine. *2013 – Lumina Media purchased '' Dog Fancy'' and ''
Cat Fancy Cat fancy describes the subculture that surrounds cat lovers and their Hobby, hobbies involving the appreciation, promotion, Cat show, showing, or List of cat breeds, breeding of cats. Animal fancy, Animal fanciers of cats may refer to themselve ...
'' magazines from BowTie. *2013 – I-5 Publishing acquired the ''
Dogster Dogster is a bimonthly magazine and website for dog lovers. Its sister publication is Catster, a bimonthly magazine and website for cat lovers. Dogster magazine (formerly Dog Fancy) has been continuously published since 1970, celebrating 50 ye ...
'' and ''
Catster ''Catster'' was a North American monthly magazine dedicated to cats, owners of cats, and breeders of cats and also a website that publishes content for cat lovers. Its sister publication was Dogster, a website for dog lovers. In October 2023, ...
'' websites from Say Media. *2013 – I-5 Publishing acquires ''Poultry World'' (previously ''The Poultry Magazine'') *2014 – Lumina Media launched alternating bimonthly print magazines for ''
Dogster Dogster is a bimonthly magazine and website for dog lovers. Its sister publication is Catster, a bimonthly magazine and website for cat lovers. Dogster magazine (formerly Dog Fancy) has been continuously published since 1970, celebrating 50 ye ...
'' and ''
Catster ''Catster'' was a North American monthly magazine dedicated to cats, owners of cats, and breeders of cats and also a website that publishes content for cat lovers. Its sister publication was Dogster, a website for dog lovers. In October 2023, ...
'' and stopped publishing '' Dog Fancy'' and ''
Cat Fancy Cat fancy describes the subculture that surrounds cat lovers and their Hobby, hobbies involving the appreciation, promotion, Cat show, showing, or List of cat breeds, breeding of cats. Animal fancy, Animal fanciers of cats may refer to themselve ...
'' magazines. *2016 – Lumina Media sold its book division to Fox Chapel Publishing, including 330 print books and 440 e-books to be sold under the new imprint CompanionHouse Press. *2017 – Lumina Media sold ''Veterinary Practice News'' to Kenilworth Media, Inc. *2017 – Lumina Media sold the Web publication ''Petcha'' and ''Reptiles'' magazine to
PetSmart PetSmart Inc. is a privately held American chain of pet Big-box store, superstores, which sell pet products, services, and small pets. It is the leading North American pet company, and its direct competitor is Petco. Its indirect competitors ...
. *2017 – Lumina Media sold ''Horse Illustrated'', ''Young Rider'', ''Hobby Farms'', and ''Chickens'' magazines to EG Media Investments. *2017 – Lumina Media sold ''
Dogster Dogster is a bimonthly magazine and website for dog lovers. Its sister publication is Catster, a bimonthly magazine and website for cat lovers. Dogster magazine (formerly Dog Fancy) has been continuously published since 1970, celebrating 50 ye ...
'' and ''
Catster ''Catster'' was a North American monthly magazine dedicated to cats, owners of cats, and breeders of cats and also a website that publishes content for cat lovers. Its sister publication was Dogster, a website for dog lovers. In October 2023, ...
'' to
Belvoir Media Group Belvoir Media Group is an American publisher of consumer-interest websites, newsletters, magazines and books. It publishes more than 30 monthly titles across a wide range of interest sectors, including human health, pets, marine, aviation and orga ...
.


Magazines

Magazines published by I-5 Publishing (monthly, unless otherwise noted) include or formerly included: *''Aquarium USA'' (annual) *''Auto Restorer'' *'' Bird Talk'' *''Cats USA'' (annual) *''Chickens'' *''Cigar & Spirits'' (50% stake, sold back to the magazine's original founder in 2015) *''Critters USA'' (annual) *'' Dog World'' (annual) *''Dogs USA'' (annual) *''Dogs in Review'' *'' Ferrets Magazine'' (bimonthly, later online-only) *''Hobby Farms'' *''Horse Illustrated'' *''Horses USA'' (annual) *''Kittens USA'' (annual) *''Lucky Puppy'' *''Marine Fish and Reef USA'' (annual) *''
Motorcycle Consumer News ''Motorcycle Consumer News'' (MCN) was a monthly motorcycling magazine that reviewed motorcycles and accessories, and covered motorcycle safety, training and industry news. Unlike most publications, it was wholly subscriber-supported and did ...
'' *''Popular Horse'' (series of specials) *''Puppies USA'' (annual) *''Puppies 101'' *''Quarter Horses'' *''Rabbits USA'' (annual) *''Rat Rod'' (pertaining to hotrods, not rodents) *''
Reptiles Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...
'' *''Reptiles USA'' (annual) *''Rescue Proud'' *''Road Rider'' *''Urban Farm'' (bimonthly) *''Young Rider'' (pertaining to horses, not motorcycles) *''Your New Horse''


Websites

I-5 Publishing has operated several websites (with domain names corresponding to their titles, e.g. SmallAnimalChannel.com for ''Small Animal Channel'') including: *''Bird Channel'' *''Cat Channel'' *''Dog Channel'' *''Fish Channel'' *''Horse Channel'' *''Reptile Channel'' *''Small Animal Channel'' (devoted primarily to rabbits and rodents)


References


External links

* {{I-5 Publishing 1974 establishments in the United States Companies based in Ann Arbor, Michigan Publishing companies established in 1974 Publishing companies based in Michigan 2013 mergers and acquisitions Publishing companies disestablished in 2020 2020 disestablishments in Michigan