Reed Business Information last week named Chuck Bolkcom group publisher of
the RBI Television Group.
The industry veteran is charged with leading the business operations of
Multichannel News and Broadcasting & Cable, reporting to
executive vice president and Variety publisher Charlie Koones.
He succeeds Larry Oliver, who had left RBI but returned last week as VP and
publisher of the Retail Group.
Bolkcom had been CEO of B2B Media, an advertising-representation firm, where
he represented B&C and Primedia Inc.'s Broadcast Engineering,
among other vehicles.
Prior to launching B2B Media, he was director of technology advertising at
B&C. Bolkcom's career has also included stints as the sales manager
for numerous broadcasting companies, including Belo Corp., Donrey Media Group
and Gillett Broadcasting Corp.
"I'm thrilled to have Chuck step into the group-publisher role on
B&C and Multichannel News," Koones said. "He's an intensely
creative executive who understands the needs of our readers and advertisers from
his many years at B&C and at various station groups. We're in an
outstanding position with both Broadcasting & Cable and
Multichannel News, the clearly dominant brands in their markets. Chuck
will allow us to accelerate our growth by successfully delivering even greater
value to our media partners."
"I'm passionate about the business of television, and the opportunity to lead
Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel News is an extraordinary
one," Bolkcom said. "By leveraging the industry's very best editorial resources
and circulation, we're simply going to be able to better solve the needs of our
clients in a changing marketplace."
In his new position, Oliver has overall business and editorial responsibility
for four titles: Home Textiles Today, TWICE, Playthings and
Gifts & Decorative Accessories. He will work with their publishers to
create new programs and potential magazines that support their current and
expanded markets.
"Larry is one of the great marketing and sales executives in the industry,
and I am happy we were able to work out a return for him that will continue to
leverage his magic touch for fueling and leading organic revenue growth," Media
Division president Tad Smith said.
"Members of his team -- past and future -- literally cheered out loud when I
told them of Larry's decision," he added.
