BCT Publishing Announces Relaunch Of Automotive Traveler, An Online-Only Magazine For All Digital Platforms

Combining the interactivity of the web with a traditional magazine-reading experience, magazine is the first of a family of targeted publications aimed at serving specific enthusiast niches. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) November 10, 2010 - Scottsdale, Arizona - Four years ago, a scrappy group of entrepreneurs launched Automotive Traveler, an online-only digital magazine targeting automotive and travel enthusiasts seeking the next great road trip. After publishing four award-winning, quarterly issues, parent company BCT Publishing LLC of Scottsdale, Arizona, decided the magazine was just a bit ahead of its time. The company decided to focus its editorial and creative efforts instead on more-traditional blog posts and feature stories at AutomotiveTraveler.com.

Today, BCT Publishing announces the re-launch of Automotive Traveler magazine with a 100-page November 2010 issue. The online-only monthly publication will once again take the lead in presenting content to a worldwide audience in an interactive format that combines the best of the traditional print world with 21st century technologies.

"It's no exaggeration to say that the iPad revolutionized the way traditional publishers can port their publications in the digital arena," says Automotive Traveler's Editorial Director Richard Truesdell. "Still, this is about so much more than Apple's latest must-have gadget. There so literally millions of enthusiasts with netbooks and laptops out there - and they all want high-quality content to read on the go. When we first produced Automotive Traveler online three years ago, we had no print version to limit us. So, we designed it from scratch to be digital, taking advantage of all the screen 'real estate' provided by a typical laptop or computer screen. Now, the iPad provides an even more magazine-style reading experience with its magazine-like form factor."

BCT Publishing has designed its own browser-independent viewer that provides full compatibility within the iPad's built-in browser, no app required. "We've used a number of technologies to produce a viewer that is fast but expandable as new technologies emerge," says BCT Publishing's Technical Director Jay Sherman. "The best thing about it is that it works with any browser, on any device."

The propriety technology has applications beyond Automotive Traveler and BCT Publishing's plans for additional online-only magazines that target specific niches of readers. "We see our viewer as the ideal solution for magazine publishers who want to transition their print publications to the web - especially when going online-only - with a minimum of expense, and more importantly, a quick learning curve," says Bill Basore, managing partner of BCT Publishing. "Production is simple. Produce pages as you would in a DTP program such InDesign, convert to PDF, assemble the package, and post to the web."

"As someone who joined this industry during the last days when magazines were still 'pasted up,' the process of producing Volume 2, Issue 1 of Automotive Traveler has been fascinating - and a great deal of fun," says Automotive Traveler Executive Editor Robyn Larson McCarthy. "The flexibility to make corrections and swap editorial around until the moment the IT director hits the 'publish' button is incredibly liberating. None of us wants to see print magazines go the way of the dinosaurs, but this technology will actually enhance the quality and diversity of the publishing industry as a whole. Niche magazines so targeted they would never be economically viable in a print world are suddenly quite feasible."

What makes Automotive Traveler unique in today's digital world is that it is not a print publication supported by a traditional blog or website. Rather, each content item is posted individually on the AutomotiveTraveler.com website in the same landscape-formatted, magazine-style presentation. Then, at the beginning of each month, the articles are updated as necessary, compiled with new magazine-only content (including a cover and interactive table of contents), and published as that month's issue of Automotive Traveler.

"We're extremely excited by the potential of this new format," says Truesdell. "The iPad really only scratches the surface. With Google's tablet-optimized Honeycomb operating system expected early in 2011, and with more vendors supplying seven- and 10-inch tablets at lower prices, we expect the category to explode. Some estimates say more than 20 million tablet PCs will be sold in the next 12 months - and with our versatile platform, we plan to be participants."

Publishers interested in learning more about this innovative publishing solution are invited to contact managing partner Bill Basore (480) 522-1035, extension 3. Contributors are invited to contact Editorial Director Richard Truesdell at (480) 522-1035, extension 1.

Editorial Leadership

Richard Truesdell (Editorial Director) is your classic "car guy," with a twist. He believes nothing quite beats matching the right car with a great stretch of road, driving to the perfect destination. He launched his journalism career in 1989 covering in-car electronics for Car and Driver and Motor Trend , leveraging his 20-plus years of experience in consumer- and mobile-electronics retail. That experience led to his appointment as editor of Car Audio and Electronics. A full-time automotive journalist for the past 15 years, he has contributed to a host of automotive publications worldwide, including Motor Trend Classic, Musclecar Enthusiast, Octane (U.K.), and Classic and Sports Car (U.K.). With partner Bill Basore, he formed BCT Publishing in 2007 to launch Automotive Traveler and AutomotiveTraveler.com. Two years ago, as a contract editor, he launched Chevy Enthusiast for Amos Automotive. With the introduction of the iPad and the coming wave of tablet PCs, he felt the time was right to relaunch Automotive Traveler, again as a monthly, online-only magazine.

Robyn Larson McCarthy (Executive Editor) also serves as the editorial director at The Armarium Press./Canterbury Tails Books, which she co-founded in 2000. She has more than 20 years' experience in publishing, including consumer and trade magazines, freelance newspaper writing, and as publications director for a non-profit foundation with an annual budget of $4 million. Her editorial articles have been published in The Wall Street Journal, Investor's Business Daily, USA Today, and The Journal of Commerce, among other publications, and she was a regular contributor to the Bridge News editorial opinion wire in the mid-1990s. She has worked as a policy analyst for the Independent Women's Forum and contributed a chapter on the economics of conservation to the book Man & Nature. A graduate of Vassar College and the National Journalism Center, Ms. McCarthy received second place in the 1993 Felix Morley Journalism Competition.

Contributors

A lifelong car guy who enjoyed a 34-year career with General Motors, Joseph Babiasz continues to follow his twin passions of cars and travel. After retiring from GM, he owned West Coast Car Connection, a classic car restoration and sales operation that sold solid Southern California iron, and then launched Collector Car Enterprise to offer seminars on purchasing quality collector cars. Joe is a monthly contributor to four national automotive magazines. He has a nose to sniff out travel bargains and enjoys hopping on a cruise ship on a whim, especially if the price is low. He's always said there is no such thing as a bad cruise, and after 26, we think he should know.

As an industry analyst, market forecaster, marketing strategist, writer, and historian, Sam Fiorani has more "slashes" next to his name than a Hollywood mogul. He writes to tell stories about cars, to educate, to inform, and to impress his 11th grade English teacher, Mrs. Gardill, who told him to find a day job. His current projects include a regular newspaper column, a book on little-known cars of the 1980s, staying ahead of the oil spewing from his MG, and finding sponsors for the restoration of his 20-year-old pocket rocket.

The founder and president of Internet Car and Truck of the Year, Keith Griffin has been writing about new cars continuously for the last eight years for numerous publications, including The Boston Globe. He is the Guide to Used Cars for About.com and the National Hyundai Examiner for Examiner.com. The father of two daughters ages five and two, he also somehow finds time to be vice president of the New England Motor Press Association, as well as a freelance business journalist.

A freelance travel writer and seasoned international traveler who hails from Jacksonville, Florida, Debi Lander considers photography her hobby and has a keen interest in Cs: cars, cooking and children (she's known as Mimi to her five grandkids), and visits to castles, cathedrals, and the Caribbean. She is a former marathon runner whose body told her to switch to yoga. Her AutomotiveTraveler.com blog, Bimmer Dreamer, recounts numerous sagas of road trips taken in her 550i BMW, acquired through European delivery in Munich.

At times Carmen Madrid finds it hard to choose between writing and breathing. A freelance travel and opinion writer, she grew up in California but now writes from the hills of New Hampshire. She is co-founder of an independent book publishing company, The Armarium Press., and loves to share anecdotes and thoughts about her travels by writing for such sites as RecreationFun.com. Having spent more than 20 years in the corporate arena, half of it in management, she always thinks someone is waiting to hear her opinion. Her own car collection has included a 1969 Mustang and 1970 Chevy Luv Truck, to name a few.

Texas-based writer and photographer Steve Statham has worked in the automotive journalism field for two decades, first on the staff of Super Ford, then as a freelance contributor to dozens of magazines. He is the author of 12 non-fiction books, including Pontiac GTO: Five Decades of Muscle, Camaro, and Jeep Color History (his first foreign language edition) and served as the editor of Musclecar Enthusiast. When he is not writing about cars, he spends his spare time working on the mind-bending science fiction novels that will someday make him wealthy and famous, or possibly broke and shunned. When not thusly engaged, he enjoys craft beer, and then enjoys another.

Brian A. Veit, who provided our cover presentation for the November 2010 issue, has been a professional "presentation specialist" and layout artist for 20 years, producing graphics for events ranging in scale from the smallest boardroom to the grandest ballroom. Combined with his 15 years of experience in traditional live theater as both designer and technician, and you could say Brian is a one-man, live-event graphics/production machine. Learn more about Brian's work at his website, ScrewheadGraphics.com.

About Automotive Traveler
What began as a dream four years ago between two self-confessed cars guys over dinner after a Saleen Mustang show has led to Automotive Traveler, an online-only magazine that attempted to combine the best elements of Car and Driver with Condé Nast Traveler. Automotive Traveler was cited by min magazine and magazine industry expert Samir "Mr. Magazine" Husni as one of 2007's hottest digital launches. Publication was suspended in 2008 and efforts were refocused on building up content and traffic at its companion website, AutomotiveTraveler.com. With the proliferation of smartphones, the recent introduction of the iPad, and more tablet PCS on the horizon, BCT Publishing believes that the time is right to re-launch Automotive Traveler as an online-only monthly publication.

About BCT Publishing LLC
BCT Publishing is dedicated to development of online publishing solutions that blend the best of the magazine and book reading experience with the convenience of the web. We provide the tools and platform that allow print titles to migrate to the web in a reader-satisfying way. Our non-Flash-based viewer works across all platforms and operating systems and is Google-search-friendly and browser-agnostic. There are no proprietary downloads or other client-side programs for users to configure: If you can surf the web, you can enjoy the content we deliver. For more information about BCT Publishing, or to find out how we can help you with your online publishing needs, call Bill Basore at (480) 522-1035, extension 3.

###

Visit Automotive Traveler, Bct Publishing Llc Website

space