FROM A TO ZG: The Business (Insert) Is Booming!

April 26th, 2006 at 03:38pm Jeremy Simon 5

The Valley already has publications dedicated to niches such as philanthropy (Aspen Philanthropist), families (Mountain Parent), and 'in'-crowd-worship (Aspen Peak), so it's no surprise that the 'business publication' niche is infecting Valley media.

Several months ago, the Aspen Daily News upgraded an existing insert and rebranded it Mountain Business Journal, appearing Wednesday and as a stand-alone. And two months back, the Aspen Times's parent company debuted High Country Business Review, which appears as a standalone and probably as a newspaper insert, though I frankly don't remember or care to check.

The Daily News's MBJ aims to be the 'facts and figures' business provider, with nifty graphics, charts, and indexes on everything from stock quotes, occupancy reports, gasoline, and Gatorade. (The idea of pricing grocery staples is cute, but in practice it's unenlightening and MBJ would be better off comparing upvalley/downvalley prices for services that actually *do* vary in price, such as dry cleaning, or dental care.) And though a fair amount of the MBJ is wire filler and brief rehashes of already-reported news, MBJ does break business-news stories, and its shortish lead time allows it to be relatively nimble for a niche publication. And local-businessperson-profile features such as "Face Time" personalize MBJ and give it a distinctly localized feel.

In contrast, High Country Business Review--Colorado Mountain News Media's new business-oriented offering--aims for a magazine-y, feature approach, with longer, quote-and-anecdote-filled pieces on Colorado sorts of issues, such as recycling, ski tourism, and rural wireless-internet hotspots. HCBR's design is clean, and superior to the Daily News's somewhat cluttered-looking product.

But while HCBR is clearly trying to "hit us where we live," it feels a bit thinly spread, as it must address not only Aspen but the entire mountain I-70 Corridor. HCBR covers the Roaring Fork Valley in dribs and drabs, but there seems to be more focus on Vail than on Aspen--and as someone who definitely relates to the Aspen/Vail either-or thing, I'd rather eat raw wasabi than read about Vail.
Which is better? Well, both are welcome additions. Because Lord knows that while Aspen City Council's every sniffle gets a full account from our local dailies, the state of Valley business reportagei has been ripe for an upgrade.

Entry Filed under: Media, Aspen