Panel to Explore World of Business-to-Business Communication

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Literally thousands of niche magazines -- from "American Lawyer" to "Engineering News-Record" and from "Salon Today" to "Motor Age"-- provide the intelligence and market information that business decision-makers require to survive and thrive.

A panel of business-to-business experts will discuss the world of "B2B" media and business information Thursday, Feb. 12, at Northwestern University.

The panel will convene at 3:30 p.m. at the McCormick Tribune Center Forum, 1870 Campus Drive, on Northwestern's Evanston campus. The event, which is part of Medill School of Journalism's Crain Lecture Series, is free and open to the public.

Abe Peck, Medill professor emeritus and director of Medill's B2B initiative, will moderate the panel addressing current issues and challenges in B2B communication. "The circulations of B2B magazines and publications may be small, but their high degree of targeting makes them extremely valuable," says Peck.

Panelists will include Ellis Booker, editor of Crain's "BtoB" and "BtoB Media Business;" Gary Slack, president and CEO of Slack Barshinger, a leading B2B agency; Peggy Walker, president of Vance Publishing Corporation, which publishes more than 25 vertical market magazines and publications; and Dan Verdon, editor of DVM veterinary newsmagazine, published by Advanstar Communications.

Walker also is the incoming chair of American Business Media, an association of business information providers that delivers business intelligence to industry, Madison Avenue, Wall Street and the Beltway.

The B2B panel is the keynote event of "Medill B2B Days," which marks Medill's commitment to expand its B2B efforts. B2B speakers also will visit classes on Medill's Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Qatar campuses, and Medill will conduct industry summits and research to provide the field with best practices.

The admission-free Crain Lecture Series is named in honor of magazine publishers Gertrude and G.D. Crain Jr. For further information about the upcoming event, call (847) 491-5401 or visit the Medill Web site at http://www.medill.northwestern.edu.