British magazine
publisher founded in
1985, that now employs 1, 100 people as part of its operations in
Britain,
France,
Italy and the
United States. The magazines are available all over the world thanks to the
wonders of globalisation (in 27 countries, according to their web-site).
Chris Anderson founded the company with the publication of Amstrad Action in 1985 (which was quite cutting-edge at the time, apparently). 1987 saw PC Plus being released with a 'free' cover disk, a first for a UK computing magazine. Since then, the company has gone from strength to strength, mainly thanks to lucrative publishing deals with major corporations, such as Netscape, Microsoft, Sony and Manchester United.
Although theoretically an independent entity (and not just a subsidiary of AOL Time Warner or Disney, for example), Future Publishing has very close connections with GWR Group (a British radio corporation) and Clear Channel Communications, thanks to the interests of its board members. Those inclined to investment could buy shares in the company through the London Stock Exchange, where it has been listed as FNET since June 1999.
The magazines are primarily about computing and hobbies, often with several titles devoted to the same field (thereby reducing the need for original content, and allowing them to build stronger relationships with key advertisers). In fact, most of their magazines are glorified catalogues, since their editorial policy is (as far as I can tell) simply to promote everything, so long as it is new, expensive, and made by a paying customer that’s not you, folks, that’s the advertisers).
This was especially apparent after their announcement in August 2002 that Future Publishing would be the official publisher for msn.co.uk. They were already the 'official' publisher in the UK for all XBox-related information, as well as all official magazines connected to the Sony Playstation. In fact, they even describe their own magazines as 'glossy brochure-style'. Independent media, anyone?
They are increasingly moving into websites, with most of their publications now having an on-line presence. I won’t list all the URL’s here – if you’re interested, it should be fairly simple to find the sites.
Below is the complete list of their publications
Future Publishing UK
Future Publishing Italy
Future Publishing France
Future Publishing US
For more information and press releases, see http://www.thefuturenetwork.plc.uk