NewsMax And Random House Announce Book Deal

Posted on April 5, 2002

NewsMax Media and Random House's Prima Publishing have agreed to a joint venture for the purposes of publishing and marketing books, it was announced by Christopher Ruddy, NewsMax CEO and President. Prima Publishing is an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House Inc. owned by Bertelsmann AG.

Under the terms of the agreement, NewsMax will bring contributors from its website to create a co-branded series of books. Prima will handle the editorial, marketing, sales, and distribution of the series, while NewsMax will promote the books through its network of online and print readers. Most of the books in the series will be published under the Prima Forum imprint, a line of serious nonfiction books.

"We are excited about the opportunity to work with Prima Forum, a respected imprint of a renowned publishing house," says Ruddy. "Prima has an established history of publishing high quality books which offer a diversity of perspectives."

NewsMax has become a popular outlet for conservative readers seeking news and commentary. Its website, NewsMax.com, draws millions of viewers each month and its print publication, NewsMax Magazine, has a monthly readership of more than 250,000.

"We see the potential for incredible synergy between Prima Forum and NewsMax. This arrangement will allow us to bring more high-quality titles to a motivated, book-hungry audience," Prima editor David Richardson said. "NewsMax has become a significant media player and we are looking forward to working with them."

Prima was founded in 1984, was bought by Random House a year ago, and has focused on self-help books and serious nonfiction. Prima Forum has published numerous bestsellers, including The New Thought Police by Tammy Bruce and recent New York Times #1 bestseller bin Laden by Yossef Bodansky.

"There's a strong desire in America's heartland for fresh ideas and new thinking, and sadly the establishment media and publishing houses haven't responded to the demand," Lord Rees-Mogg, chairman of NewsMax said, adding that "Prima Forum and NewsMax can make a big difference in offering great books to the public."