Robert E. Petersen Buys Sports Afield Magazine
Posted on January 5, 2000
Robert E. Petersen, founder and former chairman of the Petersen Publishing Company, has announced the completion of the purchase of Sports Afield Magazine from the Hearst Corporation. It was also announced that the magazine's headquarters will be relocated to Van Nuys, a San Fernando Valley suburb of Los Angeles. Petersen named former Petersen Publishing Company Outdoor Group Vice President and Executive Publisher Ken Elliott as Sports Afield's new president. Sports Afield will be relaunched with the June 2000 issue.
The acquisition represents Petersen's official return to the publishing industry, following the sale of the Petersen Publishing Company to Willis Stein and Partners in 1996. With nearly 50 years in the publishing business, Petersen was a dominant force in outdoor sports publishing having founded and published outdoor niche titles including Guns & Ammo, Petersen's Hunting, and Petersen's Bowhunting, among others.
"Purchasing Sports Afield is like a personal homecoming," commented Petersen. "It is a wonderful feeling to be back in the industry that I love and at the helm of the oldest and most prestigious outdoor title in the business."
