Hi George,

I've got to comment on some of your comments.  While I haven't bothered
with HP Pro in a number of years due to the fact that it had turned 3000
content free, I do have experience with the "qualified subscriber".  I use
to run product announcements in HP Pro, and was always very excited to get
the professional documents back from HP Pro.  Without exception every
single lead that ever came in this way had bogus information.  Some of
these "companies" were near our office, so I drove by to check out the
address, and guess what, no HP site, or even a person living at the house
that knew anything about the HP.

So while you have 30,000 subscribers, I would question the accuracy.  Heck,
Interex claims something like 70,000, but that includes the 5 copies of
ad's that I get for myself, the one or two that my wife and 3 year old son
get, etc.

shawn





"Thompson, George" <[log in to unmask]> on 04/22/99 07:55:19 AM

Please respond to "Thompson, George" <[log in to unmask]>

To:   [log in to unmask]
cc:    (bcc: Shawn Gordon/IS/FHM/FHS)
Subject:  HP Professional: A Case of Mistaken Identity




Mr. Geiser,

I must speak up here. I cannot let your comments stand.

You either made an honest mistake or for someone living so close to Fort
Washington, PA you're attention to detail leaves something to be desired.

The "Chronicle" you summarily dissed here is NOT published, nor has it ever
been published in Fort Washington, Penna. However, HP PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE
IS published in Fort Washington, Penna. by Boucher Communications, Inc. and
in no way resembles HP Chronicle, a newsprint tabloid which is actually
published by Publications and Communications, Inc. (PCI) in Cedar Park,
Texas.

So, I humbly suggest you are confusing HP Professional with HP Chronicle.
And I trust your impressions of the latter are what you are recalling here.
If you provide with me your mailing address, I would be happy to send you
the 1999 year-to-date issues of HP Professional. And I would be more than
happy to put you (and anyone else who is interested) on a complimentary
mailing list (since I know you are a vital part of the HP community, we can
skip the regular qualification process).

In fact, Mr. Geiser you have a standing invitation to visit our offices in
Fort Washington at any time. I would be happy to meet with you in person,
introduce you to our staff and show you around our office out of which we
also publish Enterprise Systems Journal, Midrange Systems, Midrange
Channels, ent, Platform Decisions, Unisphere and most recently, Distributed
Computing.

For the record, HP Professional Magazine is a monthly periodical
(independent of Hewlett-Packard) dedicated to helping the HP community
integrate Hewlett-Packard computer systems in their enterprise and their
business. I've been with the magazine for about six years as technical
editor, senior editor and now Editor in Chief and I assure you we are not
an
"Ad Rag." But in the trade press, advertising pays the freight because we
do
not sell subscriptions. Like or not -- that's our business model.

However, unlike the Chronicle, or HP World for that matter, our audience of
30,000 is qualified by the Business Publication Association International
(BPAI) which audits our circulation regularly to certify that our
subscribers are indeed "qualified". Hence, the need for HP Professional and
other BPAI pubs to continually survey our readers and ask questions about
buying habits, equipment, job titles, etc. As the BPAI statement says: "all
reported qualified recipients must indicate that they specify, recommend,
approve, purchase or influence the purchase of products and services." It
helps ensure that our advertisers are reaching a targeted segment.

So, official qualification also means that our editorial must be valuable
and of service to our niche. But if no one considers the editorial
creditable and no one reads it -- what's the point? And frankly, that does
put more pressure on those of us in the trade press. Yet, that doesn't mean
we an "ad rag" any more than Time, Business Week, Information Week, or
Computer World or other magazines are. And here at HP Professional, I
assure
you that our mission is to honestly report on the IT market and provide
information about HP technologies and strategies and at times provide
information about HP's competitors as a matter of comparison and contrast.
Our goal is to provide a balanced view. And if we find out we made a
mistake, we're obligated to take responsibility for it and correct it.

 I'd also like to take this opportunity to say as a member of the American
Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) that I follow that organization's
Code of Preferred Editorial Practices which governs editorial behavior. And
let me assure you, as you might suspect, colluding with advertisers is
verboten. But I trust that editorial content of HP Professional speaks for
itself.

George A. Thompson
Editor in Chief
HP Professional Magazine
www.hppro.com




> The Chronicle?  Published not to far from here, as a matter of fact, in
> Fort
> Washington. PA.  (That's BSEPA to those of you regulars out there :)  The
> last time I saw it (years ago), It too, fell into the category of "Ad
> Rag".
> Again, I haven't seen a copy recently, don't know if the editorial
content
> has come back up to it's glory days, and wouldn't have a clue as to how
to
> even subscribe or get a trial issue!  (and yes, I'm literally only 10-15
> miles away from Ft. Washington).  If someone wants to post a URL or
> address,
> or send it to me privately, I'd be more than happy to look at it again.
>
>