Mac Publishing
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Mac Publishing is a publishing company based in San Francisco, California, and is wholly owned by the International Data Group. It is the publisher of Macworld magazine, Playlist magazine, and numerous web sites, including Macworld.com, Playlistmag.com, and MacOSXHints.com.
Mac Publishing LLC was created in September 1997 as a joint venture between International Data Group and Ziff-Davis, publishers of the two largest magazines focused on the Apple Macintosh at the time, IDG's Macworld and Ziff-Davis's MacUser, respectively. Originally called "Mac Publications," the company's name was quickly changed when it became clear that most everyone was referring to the company as "Mac Publishing" instead.
The joint venture between these two former archirivals occurred at a weak time for the Mac market, when both companies were unsure about the long-term viability of two large Mac-focused monthly magazines. The announcement of the joint venture occurred just days before the August 1997 Macworld Expo in Boston.
At the time of its founding, Mac Publishing's holdings included a unified Macworld under the banner Macworld incorporating MacUser as well as Ziff-Davis's MacWEEK. MacWEEK was later transformed into an online entity and a short-lived print magazine called eMediaWeekly.
In 2000 the company bought the online news site MacCentral Online, which it rolled into its Macworld.com web site in 2004.
In late 2001 the company became a wholly-owned subsidiary of International Data Group when IDG bought out Ziff-Davis's share of the company.
Colin Crawford, previously the president of IDG's Macworld Communications, took the reins as the CEO of Mac Publishing LLC when it was formed. When Crawford was promoted to a new position as an IDG corporate vice president in April 2003, he was succeeded by Mac Publishing's current president, Rick LePage.