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Founder Traces Trade Publishing Roots

TWICE did not appear out of the blue. Before TWICE, there was a progression of industry periodicals that led up to it. I know because I started them all.

The history goes back to 1957. I was working in the photographic business. In those days, the information needs of photo retailers were served by monthly trade magazines. That year, a trade paper called Photo Weekly launched. Suddenly, the trade monthlies seemed dated. Photo retailers started getting fresh industry news every single week!

It occurred to me that a weekly trade paper for hi fi dealers might be equally well received. I had a degree in journalism, no business background, but a lot of enthusiasm. With the backing of my photo industry boss, Si Pavelle, during the summer of 1959, I began publishing a new weekly — Audio Times. Thanks to editor Bob Angus, the paper was noted for its hard-hitting editorials. Retailers responded favorably to Bob’s on target commentary and while we struggled for a couple of years, Audio Times really caught on.

When the Consumer Electronics Show was launched by industry veteran Jack Wayman, a show daily was created for the event by newsletter publishers, Television Digest. (They had registered the name Consumer Electronics prior to the show.) In turn, TV Digest licensed Audio Times to publish the Consumer Electronics Show Daily. Our little publishing business now developed some real muscle. It was obvious that an industry was coming together, so we launched a magazine called Consumer Electronics Monthly. An instant success, it covered every aspect of the business. Thanks to the excellence of its journalism, with writers like Cathy Ciccolella, Bob Gerson, Art Levis and Lois Whitman, readers were informed by their insight and wit.

As the consumer electronics industry and our company grew, we added specialized titles like Autosound and Communications, Home Satellite Retailing and Video Business. Larger publishing companies took notice and in 1981,The International Thomson organization purchased the company (CES Publishing) for what seemed to me to be an astronomical sum. I signed a contract to run the business for five years.

In 1986, as a free agent, I had another epiphany. The consumer electronics industry was now large enough to have a weekly of its own! Thus This Week In Consumer Electronics was born, its acronym TWICE was crafted by noted designers Walter Bernard and Milton Glazer. TWICE was an enormous success from its very first issue. Today, of course, TWICE is the magazine of record for this very significant industry.

Publisher Marcia Grand has been associated with TWICE from its earliest roots at Audio Times. She started at the bottom and rose to the top – the old fashioned way – with dedication and hard work. Marcia has grown up with this industry and understands its “ins and outs” better than anyone I know. Ms. Grand is a true industry leader who gives back to it every day. I’m proud of TWICE, of Marcia and the wonderful staff of TWICE and I still enjoy reading every issue.

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