After months of negotiations, America Online, the nation's
largest Internet service provider, has completed its acquisition of BlackVoices.com,
one of the most popular African-American Web sites, from Tribune Co. Terms
and other details were not disclosed.
The deal was announced to Tribune Co. employees in a memo Monday from senior
vice president David Hiller. "For the last several months we have been
looking at strategic alternatives that would provide BlackVoices greater scale
and reach within the African-American community," wrote Hiller. "AOL
has acquired some of the assets of BlackVoices from us and over the next six
months, AOL will evaluate the integration of BlackVoices with its own services
focused on the African-American community." He added that several BV employees
have found new positions within Tribune.
Barry Cooper, who founded BlackVoices eight years ago while working at the
Tribune's Orlando Sentinel, will not be staying with the company, nor will
he be making a move to AOL. Among the BV assets that are not being acquired
by AOL are the quarterly magazine, BVQ and the newspaper supplement, Soulful
Journeys. Industry sources say that Cooper is negotiations with Tribune to
acquire the titles.
Cooper, who was reached for comment, would not confirm his future plans, but
he did tell Target Market News that "Tribune has been a great partner
for the things that I attempted to do and I'm confident that relationship remains."
AOL already has the world's largest base of black subscribers of any media
outlet in the world, but the company has been slow to capitalize on its position.
That may soon change now that, in addition to the estimated 4 million black
subscribers it currently serves, BlackVoices will add its 800,000 registered
members.
Sources say that AOL is aggressively developing plans for an African-American
strategy that will involve its Africana.com site, the newly acquired BlackVoices
and other Time Warner resources.
