Reader Feedback On Penton Media IBM i Shutdown And Women In IT

April 14, 2014 Hey, Dan

April 1, 2014, marks the end of a publication, but the end of the “NEWS” culture ended not very long after Dave Duke sold his company, Duke Communications, to Penton Media.

The “corporate” mentality never understood or believed in the passion of NEWS’ editors, tech editors, contributors and readers and passionate and instrumental folks such as Dale Agger and I took advantage of exit opportunities when we saw where this was inevitably headed.

Looking back . . . at Dave Duke’s invitation, I joined Bob Tipton and Chuck Lundgren in 1986 to provide Dave with strategic advice on content in order to take what was then NEWS/34-38 to a higher professional level. This became the core of a powerhouse stable of tech editors, which–combined with Dave’s business acumen and trust in his team of outstanding in-house editors, led by Dave Bernard and Trish Faubion–became the leading publication in what was then known as “the 3X world.”

Not long afterward, we recruited Mel Beckman who has no peer in terms of communications, security, and the Internet when that paradigm-shifting technology became ascendant. Later, Wayne Madden was drawn into our core group, and the well-known force of Wayne’s personality and business acumen made the “NEWS” team even more successful.

All through Dave Duke’s ownership–with the exception of his decision to sell to Penton Media–the touchstone for any decision from the top to the bottom was: “Is this the right thing for the 3X community?”

That changed with the sale, although by slow erosion, not in one big flash.

There are too many wonderful folks to name, whom I called friends and colleagues from this era (not just people affiliated with Duke Communications). It was a great ride!

–Paul Conte (a.k.a., Raoul Picante)

Former Senior Technical Editor, NEWS/34-38 and its many successors

Hi Dan,

You had one factual inaccuracy in the article about iProDeveloper. The predecessor to News 3X/400 was called News/34-48. It was definitely published in the 1980s, not the 1990s. I had an article called “Processing By Limits” published in an issue during 1985. I got paid $600 for it–pretty good in those days! I still have a hard copy kicking around somewhere.

It’s sad to see the magazine’s demise. I agree we are not likely to see any new material from them.

–Duncan Kenzie

Dan and Timothy,

What will be the impact on the effective publish date of the Redbook “Modernize IBM i Applications from the Database up to the User Interface and Everything in Between”?

There are quite a number of links in that .pdf pointing to http://iprodeveloper.com that won’t be easy to replace.

Regards,

Michiel Peeraer

Michiel,

Those links within the Redbook to material located on the iProDeveloper website will not be valid or accessible as it stands right now. We’ll have to wait and see if IBM is able to unlock the gates to those articles. You are right, those links contain information that won’t be easy to replace.

–Dan

Hi Dan,

Very cool article: What Works For Women In IT.

FYI . . . The Wisconsin Midrange Computing Professionals Association (WMCPA) has decided to continue the Women in IT event as part of the WMCPA Spring Conference next year. And 2015 will also be the 30th anniversary year for WMCPA.

We are also looking into another WMCPA Women in IT event this fall on one of the Gateway Technical College campuses. That event will be targeted primarily to high school and college students. When I know more, I’ll let you know.

Sue Zimmermann

Vice President, WMCPA

What Works For Women In IT

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