B2B publisher PennWell Corporation, US, has reportedly acquired the Elsevier Public Safety Group including flagship magazine Journal of Emergency Medical Services (JEMS), JEMS.com, and the EMS Today Conference & Exposition (the JEMS Conference), EMS Insider newsletter, along with FireRescue magazine, FirefighterNation.com, FireEMSblogs.com, Law Officer magazine, LawOfficer.com, and the publishing contract for APCO’s Public Safety Communications magazine from Elsevier, Inc. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Elsevier Public Safety was founded in 1980 as JEMS Communications, with JEMS magazine published continuously since then as one of the most iconic brands in the emergency medical services (EMS) market. During the last 32 years Elsevier Public Safety expanded to become the only media company serving all four key public safety segments – EMS, Fire/Rescue, Law Enforcement and Communications. The management and staff will join PennWell and remain based in San Diego.
Jeff Berend, vice president/publisher of Elsevier Public Safety and his San Diego team will report to Lyle Hoyt, senior vice president and group publisher of PennWell's Fire and Dental Groups. PennWell's Fire Engineering magazine is the company's oldest magazine and the oldest one for the fire service, published since 1877. FDIC (Fire Department Instructors Conference) is also the oldest conference and exhibition for training firefighters, having started in 1928. PennWell also publishes Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment magazine which it acquired in 2010.
