Leibowitz Solo

04/07/2023

When we put on a party, it can get rowdy. Let's hope Copper Point Insurance got the message and provides , who has fought them for 8 long years.😠

07/24/2018

Great day for Times Publications and fans of the old Scottsdale Progress.

A LEGEND REBORN: TIMES MEDIA GROUP TO BRING BACK SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS NEWSPAPER BEGINNING 9/16/2018

The Scottsdale Progress, the city’s original hometown newspaper, will resume publication as a Sunday weekly beginning September 16, 2018.

With an intense focus on local news, community issues and hometown features, the new Progress “will fill a void everyone who loves Scottsdale has felt for years,” said Steve Strickbine, President of Times Media Group, owner of the Progress, the Scottsdale Airpark News and 14 other community news outlets across the metro Phoenix area.

“Scottsdale is a unique place and a city whose story needs to be told well and with passion,” said Strickbine. “Our goal with the new Progress is to dig down deep into Scottsdale each week – to tell our neighbors here’s what happening, here’s why it’s happening and here’s who’s making it happen. We want to demonstrate the same commitment to the city and the same respect for its history the old Progress had, with a 2018 business model and leading-edge advertising opportunities.”

The initial circulation for the new Progress will be 40,000 printed copies every Sunday. Distribution will include home delivery to various neighborhoods and more than 700 locations where residents can pick up the paper for free. Digital news will be updated around-the-clock on Scottsdale.org, the heavily trafficked web site Times Media Group purchased for the Progress. In addition, every Sunday 50,000 free eSubscription copies will be emailed directly to residents of Scottsdale.

“As a lifelong resident of the Valley and as a publisher who understands what the Progress once meant to Scottsdale, this is a special announcement for our company,” said Strickbine. “I have tremendous respect for the importance of solid community journalism, and for the trust our readers place in us as a source for accurate information and the truth.”

The Scottsdale Progress first appeared May 6, 1948. That week’s front page reported that the city’s first movie theater would soon open on Main Street; Post 44 of the American Legion would dedicate its new building on First Street; and Scottsdale rancher and businessman Dick Searles was the new president of the Salt River Valley Water Users Association.

The Progress began daily publication in 1961. It ceased publication in 2009.

With a dedicated managing editor and staff of full-time reporters, the new Progress will cover everything from City Hall to schools, events and obituaries, said Strickbine. Reporters also will search out the many human interest stories to be found in one of the West’s most well-known cities.

In addition to the Progress and the Scottsdale Airpark News, Times Media Group also publishes the East Valley Tribune (EastValley.com), the Ahwatukee Foothills News (Ahwatukee.com), the West Valley View (WestValleyView.com), Nearby News publications, the San Tan Sun News, the Gilbert Sun News, the College Times, Lovin' Life After 50, The Entertainer! Magazine, North Valley Magazine, 85086 Magazine, 85085 Magazine and the travel and information website Phoenix.org. The company also owns AZ Integrated Media, a media distribution and custom publishing company.

Acknowledging that resurrecting a fallen newspaper might be viewed as a modern-day contrarian investment, Strickbine expressed optimism about the future of the Progress.

“Local journalism has been at the core of what we do for more than 20 years and it has helped Times Media Group expand exponentially, despite all the so-called conventional wisdom,” said Strickbine. “Scottsdale residents love their city and they’re deeply engaged with civic life. If we tell great stories, we believe the Progress will once again play a vital role in this city. If we do that – and we create value for our readers and our advertisers, we know this newspaper will once again thrive, and we can’t wait to get started.”

04/03/2018

A Leibowitz Solo client making news today.

VETERAN MEDIA PROFESSIONAL MICHAEL HIATT TO JOIN TIMES MEDIA GROUP AS VICE PRESIDENT, CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER

Experienced publisher to further grow revenues, advertising opportunities across TMG’s 17 publications

Mesa, AZ – Times Media Group (TMG), the locally based publisher of 17 Valley publications, including the East Valley Tribune and the West Valley View, today announced that Michael Hiatt, former Group Publisher of Modern Luxury - Scottsdale Magazine and Group Publisher of Phoenix Magazine and Phoenix Home & Garden, both published by Cities West Publishing, will join the company as its Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer.

Hiatt has worked in the publishing industry in metro Phoenix for over 30 years. He is well known in the Southwest for his publishing creativity and his ability to build revenue streams by creating unique, effective client-focused advertising platforms and marketing solutions. Hiatt’s hiring combines his publishing experience with the more than two decades Times Media Group founder Steve Strickbine has spent building TMG from a single eight-page community newspaper into the Valley’s leading community news source.

“This is what I’d call a perfect match,” said Strickbine, who will remain TMG’s president. “I’ve always thought of Michael as a superstar in the news business for two reasons. One, he has grown some terrific publications in terms of the stories they tell, the way they serve their advertisers, and the way they serve their communities. Two – and this is even more important – there’s the high level of integrity Michael brings to work every day.”

In his new role, Hiatt will guide all operations related to revenue generation, a move designed to help TMG better capitalize on its many media brands, broad reach across the Valley and desirable demographics. Hiatt started his professional career in Arizona at the East Valley Tribune in 1985 as a staff correspondent. Times Media Group acquired the Tribune in 2015.

"This is an exciting homecoming for me, both to the Tribune and to community journalism, which is something I'm passionate about,” said Hiatt. “I've witnessed Steve grow Times Media Group into a formidable organization and I look forward to helping lead this talented team.”

Hiatt worked as the Publisher and later Group Publisher of Phoenix Magazine and Phoenix Home & Garden from 2001 to 2013, overseeing an unprecedented period of growth. Beginning in 2013, Hiatt launched and then served as Group Publisher of Modern Luxury - Scottsdale, a luxury lifestyle publication and a member of the Modern Luxury family of magazines, which produces more than 80 titles across 24 major markets.

"The Times Media Group represents an expanding platform that is perfectly positioned for growth,” said Hiatt. “The unique blend of longevity, demographic and geographic targeting as well as the desired reach of 17 publications in a growing and vibrant market is truly exciting. Further, the combination of credibility, creativity, and quality products and people is inspiring. The diversity of TMG's printed products, sophisticated digital offering and unique events can galvanize local communities."

A digital and print media company operating in the Phoenix and Tucson areas, TMG publishes the East Valley Tribune (EastValley.com), the Ahwatukee Foothills News (Ahwatukee.com), the West Valley View, Nearby News publications, the San Tan Sun News, the Scottsdale Airpark News, the Gilbert Sun News, the College Times, Lovin' Life After 50, The Entertainer! Magazine, North Valley Magazine, 85086 Magazine, 85085 Magazine and the travel and information website Phoenix.org. TMG also owns and operates AZ Integrated Media, a media distribution and custom publishing company.

For more information on Times Media Group, visit http://timespublications.com/. For interviews, please contact David Leibowitz at 602-317-1414 or [email protected].

03/23/2018

In the West Valley tomorrow? The Glendale FOP and the Glendale Firefighters will be holding a car wash to benefit wounded police Sgt. Kent Livingston, who was shot in the line of duty.

The all-volunteer car wash will be held at Cabela’s, 9380 W. Glendale Avenue from 8 am to 3 pm. It will feature food sales, donation opportunities and sales of a special “Living Strong” T-shirt to benefit Sgt. Livingston’s family and aid in his recovery expenses.

Hope we see you there!

02/21/2018

Our client Phoenix Law Enforcement Association at a press conference today, February 21, 2018.

10/25/2017

If you work in the field of politics or communications (or you blend the two, as we do at Leibowitz Solo), this speech from Jeff Flake is a must-read.

Read the speech the Arizona lawmaker made on the Senate floor on October 24 to announce he would not seek re-election.

05/17/2017

There's the PR side of Leibowitz Solo and there's David Leibowitz and the Sunday East Valley Tribune column.

The accused killer’s mugshot depicts him as nothing special, but then again mugshots never do. Dark hair shaved close at the temples; scraggly, pubescent mustache; elephantine ears. He has the

04/25/2017

Sad that fire fighters around Arizona are suffering from cancer and cardiac illness caused by the job ... and being denied workers compensation insurance.

Even sadder? Two bills to change this are hung up at the Legislature because of politics.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, 4.25 at 9 am, we will be holding a press conference on the Capitol lawn. If you'd like to help, please call the following lawmakers and politely urge them to put HB2161 and HB2410 "on the board" for a vote.

Senate President Steve Yarbrough 602-926-5863
Senate President Pro Tem Debbie Lesko 602-926-5413
Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Yee 602-926-3024
Senator Karen Fann 602-926-5874

Let's hope our friends at the Legislature do the right thing to protect those who protect us.

04/19/2017

Giving free advice so we don't create new clients? That's the Leibowitz Solo way.

Nowadays, I spend lots of time professionally handling what’s called “crisis communications.” It’s one of those gigs, like being an undertaker, where you never worry about unemployment. In fact, I’m