Indian River Media Group expands its scope with acquisition of Space Coast magazine

Indian River Media Group, publisher of Indian River Magazine and Treasure Coast Business, has purchased Space Coast Living Magazine and will relaunch it in Brevard County in June.

The asset purchase agreement between Indian River Media Group and Space Coast Business LLC and principals Joe Duda and Eric Wright was executed on April 8. Terms were not disclosed.

“We believe that it’s essential that Brevard readers have a glossy lifestyle magazine reflecting the county’s beauty and robust economic vitality,’’ Indian River Publisher and President Gregory Enns said. “We are glad that we could complete this agreement so that we can continue providing Brevard readers with this outstanding magazine about the community in which they live.’’

Space Coast Living had suspended publication in January. The new agreement and ownership ensures the glossy magazine and its website, spacecoastliving.com, will continue publishing well into the future.

There are plans to expand Space Coast Living’s home section and to add history and other features, according to Enns. Besides the summer edition in June, Space Coast Living will publish every September [fall], November [holiday], January [winter] and March [spring]. The annual Discover The Space Coast, a visitor, relocation and residential resources guide, will publish every December. The publishing cycle mirrors that of Indian River Magazine, which covers the Treasure Coast counties of Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin.

The editorial and sales staffs of the two magazine groups will be separate, although the company will run its administrative functions such as billing and subscriptions, through the Fort Pierce office.

Enns said Indian River Media Group’s ownership of Indian River Magazine and Space Coast Living means the company will have publications serving readers in four contiguous counties along the entire section of the 156-mile Indian River, from Ponce de Leon Inlet in Volusia County to the St. Lucie Inlet in Martin County. The stretch constitutes 40 percent of Florida’s eastern coast.

Indian River Magazine was launched in 2006 by Enns and Allen Osteen, Treasure Coast natives and friends since childhood. Enns is a former newspaper editor and reporter who is vice president of the Florida Magazine Association. Osteen is president of East Coast Lumber & Supply Co., with stores and lumberyards in Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin counties. In 2019, he was named entrepreneur of the year by the Indian River State College Foundation.

Starting with the flagship Indian River Magazine, Enns and Osteen later expanded the company to publish Port St. Lucie Magazine, Fort Pierce Magazine, the Sunrise Theatre playbill, Emerson Center program and the St. Lucie Travel Guide.

Because of the number of different magazines and websites it produces, Indian River Magazine Inc. recently realigned itself as Indian River Media Group to reflect its broad spectrum of print and digital publishing.

Indian River also publishes a variety of custom magazines. Its custom publishing partners include St. Lucie County, the City of Fort Pierce, Indian River State College, the Florida Small Business Development Center, St. Lucie County Economic Development Council and the Treasure Coast Manufacturers Association.

“We believe in the vitality and future of print magazines,’’ Enns said. “They are one of the most credible forms of media, and our various digital platforms and websites reinforce these.’’

Meanwhile, as part of Indian River Media Group’s expansion plans, veteran South Florida publisher Kim Capen has been appointed to lead the company’s sales efforts in Martin and St. Lucie counties while Ellen Contreras has joined the company to service accounts in Indian River County.

Capen, the former publisher of Stuart Magazine, has been named publisher of Indian River Media Group’s Port St. Lucie Magazine and will also focus sales and expansion efforts in Martin County. She will also serve as associate publisher of the Indian River Media Group, which includes Indian River Magazine, Port St. Lucie Magazine, Fort Pierce Magazine, Treasure Coast Business Magazine and the St. Lucie Travel Guide.

“Kim grew up on the Treasure Coast, lives in Port St. Lucie and knows the area intimately,’’ Enns said. “She is also a veteran publisher and will bring many best practices to our business. We have big plans for Port St. Lucie and Martin County, and Kim will execute those brilliantly I’m sure.’’

Contreras, who will lead sales efforts in Indian River County, is a business development consultant who has been in the recruiting and staffing industry since 2005 and has worked with companies in construction, manufacturing, logistics, IT, healthcare, agriculture and financial services to place people in positions from entry to executive levels.