How a 45-year-old magazine is building a B2B media empire

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When Shane Greer took over the magazine Campaigns & Elections in 2011, it was in a sorry state.

Founded back in 1980, the outlet had once been the gold standard for reporting on the political operatives who help candidates and corporations influence elections.

But by 2011, the magazine was limping along, with its print edition and events struggling to break even. That year, it was acquired by a private equity firm, which installed Greer to run it. In a very short period of time, he killed the print edition, expanded its online reach, and revived its events business.

Then in 2015 he and his business partner Shane D'Aprile acquired Campaigns & Elections, and they immediately set about expanding the company into new niches and regions. Today, there's not only Latin American version of C&E, but the company also bought a B2B media outlet that covers the cannabis industry.

In a recent interview, the two Shanes walked me through their initial strategies for righting the C&E ship, explained why they acquired the magazine, and outlined their plans to build out a B2B media empire.