Exclusive: Boston Globe Media is looking to buy Boston magazine

Boston Globe Media is exploring a possible acquisition of Boston magazine, according to sources in the newsroom who had heard about the plans and who asked not to be identified. The glossy monthly would become part of a portfolio of media properties that includes The Boston Globe, the free website Boston.com and Stat News, which covers medicine and the health-care industry.

When asked about Globe Media’s interest in BoMag, the company responded with a statement:

Boston Globe Media continuously evaluates opportunities for growth that align with our business strategy, and our success as a dynamic media organization is due in part to our desire to adapt and evolve along with our audiences. We cannot disclose any current opportunities at this time. We will stay in touch.

If the deal is consummated, it would be a significant move by Globe owners John and Linda Henry, who have built one of the country’s few growing and profitable major metropolitan newspapers. Boston magazine, by contrast, has gone through several rounds of budget cuts in recent years.

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BoMag is best known for its annual Best of Boston rankings of everything from restaurants to kids’ activities as well as gauzy features on lifestyle, culture and real estate, as is characteristic of city magazines.

But it also publishes in-depth news stories, such as Gretchen Voss’ memorable 2023 story about a long-running battle between Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria and the Everett Leader Herald, one of that city’s three independent weekly newspapers. Voss reported that Leader Herald editor Josh Resnek, in the course of being deposed in a libel suit brought against him and the paper by DeMaria, admitted he’d engaged in fabrication in his stories accusing the mayor of corruption.

Another Voss story is currently the subject of a court battle over anonymity in the notorious Karen Read murder case. On Thursday, the Globe reported that Judge Beverly Cannone had ordered Voss and the magazine to turn over off-the-record and redacted notes from interviews that Voss had conducted with Read for a story that was published last fall.

BoMag attorney Rob Bertsche was quoted as saying that the case illustrated the need for a state shield law to protect journalists’ confidential sources and documents. “The judge’s decision today illustrates a harsh truth: In Massachusetts, in the absence of a shield law, a court will not necessarily protect an investigative reporter’s promise to keep certain information confidential,” Bertsche told the Globe in a statement.

Boston magazine was purchased in 1970 by the late D. Herbert Lipson from the city’s chamber of commerce. Lipson, who was based in Philadelphia, was also the owner of Philadelphia magazine and was involved in several other publishing ventures over the years as well. The company he created, Metrocorp, is still family-owned, with his son David H. Lipson Jr. serving as chairman and CEO.