Today Media acquires Bethesda Magazine, MoCo360

Bethesda Magazine and its news website, MoCo360, was acquired by Today Media in a deal announced Friday morning. | DBT PHOTO BY ROB MARTINELLI/NATALIE NEWHART

WILMINGTON — Today Media, the parent company of Delaware Business Times and Delaware Today, announced Friday morning that it acquired Bethesda Magazine and news website MoCo360.

The acquisition from Z-Pop Media marks Today Media’s first publication based in the Washington D.C. area. The Wilmington-based company publishes lifestyle magazines in Westchester County and the Hudson Valley in N.Y., suburban Philadelphia, and Delaware. The company also runs a custom publication department out of Baltimore.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Rob Martinelli, the CEO of Today Media, said that Bethesda Magazine and MoCo360 were a “great fit” considering the East Coast market. Notably, he said the news site MoCo360 complimented the work done by business news publication Delaware Business Times.

“I’ve always been impressed with Bethesda Magazine and the MoCo360 news site,” Martinelli said. “I’ve seen how important the site is to the community,” he said. “We’re excited to continue the critical role of providing local news coverage in the Bethesda area.”

Founded in 2004 by Steve and Susan Hull, Bethesda Magazine is published six times a year and focuses on the lifestyle of residents in Montgomery County, Md. and some of the wealthiest Washington suburbs. A decade later, the company launched Bethesda Beat as an online news site that covered news in Montgomery County. The Hulls sold the business to Scott and Jillian Copeland in 2021.

Early last year, the company rebranded to MoCo360 — Montgomery County 360 — to better reflect the outlet’s commitment to cover the northwest D.C. area.

Z-Pop CEO Scott Copeland said that selling the publications was bittersweet.

“My endeavor was for the sole purpose of furthering community connections, and I am proud of our team’s continued and consistent commitment to that effort,” he said. “However, in the ever-changing media landscape, these valuable community assets require operational efficiencies that I believe Today Media is uniquely positioned to provide.” 

Today Media will be retaining most of the staff at both Bethesda Magazine and MoCo360, but has since changed up key leadership positions.

Jennifer Farkas, who served as Z-Pop chief operating officer, will be promoted to publisher of the magazine and MoCo360. 

“I am delighted to have the support and backing of such a highly respected media company,” Farkas said in a prepared statement. “With this acquisition, I see a great path forward for us to continue our mission to serve and engage with the community through our daily news site, lifestyle magazine and events.” 

Other key leaders include Bethesda Magazine Editor Kathleen Neary, MoCo360 Editor Julie Rasicot, and Bethesda Magazine Art Director Ellen Minsavage.

Bethesda Magazine is published at Fry Communications, which currently prints some of Today Media’s custom publications. Martinelli said that the plan is to keep the publication printed at Fry Communications.