KALMBACH ANNOUNCES NEW EDITORIAL AND DIGITAL LEADERS

People on the move include new corporate digital director and new editorial leaders for two hobby brands

WAUKESHA/NEW YORK, N.Y. — Kalmbach Media (Kalmbach), the content creator of such well-known and respected media brands as Astronomy, Discover, Trains, Model Railroader, and more today announced three new leadership appointments. 

Angela Cotey is promoted to corporate Director of Digital Strategy. In this role, Cotey will lead Kalmbach’s digital strategy across all brands, working with editorial, advertising, technology, and marketing teams to use a data-driven approach to deliver targeted audience growth. Cotey will lead all website development, content strategy, design and feature updates with business goals in mind. She will also collaborate with advertising to develop digital packages and opportunities for advertisers. Cotey joined the company in 2014 and has served as audience development manager since 2017.

Kent Johnson has been promoted to Editor of Garden Railways magazine. Johnson will oversee all print and digital content for GR, the premier quarterly magazine for outdoor model railroad enthusiasts. Johnson joined Kalmbach in 1994 and has held editorial positions in Kalmbach’s book division as well as the company’s Classic Toy Trains and Model Railroader brands. Most recently, he was Associate Producer for MR Video Plus, Kalmbach’s video streaming subscription website. In this position, Johnson was tasked with developing, hosting, directing, filming, editing, and programming instructional and entertaining video content, including a series of episodes about his own garden railway.

Ryan Thompson has been named editor of American Snowmobiler, which includes the 6x magazine (published monthly from October to March), website and award-winning Web series, AmSnowTV. Thompson, who is based in Utah, began working with American Snowmobiler as a freelance photographer before being hired in 2016 as the brand’s Western Editor. Over the years, Thompson has worked with all the major snowmobile manufacturers, many key figures and athletes in snowmobiling, and is widely known and respected within the sledding community.

About Kalmbach Media:

Kalmbach Media is a leading independent media company that provides ideas and inspiration to avid hobbyists, enthusiasts and citizen scientists through its multichannel brands including Astronomy, Discover, Bead&Button, FineScale Modeler, Garden Railways, Scale Auto, Classic Toy Trains, Model Railroader, Model Railroader Video Plus, Trains, Classic Trains, and American Snowmobiler.

Kalmbach’s digital media websites and extensions across the Kalmbach portfolio of brands reach more than 35 million consumers on 18 sites, including the e-commerce sites My Science Shop, Kalmbach Hobby Store and the Jewelry & Beading Store. Kalmbach is also a leading producer of conferences and experiential events for the hobbyist and enthusiast marketplace.