What's Up Magazine
What's Up? Media is a privately held regional lifestyle publisher founded in 1997 and headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland. It publishes three magazines — What's Up? Annapolis, Eastern Shore, and West County — plus website, digital editions, and events serving Chesapeake Bay region readers and SMB advertisers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1997
- HeadquartersAnnapolis, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What What's Up Magazine does
What's Up? Media, operating through the legal entity What's Up Publishing Group Inc. and doing business as What's Up Magazine, is a privately held regional lifestyle media company headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland. Founded in 1997 and led by Founder, Publisher, and President Veronica Tovey, the company publishes three regional lifestyle magazines — What's Up? Annapolis, What's Up? Eastern Shore, and What's Up? West County — covering the Chesapeake Bay region including Anne Arundel County and adjacent Maryland markets. The publication footprint is paired with digital editions, a content-rich website (whatsupmag.com), email newsletters, sponsored content, and an events calendar that aggregates local activities.
The core product surface spans news, culture, dining, health and beauty, home and garden, education, weddings, and community events, alongside franchise verticals such as the annual Best Of awards, Top Docs, Top Dentists, Leading Lawyers, Home Excellence Awards, and a Private School Guide. The website is built on the Metro Publisher content management system, with editorial workflows supplemented by an event-submission portal (Cityspark) and a separate Shopify-based Winner Plaques storefront. Marketing and distribution channels include the website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, RSS, email newsletters, the printed magazines, and sponsored community events including the Best of Party and Wedding Expo.
Revenue is generated across three streams: (i) advertising sales, with an outbound sales team selling multi-channel print, digital, and sponsorship packages to local businesses; (ii) recurring magazine subscriptions covering both print and digital editions; and (iii) sponsored content articles featured in the Sponsored section of the site. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, and the company is privately held with no institutional investors, parent company, or M&A activity identified in the available data. Customer segments are geographic — Chesapeake Bay region readers (B2C) and local businesses/advertisers (B2B SMB) — with a horizontal segmentation approach anchored in regional lifestyle coverage.
What's Up Magazine firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- What's Up Magazine
- Legal name
- What's Up Publishing Group Inc.
- Website
- https://whatsupmag.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1997
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- What's Up? Media is a privately held regional lifestyle publisher founded in 1997 and headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland. It publishes three magazines — What's Up? Annapolis, Eastern Shore, and West County — plus website, digital editions, and events serving Chesapeake Bay region readers and SMB advertisers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
What's Up Magazine industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Regional Lifestyle Magazine Publishing
- NAICS
- Periodical Publishers (51312)
- SIC
- Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Entertainment & Celebrity Magazines (MPAJAEAK)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Food, Cooking & Beverage Magazines (MPAJAEAF), Home, Garden & DIY Magazines (MPAJAEAG), Arts, Culture & Literary Magazines (MPAJAEAN)
Keywords
Where What's Up Magazine is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Annapolis
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
What's Up Magazine business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Advertising Sales: Primary revenue stream from selling print and digital advertising space to local businesses, including multi-channel campaigns and sponsorship opportunities.
- Magazine Subscriptions: Revenue from physical magazine subscriptions and digital edition access.
- Sponsored Content: Revenue from branded/sponsored content articles featured on the platform, such as the sponsored garage door feature article.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
What's Up Magazine product offering
Product offeringCore offering
What's Up? Media publishes three regional lifestyle magazines (What's Up? Annapolis, What's Up? Eastern Shore, and What's Up? West County) covering local news, culture, dining, health, weddings, home & garden, education, and community events for the Chesapeake Bay region. The company monetizes its audience by selling multi-channel advertising solutions (print, digital, sponsorships, and sponsored editorial content) to local businesses, and supplements revenue with paid magazine subscriptions and digital edition access.
Product overview
What's Up? Media is a regional lifestyle media company publishing three regional magazines: What's Up? Annapolis, What's Up? Eastern Shore, and What's Up? West County. The company operates a multi-platform publishing model combining print magazines with digital editions, a comprehensive website featuring news, culture, events, dining, health, home & garden, education, and wedding content. Additional offerings include a Private School Guide, annual Best Of awards program, advertising services, and subscription services. The publications serve the Chesapeake Bay region covering Anne Arundel County, the Eastern Shore, and surrounding areas.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- What's Up? Annapolis Magazine Regional lifestyle magazine covering local news, culture, events, dining, and community content for the Annapolis area of Maryland.
- What's Up? Eastern Shore Magazine Regional lifestyle magazine covering Maryland's Eastern Shore with content on local events, dining, real estate, and community news.
- What's Up? West County Magazine Regional lifestyle magazine serving Maryland's West County area with local news, culture, and community coverage.
- Digital Editions Online digital versions of the printed magazines accessible via web browser, expanding the audience reach beyond print distribution.
- Subscription Service Paid subscription service providing recurring access to both physical print and digital magazine editions for individual readers.
- Advertising Services Multi-channel advertising solutions spanning print magazine placements, digital ads, event sponsorships, and customized packages sold to local businesses targeting Chesapeake Bay region consumers.
- Sponsored Content Paid sponsored article content published on the What's Up? Media platform, featuring local business promotions and partnerships as branded editorial.
- Private School Guide Annual editorial guide featuring listings and information about private schools in the Chesapeake region, including tuition, enrollment, and open house dates for parents evaluating school options.
Companies that use What's Up Magazine
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
What's Up Magazine technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
What's Up Magazine partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Metro PublishercoreMetro Publisher is the platform used to build and power the What's Up? Media website and digital publishing operations.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
What's Up Magazine competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Virginia Living: Statewide Virginia lifestyle magazine with print, digital, and event revenue. Comparable as a Mid-Atlantic regional lifestyle publisher with awards programs and diversified editorial verticals.
- Richmond Magazine: Regional lifestyle magazine serving the Richmond, Virginia area with news, dining, culture, and home content, plus a Brides edition for the weddings vertical. Closely comparable to What's Up? Media's mix of lifestyle verticals and event-driven revenue.
- Baltimore Magazine: Long-running regional lifestyle magazine covering Baltimore and central Maryland. Highly comparable to What's Up? Media as a same-state, multi-channel lifestyle publication monetizing print, digital, events, and advertising sales to local businesses.
- Chesapeake Family Life: Regional family-focused magazine covering the Chesapeake region of Maryland. Comparable to What's Up? Media as a regional lifestyle publication monetized through local advertising and event sponsorships in the same geographic market.
- Annapolis Home Magazine: Local home and garden magazine serving the Annapolis market. Comparable to What's Up? Media's Home & Garden vertical as a regional print/digital publication monetizing local real estate and home-services advertising in overlapping geography.
- Charlotte Magazine: Regional lifestyle magazine serving the Charlotte, NC market with dining, culture, weddings, and home coverage. Comparable multi-vertical lifestyle editorial model with advertising-led monetization.
- Washingtonian Magazine: DC-metro regional lifestyle magazine covering dining, culture, weddings, and home content with print, digital, and event revenue streams. Closely mirrors the editorial breadth and advertising-led business model of What's Up? Media at a larger scale.
- Coastal Virginia Magazine: Regional lifestyle magazine serving the coastal Virginia market with print editions, a website, and local business advertising. Directly comparable to What's Up? Media's three-title regional cluster model for Chesapeake Bay communities.
- Main Line Today: Regional lifestyle magazine serving Philadelphia's Main Line and western suburbs with dining, culture, weddings, and home content. Closely comparable operating model — multi-title regional lifestyle publisher monetizing print, digital, and local advertising.
- Cape Cod Life: Coastal regional lifestyle magazine covering Cape Cod with print editions and digital publishing. Directly comparable to What's Up? Media's coastal/Chesapeake lifestyle positioning and multi-channel advertising sales.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
What's Up Magazine social profiles
Digital presenceWhat's Up Magazine financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
What's Up Magazine leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
What's Up Magazine funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
What's Up Magazine M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about What's Up Magazine
What does What's Up Magazine do?
What's Up? Media publishes three regional lifestyle magazines (What's Up? Annapolis, What's Up? Eastern Shore, and What's Up? West County) covering local news, culture, dining, health, weddings, home & garden, education, and community events for the Chesapeake Bay region. The company monetizes its audience by selling multi-channel advertising solutions (print, digital, sponsorships, and sponsored editorial content) to local businesses, and supplements revenue with paid magazine subscriptions and digital edition access.
Is What's Up Magazine a public or private company?
What's Up Magazine is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was What's Up Magazine founded?
What's Up Magazine was founded in 1997. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is What's Up Magazine based?
What's Up Magazine is headquartered in Annapolis, United States, in the North America region.
How does What's Up Magazine make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Advertising Sales are the primary driver. The others are magazine Subscriptions and sponsored Content.
Who are What's Up Magazine's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Virginia Living, Richmond Magazine, Baltimore Magazine, Chesapeake Family Life, Annapolis Home Magazine, Charlotte Magazine, Washingtonian Magazine, Coastal Virginia Magazine, Main Line Today and Cape Cod Life.
Does What's Up Magazine have an API?
No public API is recorded for What's Up Magazine.
What industry is What's Up Magazine in?
What's Up Magazine's product category is Regional Lifestyle Magazine Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAEAK, Entertainment & Celebrity Magazines, with a secondary code of MPAJAEAF, Food, Cooking & Beverage Magazines. Its NAICS code is 51312 and its SIC code is 2721.