Lesley Weidenbener: Arts guide, gift guide coming soon to IBJ

I’m excited about a couple of things the IBJ newsroom will be tackling later this year—and neither feature the kind of strictly business-oriented reporting we typically focus on. Still, I think they will be great additions for readers.

First up is IBJ’s arts and entertainment fall preview. For years, the newsroom produced a guide to the upcoming seasons of performing arts organizations, venues and museums. We paused in 2020, when the pandemic essentially wiped out an arts season. Then when it was time to resume the publication in 2021, we just didn’t think IBJ had the expertise in the newsroom to resume publishing a comprehensive guide.

So the A&E guide became a custom-content product, meaning a publication organized and written by our sales department with content provided by advertisers. (It was labeled as such.) That was the case for a couple of years. But during that time, we hired Dave Lindquist, who has years of experience covering music and the arts in central Indiana.

So this year, the newsroom is taking back the arts guide (you’ll notice I’m not capitalizing a name for it because I don’t know whether we’re giving it a new name—suggestions are welcome). Lindquist, who hosts “The Beat with Dave Lindquist” on WTTS-FM 92.3, is the author of IBJ’s weekly After Hours newsletter and writes about the arts regularly for IBJ.com and our print issues.

Lindquist will bring that expertise to the guide, where he plans to spotlight more than 100 must-see offerings for the 2024-2025 arts season. (Of course, advertising is still welcome—but that’s not my department.) The guide will be available first at the Aug. 22 Start with Art event at the Indiana Roof Ballroom, where more than 700 arts, business and community leaders will come together to celebrate the upcoming arts season and raise money for the Indy Arts Council.

IBJ subscribers will then receive a copy of the arts guide in the Aug. 23 issue of IBJ and will be able to access the information at IBJ.com.

The newsroom will also experiment this year with an executive gift guide, which again, could end up with a better name. This is another project we’re swiping from our sales department.

For much longer than I’ve been at IBJ, the sales department has produced a publication each fall that offers gift ideas meant for, well, executives. But like with all things that have been around for a while, the guide needs new life—and the newsroom (or at least this newsroom leader) is excited to breathe some into it.

Regular readers might remember that I like to shop. I also love gift-giving. And I’m a fan of our weekly feature “Made in Indiana,” which features items manufactured here. So I raised my hand to volunteer the newsroom when we started thinking about how to make the annual gift guide a little more fun.

We haven’t worked out all the details, but the change means no company or retailer will be able to buy their way onto the newsroom’s gift list. In fact, we intend to keep what’s on the list a secret until it’s published. (Again, advertising is welcome, but you’ll need to call the good folks in IBJ’s sales department for that. Ads won’t influence what gets added to the list. I won’t even know until we’re going to press who’s bought an ad.)

Look for IBJ’s new gift guide in November. Meanwhile, I’m looking for you to tell me about a great gift you’ve received. Email me your favorites at lweidenbener@ibj.com. We might include them in the guide.•

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Weidenbener is editor of IBJ and assistant publisher of IBJ and Indiana Lawyer. Reach her at lweidenbener@ibj.com.