YachtWorld.Com/Boats.Com appoint new editorial director

SEATTLE – YachtWorld.com and Boats.com, both business units of Dominion Enterprises, have appointed John Burnham as editorial director, they reported in a statement today.

Burnham brings more than 25 years experience as a boating magazine editor to the position, from which he is expected to “generate a distinctive and authoritative voice for each Web site,” according to the company.

“Few editors anywhere involved in boating media have the breadth of experience and vision of John Burnham,” said Ian Atkins, vice president and general manager of YachtWorld.com and Boats.com. “People interested in boats haven’t lost their passion just because of tough economic times, and John’s appointment is the key to our strategy to feed their appetites for all things boating. Boats.com provides a database of new and pre-owned boats for sale supported by more than 1,500 boat reviews together with regular updates on a wide range of boating topics.” Together, YachtWorld.com and Boats.com offer over 140,000 new and used boat listings worldwide from more than 4,000 brokers.

Burnham, former editor of Cruising World magazine, will represent the Web sites at the Miami International Boat Show, providing event coverage through the new Boats.com blog. He’ll also be working with writers including Matt Trulio, Brett Becker, Charles Plueddeman and Kim Kavin. While Boats.com editorial will cover a wide variety of boating topics, YachtWorld.com will initially promote education and discussion in a special brokers-only editorial area with proprietary market reports.

“As we build magnet communities suited to the nature of each site,” Burnham said, “we intend that boaters will find unique opportunities to learn how to buy and sell boats with access to the largest databases of boats on the market. For all those outside of the marine industry with a passion for boats, Boats.com will provide a connection with their experience of being on the water. In addition to talking all about boats, we’ll demonstrate the fun and excitement of on-water adventures, the tradition of the marine world, the latest technology of boating gear, and the respect we learn for the water environment every time we go out.”

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