Stephen Saunders, CEO of Light Reading, Recognized as a 'Dynamic Disrupter' in the Media Industry

NEW YORK, Oct. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Light Reading, (www.lightreading.com), the market-leading online community for the global communications sector, announced founder and CEO, Stephen Saunders, has been named to the prestigious Folio: 100 list as a 'Dynamic Disrupter.' The annual awards program salutes the most influential and impactful media entrepreneurs and professionals each year. Saunders will be celebrated on October 21, 2014 at the Folio: 100 Awards Luncheon during the MediaNext Conference at the Marriott Marquis in New York City.

"I've always said that I'm awesome so to have Folio confirm it with a spot on their prestigious list is just brilliant," said Saunders. "The last time I was called disruptive was in second grade but back then it wasn't really a compliment, so this is also kind of a good 'eff you' to my old school teachers. Well, look at me now!" he added (laughing maniacally).  

Saunders founded Light Reading after a 12-year career as a technology journalist, working for McGraw-Hill's Data Communications Magazine. Following the success of Light Reading, Saunders launched Heavy Reading (www.heavyreading.com) and Dark Reading (www.darkreading.com). This triptych of online startups covering telecom news, telecom research, and security news, respectively, was acquired by UBM llc in 2005 for $33 million. Saunders bought Light Reading and Heavy Reading back from UBM in 2014.

Saunders also founded Internet Evolution, a ground-breaking, award-winning, global, online community dedicated to investigating the future of the Internet, and DeusM (www.deusm.com), an integrated marketing services company targeting the fastest-growing segment of the online publishing industry: business social media. In three years DeusM launched nearly 50 custom communities for companies including Dell, IBM, Intel, DuPont and Bristol Meyers, all based on Saunders' vision of a structured system of community publishing, one that creates unprecedented engagement among highly qualified business users.

Saunders is the author of three books: The Data Communications Gigabit Ethernet Handbook (McGraw-Hill, 1998), The McGraw-Hill High-Speed LANs Handbook (McGraw-Hill, 1995), and The True Story of King Arthur (48hourbooks, 2009).

Saunders has been honored with other industry awards.  In March 2008, he was inducted into min's Digital Media Hall of Fame. In April 2009, he was named to the No. 2 spot on Folio magazine's Folio 40 ranking of magazine industry influencers and innovators. In addition, he was named min's Marketer of the Year in September 2010.

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About Light Reading
Light Reading (www.lightreading.com) combines its research-led online communities and targeted events portfolio to help those in the global communications industry make informed decisions. Lightreading.com is the ultimate source for telecom analysis for more than 350,000 subscribers each month, leading the media sector in terms of traffic, content, and reputation. Light Reading produces targeted communications events and focused one-day conferences each year for cable, mobile, and wireline executives across five continents.

Media Contact:
Meryl Franzman
Beyond Words Communications Inc.
[email protected]
617 739 1769

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SOURCE Light Reading

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