How EDN Got Its Name

Most people seem to think that EDN stands—or at least stood—for “Electronic Design News.” It doesn’t. Many years ago now, John Huff told me his version of the story of how EDN got its name. I just learned that John Huff passed on late last month, so it seems apropos at this time to retell his version of how EDN got its name, which is the only version of this story I’ve ever heard. In a small way, this blog entry serves as a memorial to someone who contributed mightily to EDN’s longevity and success over most of EDN’s existence.

But first, you need to know about John Huff, Jr.—the central player in this story. John was an electrical engineer. He rode around in Cold War bombers as a technical representative, proving out early navigational computers for the Lear Corporation. Around 1960, John started selling advertising for a relatively new publication called Electrical Design News. Rogers Corporation of Denver, Colorado started the magazine in May, 1956. John Huff joined the company and started to sell advertising a few years after that. One of the companies he visited was an early licensee of Western Electric’s transistor manufacturing patents. This licensee was (and is) located in Texas and had been known for making instruments for the oil-exploration industry. By the early 1960s, the company was selling lots of transistors and, more important for John, they were advertising them to electronics companies.

So John went down to Texas and paid a call on the person responsible for buying the advertising. The ad buyer looked at John’s business card, leaned back in his chair, chomped on his cigar, and said: “Hell, we don’t advertise in no ‘lectrical books.”

That was the end of Electrical Design News and the birth of EDN.

John Huff, Jr. stayed with EDN for more than three decades. He started with the magazine when it was owned by Rogers Corporation. He stayed when Rogers was acquired by Cahners Publishing and again when Cahners was taken over by the current owner, Reed. John sold advertising for multiple publications within the company including Mini-Micro Systems and Electronic Business. John was a holdover and sold for multiple magazines at a time when no one else did, but I think EDN was always special to him.

When I joined EDN as a regional editor in 1985, John befriended me. He was based in Colorado and I was in Boulder, so we saw quite a bit of each other.

John took a unique approach to editorial. He considered it a partner to sales, which it is as far as I’m concerned. Every publication is firmly based on three pillars: editorial, sales, and circulation. Without all three, you don’t really have a publication. John trained generations of sales people and he trained me as well. He didn’t care that my business card said “Regional Editor.” In John’s mind, editors are the first-line salespeople of any successful publication. I think he was right, as he was about many things.

After he retired from sales, John took on the task of documenting the history of Cahners Publishing and EDN. I don’t know what’s happened to the fruits of that labor. I hope it’s not gone.

But John is gone. Many of us remember him fondly and wish him well. Bye John.

Steve