Magazine and Catalogue News Roundup
Reader’s Digest Association is cutting 150 positions, half of which are in the U.S., by the end of the year. The company said the moves are part of its plan to focus on its core, or “master”, brands, Reader’s Digest, Taste of Home and The Family Handyman.
Source Interlink ‘s GrindMedia has acquired Baseball America, which is published 26 times a year and has an average circulation of 32,300.
Oriental Trading Co., the largest direct retailer of party supplies, arts and crafts, toys and novelties in the U.S., is introducing new digital catalogues accessible via iPads.
Hearst has purchased a Commander CL offset press from Koeing & Bauer AG for its Albany Times Union newspaper. The press is scheduled to come online in 2013.
F+W Media acquired Script Magazine from Final Draft. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The magazine will no longer be printed; subscribers will receive Writer’s Digest in its stead.
American Media announced a new printing schedule for its OK magazine, a move designed to cut costs; the title will be printed almost a week before it goes to newsstands, unlike other celebrity weeklies, which wait as long as possible before initiating the production process.
Immediate Media’s Top Gear and Aurasma have created “a fully augmented print magazine.” After downloading a free app, readers can point their smart phones or tablets at the printed pages of the magazine and see highlights from the Top Gear television show.
Summit Business Media is closing its Florida Underwriter magazine after its December issue. The title focused on the insurance industry.
New York Times CEO Janet Robinson is stepping down by the end of the year. Chairman and publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. will assume the responsibilities of the position until a new CEO is found.
TIME has named Michael Duffy as Executive Editor. Mr. Duffy is currently the Washington Bureau Chief.
The Virginia Quarterly Review has named Jon Parrish Peede as publisher. Mr. Peede was the director of literature for the National Endowment of the Arts.
