Creditors Approve Port Hawkesbury Sale

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2012/08/15/ns-newpage-creditors-vote.html

Both the creditors and the American bondholders of the former NewPage mill in Port Hawkesbury have voted overwhelmingly in favour of accepting the $33-million offer from Stern Partners' subsidiary Pacific West Commercial Corp. of B.C.

Pacific West has said it would like to open the mill next month. There are two things that would have to happen:
First, the new owner of the mill, Ron Stern has applied to receive a break on the cost of electricity from the Utility and Review Board. He has said that the deal is conditional on getting an energy discount.
Stern had requested an expedited decision by Wednesday, but a representative of the Utility and Review Board said a decision is not ready.
Second, the company wants help with some tax issues from Revenue Canada, a decision on that is expected sometime in September.

Newton Falls Restart Fails

http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20120815/NEWS09/708159759

A deal to restart the Newton Falls Fine Paper mill is dead and the plant is on the market.

"They're going to try to find a buyer or liquidate it," said Fine Supervisor Mark C. Hall, a member of the St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency. "There are people out there who still think they're going to find a buyer. I've got my fingers crossed that they find a buyer and the mill will operate again. Time will tell." Newton Falls had 73,000 metric tonnes of coated woodfree capacity on one PM.

Hokuetsu Buys Stake in Daio

http://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=ind&k=2012081500792

Japanese paper and board manufacturer Hokuetsu Kishu Paper has purchased a 22.29% stake in the operations of Daio Paper.

 Hokuetsu Kishu, previously the fifth-biggest paper manufacturer in Japan, raised its stake in fourth-ranking Daio to 22.29 pct from 2.86 pct in terms of voting rights by purchasing all of the Daio shares held by the partner's founding family. 

FPAC; Strengthen Trade Ties with China

http://www.paperage.com/2012news/08_16_2012canada_china_trade_fpac.html

The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) is urging the government to follow through on the conclusion of the Canada-China Economic Complementarities Study which states that Canada and China should continue to strengthen their bilateral trade and investment ties. Canadian forest companies are already working hard to deepen relations with the lucrative consumer market in China. 

In Brazil, Newspaper Circulation & Ads Up

Brazil newspapers: Circulation and advertising in growth: Circulation of Brazilian newspapers grew by +2.3% in the first half of 2012, led by mid-priced titles. Newspaper advertising, meanwhile, grew by +5.6% in the first five months of the year.

Restoration Hardware; New Lines, New Leadership Team

http://www.retailingtoday.com/article/restoration-hardware-furnishes-strategy-new-leadership-team

Home furnishings retailer Restoration Hardware is reorganizing its leadership team to better align with the company's new strategy to develop new lines of business including apparel, accessories, footwear and jewelry while maintaining existing home business.

In order to execute this plan, Gary Friedman, the current chairman and co-CEO of Restoration Hardware, will become the founder, chairman, and CEO of Hierarchy, the newly created company...Friedman will continue to be involved with Restoration Hardware in an exclusive advisory role...Carlos Alberini, co-CEO of Restoration Hardware, will become Restoration Hardware’s sole CEO and will lead all major functions of the business.

Newspaper Industry Calls USPS/Valassis Deal Unfair

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/08/15/v-print/2952828/cheaper-junk-mail-newspapers-decry.html

The U.S. Postal Service is proposing to cut its rates for one of the nation's top direct marketing companies, a move that threatens the newspaper industry's biggest money-maker: the Sunday advertising bundle.

The post office expects to generate $15 million in profits over three years by cutting what it charges Valassis Communications Inc. for new mass mailings.

The newspaper industry says the deal is unfair and could wipe away $1 billion in annual revenue it gets from Sunday newspaper inserts and the advertising fliers it sends to non-subscribers during the week.

Vibe Extends Platform

Vibe Expands Its Brand Platform into New Music Genre:  There have been lots of strategic moves among the music magazines lately in an effort to remain vital to their audiences while also making sure their brand platforms keep up with a changing industry and the evolving tastes of music fans. Vibe has been the most recent example of this with its announcement that its hip-hop content focus will be expanded to include electronic dance music.

Condé Nast Launches iOS Game

Condé Nast's iPG Group Launches iOS Fashion Game:  Fashion is certainly in Condé Nast's wheelhouse, but standalone game apps might not be one of the first products to come to mind for the company. But its in-house skunkworks team, the Interactive Product Group, has launched an iOS game for the iPhone and iPad called Fashion Hazard. The 99-cent, 3-D modeled, arcade-style game is not tied to any magazine brands and is targeted toward teen girls.

Study: Magazine Ad Spending Decline

http://www.btobonline.com/article/20120816/MEDIABUSINESS10/308169992/report-magazine-share-of-ad-spending-on-downward-spiral

Ad spending on print magazines will decline by another 5.1% this year, to $13 billion, according to a report released by Pivotal Research Group.

The overall share of ad spending in print publications will fall to 20.2% this year, down from 21.7% last year, according to the report.

Golf Digest Creates Personalized E-Mags

http://www.adweek.com/print/142811

Magazines are always trying to find ways to target their content to readers’ interests and needs. Golf Digest is taking that concept a step further with the launch of Golf Digest Live, a digital magazine that creates personalized issues based on the reader’s most recent round of golf.

Univision Names President Ad Sales & Marketing

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/180979/univision-taps-turner-as-ad-sales-head.html?print

Keith Turner, a former longtime colleague of Univision CEO Randy Falco at NBCUniversal, will take over the top ad sales role at the Spanish-language media company. Turner, a senior vice president of media and sponsorship at the NFL, replaces David Lawenda.
Turner joins Univision as president of ad sales and marketing next month, based in News York. Lawenda steps down.

Time Inc. Names SI.com Editor

Time Inc. Nabs Matt Bean From Rodale:  Starting in September, Matt Bean will leave his vice president of product development role at Rodale to become managing editor of Time Inc.’s SI.com. Bean spent eight years at Rodale.

Men's Health Upgrades Mobil Edition

Men's Health Upgrades to More Interactive iPhone Edition:  Rodale's Men's Health, which launched a PDF replica for the iPhone in June, has significantly stepped up the mobile edition to be, in a sense, a mini-iPad version of the magazine with greater interactivity and navigation. But rather than squeezing the tablet edition into the iPhone format, the mobile version has been reimagined specifically for the small screen.