Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Verso Will Not Pursue NewPage Acquisition


Verso Paper Corp. (NYSE:VRS) announced today that it has decided to cease further discussions with NewPage Corporation or its creditors regarding a potential business combination. Verso President and CEO David Paterson commented, "After careful analysis, we believe it is in the best interests of our company and its stakeholders to focus on the many other opportunities for Verso, including internal growth projects and other potential strategic alternatives."

More Mills to Lower Pulp Price


Georgia-Pacific (G-P) informed US customers that it would lower prices on fluff and its paper grade market pulp, effective September 1 until further notice, industry contacts said today.
Domtar and Weyerhaeuser separately informed North American customers that their northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) pulp prices would decline $20/tonne, effective September 1 until further notice.

Transcontinental Extends Rogers' Contracts


TC Transcontinental Printing is proud to announce that its two contracts to print Rogers' marketing products and magazines have been extended to 2019 for a value of up to $250 million. That Rogers has extended these major contracts testifies to the efficiency and quality of the services TC Transcontinental provides to meet the diversified needs of this Canadian corporation.

UPM Sells Kajaani Sawmill


On 29 June 2012, Pölkky Oy and UPM signed a contract on the acquisition of Kajaani Sawmill by Pölkky Oy. The business operations will be transferred to the new owner in the beginning of September. With this acquisition, the Pölkky Oy sawing capacity will rise to 650 000 m³.

FPAC Seeks Stronger Trade with China

FOREST INDUSTRY AGREES ON NEED TO DEEPEN ECONOMIC TIES WITH CHINA: 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.

"WebMD the Magazine" Redesigned



Healthy Living title WebMD the Magazine is reintroducing itself this September with a redesigned publication.

“We wanted to modernize the look and feel of our site so we thought it was a really good time to refresh the magazine,” says Heidi Anderson, publisher of the magazine. “From a content perspective, we’ve re-examined the architecture of the magazine to create six distinctive sections that are even more closely mapped to our website.”
Through a combination of frequent readership polls and syndicated research of audiences, the title chose six topics that were of greatest interest to readers—both in print and online—and made them the focal point of the reimagined product. The brand is now broken up into the sections of living healthy, healthy beauty, family & parenting, food & recipes, fitness & exercise, and WebMD Checkup.

Q2 Newspaper Ad Revenues Decline


There will be no reprieve for the newspaper industry in 2012, judging by the second quarter of the year, which saw yet another round of dismal returns. Total advertising revenues dipped 6.4% from $6 billion in the second quarter of 2011 to $5.6 billion in the second quarter of 2012, according to the Newspaper Association of America. Print ad revenues dropped 7.9% from $5.2 billion to $4.8 billion, while online ad revenue growth remained anemic with a 2.9% increase from $803 million to $827 million. 

Another State Looks for Revenue from Online Sales


Pennsylvania's push to force online retailers to collect sales taxes has hit serious pay dirt — a commitment to do so by Internet giant Amazon.com Inc. — but the struggle is far from over.
Gov. Tom Corbett is eager to collect tens of millions of dollars in new state revenue without technically raising taxes. But consumers still look for tax-free merchandise on the Internet and sellers are happy to fill the orders, pocketing profits while Pennsylvania's bricks-and-mortar retailers are sandbagged by taxes they cannot evade.
Saturday was the deadline for online retailers to register with the state Revenue Department and begin collecting the 6 percent state tax on orders shipped to Pennsylvania — plus local sales taxes of 2 percent in Philadelphia and 1 percent in Pittsburgh — or face potential audits and penalties like in-state merchants.
Officials expect stepped-up compliance to generate $43 million for Pennsylvania's battered state treasury during the 10 months left in the fiscal year that ends June 30.

Magazine Manufacturing and Production Survey Released

The 2012 Magazine Manufacturing and Production Technology Survey: For many years, Folio: and Readex Research have conducted a survey of magazine production professionals—noting their preferences and tendencies on the subject of creating a finished product. This year’s survey contained a few new questions, mainly about technologies for producing digital content, as well as some new measurements of user satisfaction.

Saturday Evening Post Outsources Sales Operation

Saturday Evening Post Outsources Sales Operation:
The Saturday Evening Post, which traces its roots back 300 years, is in the process of reinventing itself. Steven Slon was brought on board early this year as editorial director to put a more contemporary spin on the brand and the magazine is planning a redesign for the fourth quarter. In the meantime, the magazine has outsourced its sales operation to the James G. Elliott Co. to perform a similar overhaul on its ad business.

Publishers Turning to Bureaus for Help

The Evolution of Fulfillment: When you dive into the way the digital edition and app economy works for publishers, you can’t avoid the irony of the big digital newsstand and storefronts of Apple, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Zinio, Next Issue Media, et al. The brand power of those operations is simply too good to refuse, and for many publishers, digital single-copy sales from these sources has been a boon. Yet, we all know about the data and revenue sharing frustrations that come along with some of those partnerships and in the meantime, publishers continue to look for ways to take their digital wares direct to the customer. Here’s where the fulfillment companies have been stepping into the void.

"Women’s Health" Community Outreach Plans

Women’s Health Steps Up Social Sharing of Content:
On the heels of a social summer, Rodale’s Women’s Health is looking to get even more engagement momentum through a variety of community outreach strategies aimed at cultivating its audiences.

Consumers Still Looking for Savings, Coupons

Study Shows Consumers are More Efficient Than Ever Seeking Deals: Valassis, one of the nation's leading media and marketing services companies, announced today results of its Fifth Annual RedPlum Purse String Study that indicates consumers' proficiency in seeking deals is saving them both time and money.
Overall, 62% spend up to two hours weekly seeking out savings and save up to $30 each week using coupons.