NBSK Pulp Price Up for November

Tembec, Resolute Forest Paper and Canfor are the latest pulp manufacturers to announce an increase in the NBSK pulp price in North America by $20/metric tonne, effective November 1.

Harbor Paper (Former Grays) Restarts

http://www.governor.wa.gov/news/news-view.asp?pressRelease=1994&newsType=1

Gov. Chris Gregoire today celebrated the reopening of Harbor Paper, formerly Grays Harbor Paper Co., which reopened in September and immediately began producing paper (recycled uncoated freesheet). Today, Harbor Paper is in full production and brings an estimated 175 family wage jobs to the region.

AF&PA Reports Boxboard Production

US boxboard production down 2.1 percent in September
The American Forest & Paper Association has released its September 2012 U.S. Paperboard Report, which said total boxboard production decreased by 2.1 percent compared to September 2011 and decreased 6.9 percent from August 2012.

Study: 45% of Consumers Prefer Ads in Print

Study Reveals Online Marketing is Falling Short with Consumers: A new study from Adobe finds both consumers and professional marketers believe traditional marketing is still more effective than online marketing.
Respondents say the most preferred place to view an ad is while looking through a favorite print magazine; Digital ads scored only in the single digits.

Favorite print magazine – 45%

Favorite TV show – 34%

Pearson & Bertelsmann Merge Penguin & Random House

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/29/person-bertelsmann-idUSWEA599020121029

Pearson and Bertelsmann today announce an agreement to create the world's leading consumer publishing organisation by combining Penguin and Random House.

The combination brings together two of the world's leading English language publishers, with highly complementary skills and strengths. Random House is the leading English language publisher in the US and the UK, while Penguin is the world's most famous publishing brand and has a strong presence in fast-growing developing markets. Both companies have a long history of publishing excellence, and both have been pioneers in the dramatic industry transformation towards digital publishing and bookselling.

Vertis Holdings’ Creditors Oppose Auction, Loan Terms

Vertis Holdings’ Creditors Oppose Auction, Loan Terms: Unsecured creditors say Vertis Holdings Inc.’s auction and financing proposals don’t include enough protections to make sure they’re not left holding the bag during the company’s third trip through Chapter 11. The official committee representing Vertis’ unsecured creditors are urging a bankruptcy judge to slow down the sale of Vertis’ print advertising and direct-mail marketing business, which they say is being run for the sole benefit of senior lenders led by General Electric Capital Corp.

Amazon to Collect Arizona Sales Tax

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2012/10/amazon_will_start_collecting_a.php

Online retailer Amazon will no longer be Arizona's duty-free store.
Amazon noted in its latest FEC filing that it's going to start collecting Arizona sales tax on purchases in the state, which currently stands at 6.6 percent.
This change -- which was apparently caught by the Arizona Republic over the weekend -- comes after quite a bit of complaining from state-level authorities about Amazon skirting the sales-tax in Arizona.

Retailers as Ad Networks

http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/retailers-ad-networks-144850

Amazon built all sorts of buzz and intrigue during Advertising Week [1] this month by touting its third-party ad platform. But what the e-commerce giant is doing isn’t actually all that new.
Brands repackaging their own audiences for display ads “is very much an emerging space,” said Jay Habegger, co-founder and CEO of ad network OwnerIQ, a retargeting firm that is in talks to work with the majority of the top 25 retailers.

Some Good News for Newspapers

http://www.adweek.com/news/press/newspapers-digital-circulation-climbs-144889

Finally, here's some good news for U.S. newspapers, for a change: the Audit Bureau of Circulations has issued its twice-annual newspaper circulation report [1], and it shows that overall circulation held steady as papers’ efforts to expand their digital distribution paid off.
The standout was The New York Times, whose total circulation grew more than 40 percent to 1.6 million. Its digital circulation more than doubled in the past year to 896,352, the result of an aggressive push to grow its paid digital subscription base via its paywall, which went up more than a year ago (though it wasn't enough to cure all its revenue ills [2]). With the increase in digital, the Times’ online daily circulation now tops its print circulation, which comes in at 717,513. The Times’ Sunday circulation also sharply increased, from 27.7 percent to 2.1 million.
Archrival The Wall Street Journal, with a more established paid site, grew its total circ 9.4 percent to 2.3 million as its digital circ surged to 794,594 from 537,469 a year ago.

FT Reports Q3 Earnings

FT Continues Strong Digital Growth in Q3 Earnings:
The Financial Times has more digital subscribers than print and that gap is only growing.
Digital subscriptions increased again in Q3--up 17 percent since January and 26 percent year-over-year--and now account for 313,000 of the 600,000-plus combined subscribers, according to FT ownership group Pearson who released its nine-month interim management statement on Monday. FT reaches an audience of close to 2.1 million daily.

Next Issue Media, from Big 5, Enters Next Phase

Next Issue Media Enters Next Phase of On-Demand Model:
Next Issue Media, supported by a joint venture between five of the biggest domestic publishers, is set enter its next phase of growth as it plans a formal marketing push into the holiday season. Internal metrics released by the company recently show it's attracting a significant number of new readers to the consortium's brands. And in the next few weeks, NIM will be adding  another round of titles to its catalog, this time from outside the consortium. But don't expect the number of available titles to grow too quickly. While Next Issue Media continues along the path of a premium-priced, on-demand model for magazines, it's doing so for only a small slice of the industry.