Thursday, January 24, 2013

American Media/USA to Publish 12 Speical Magazines

David J. Pecker, Chairman & CEO of American Media Inc. (AMI) and Larry Kramer, President & Publisher of USA TODAY announced today a partnership to publish 12 special magazines using a "Best Of" theme in 2013. AMI is the leading publisher of celebrity and health & fitness content, with brands including Shape, Men's Fitness, Star and OK, and a readership of over 55 million. USA TODAY is a multi-platform news and information media company. USA TODAY, the nation's number one newspaper in print circulation with an average of nearly 1.8 million daily, and USATODAY.com, an award-winning news website, reach a combined 6.6 million readers daily.

Pearson Completes Investment in NOOK

NOOK Media Announces the Completion of Strategic Investment by Pearson  Business Wire  NEW YORK & LONDON -- January 23, 2013  NOOK Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products, today announced the completion of their previously announced investment by Pearson (NYSE:PSO), the world’s leading learning company. Pearson made its approximately $89.5 million in cash investment in NOOK Media, LLC at a post-money valuation of approximately $1.789 billion in exchange for preferred membership interests representing a 5% equity stake.

Why B-to-B E-Commerce Lags Behind B-to-C

B-to-C e-commerce has radically transformed the modern marketplace, delivering big rewards to consumer-facing brands, with B-to-C e-commerce spending expected to surpass $1.25 trillion in 2013. But with few exceptions, B-to-B e-commerce has been less successful in capturing the attention (and wallets) of business buyers.

Global Advertising Strong in First 9 Months

Global advertising had a strong first nine months of 2012, with television advertising still holding the biggest share of advertising dollars and outperforming overall global growth.
Nielsen says ad spending rose 3.3% from January to September last year, with TV advertising up 4.3% during the period.
Although other new media platforms are growing, TV continues to dominate in overall global advertising with a 61.8 share. Newspapers remain second at a 19.7 share; magazines, 7.9 share; radio, 5.2; Internet, 2.7; outdoor, 2.6, and cinema advertising, 0.3.

Rolling Stone Launches iPad Edition, Makes Personnel Cuts

Rolling Stone Launches iPad Edition:  
Rolling Stone's Jann Wenner may have famously downplayed the potential of tablet editions, but the brand has just launched a fully featured iPad app that also incorporates song samples and purchasing opportunities through iTunes. The wait, it seems, has given the title valuable insight into tablet design and functionality as other Wenner Media brands, and other publishers, took the plunge first. 
The masthead at Wenner Media's Rolling Stone is getting shorter. In addition to executive editor Eric Bates and Mark Neschis, who handled PR for Rolling Stone and Wenner's other titles, Wenner has let go Brian McFarland, who was national director of digital sales for Rolling Stone and Men’s Journal; and Robert Hanewich, Rolling Stone's creative director.

Vice Straddles the Line

As unlikely as it sounds, the future of publishing could be written, in part, inside a converted warehouse in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the unofficial capital of Hipster USA. That’s where Vice Media is trying to strike the balance of maintaining its indie publishing cred while operating as a marketing arm for the world’s biggest brands. 
Vice began as “Voice of Montreal,” a magazine funded by the Canadian government. In 1994, Shane Smith, Suroosh Alvi and Gavin McInnes bought the publication and built up its reputation as the home of gonzo-style reporting at a time of watered-down journalism in the age of corporate media.

Exceptional Women in Publishing Names 2013 Recipient

Exceptional Women in Publishing (EWIP) is pleased to announce the 2013 recipient of the Exceptional Woman in Publishing Award is Deanna Brown, CEO of Federated Media Publishing. The 2013 EWIP award will be presented to Ms. Brown at a luncheon celebration during the 2013 Women’s Leadership Conference in San Francisco on March 6, 2013. 
Deanna Brown is FMP’s chief executive officer and is responsible for overseeing all strategic business goals and day-to-day operations for the company. Prior to joining FMP in 2009, she served as President at Scripps Networks Digital, where she led the charge on bringing Scripps more fully into the digital space. In 1995 she co-founded CondeNet, the digital division of publisher CondeNast.

Kodak Receives Court Approval

Kodak Receives Court Approval of Financing Agreement: ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- In a significant step toward its emergence from Chapter 11, Eastman Kodak Company today received approval from U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Allan Gropper of the Southern District of New York for the company’s previously announced commitment from the Steering Committee of the Second Lien Noteholders

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

PPPC: 2012 NA Newsprint Demand Fell -1.2%

Total North American newsprint demand posted a 4.4% reduction in December, according to the Pulp and Paper Products Council. Demand from the region's largest users of newsprint -- US daily newspapers - was down 4.0%, while demand by other end users fell 5.7%.
Total demand for the full year declined only 1.2%, as the dailies' 5.8% demand drop in 2012 was largely offset by a 20.4% increase in demand from other end users.
North American newsprint shipments mirrored total demand, with volumes declining 4.4% in December and 1.0% for 2012 as a whole. Offshore exports declined 14.6% in December and 24.2% in 2012.
Newsprint mill operating rates were 89% in December and 92% for 2012 on a shipments-to-capacity basis, compared with 92% and 93% respectively for comparable periods last year.

AF&PA Reports December Kraft Paper Shipments

American Forest & Paper Association Releases December 2012 Kraft Paper Sector Report: The American Forest & Paper Association released its December 2012 Kraft Paper Report on Friday, Jan. 18.
Total Kraft paper shipments were 118 thousand tons, a decrease of 12 percent compared to the prior month. While bleached Kraft paper shipments increased year-over-year 22 percent, the 17 percent year-over-year decline in shipments of the larger segment - unbleached Kraft paper - was significant enough to bring overall Kraft paper shipments down compared to 2011. Total month-end inventory increased 13 percent to 85.7 thousand tons this month compared to November 2012 month-end inventories.

AF&PA Releases December Containerboard Numbers

American Forest & Paper Association Releases December 2012 Containerboard Statistics Report: s Release/Editorial) WASHINGTON, USA, Jan 22, 2013 - The American Forest & Paper Association released its December 2012 U. S. Containerboard Statistics Report on Thursday, Jan. 17.
Containerboard production grew 1.5 percent over November 2012 and 2.3 percent over the same month last year. However, the month-over-month average daily production decreased 1.8 percent. The containerboard operating rate for December 2012 lost 1.7 points over November 2012, from 96.9 percent to 95.2 percent.

AF&PA Reports December Paperboard Statistics

American Forest & Paper Association Releases December 2012 Paperboard Statistics Report: he American Forest & Paper Association released its December 2012 U.S. Paperboard Report on Thursday, Jan. 17.
Total boxboard production increased by 6.4 percent compared to December 2011 but decreased 0.4 percent from last month. Unbleached Kraft Boxboard production increased over the same month last year and increased compared to last month. Total Solid Bleached Boxboard & Liner production increased compared to December 2011 and increased compared to last month. The production of Recycled Boxboard increased compared to December 2011 but decreased when compared to last month.

Accident at Resolute's Catawba Mill

One contractor is dead and two are injured as the result of an accident at Resolute Forest Products' paper mill in Catawba, SC, after chemical leak
The accident happened around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.
County emergency management director Cotton Howell told WBTV that three contractors were doing maintenance on an old decommissioned tank outside the main production area.

Conference Board, Canada: China Central Cause of Changes in Trade

The "lost decade" of essentially no growth in Canadian exports is due less to the strong dollar and more to the rise of China and other emerging economies. A Conference Board of Canada report for the Global Commerce Centre explains how Canada's trade has shifted this "two-gear" trade model in which the United States is relatively less important and emerging markets offer the greatest opportunity for growth.
HIGHLIGHTS
The Canadian-U.S. trade relationship is waning in importance, while emerging markets, particularly China, are becoming increasingly important.
Our trade strengths are shifting away from some manufactured products toward professional services and products related to our natural resource wealth.
The strong loonie alone does not explain this trend.

Since the dawn of the 2000s, what Canada trades has changed. A decade ago, five key products -transportation equipment, pulp and paper, electronic products, plastics and wood products - accounted for almost half of Canadian exports. Today, the top five consists of oil and gas, mineral products, chemicals, primary metals and food products. Other areas of trade strength in recent years include professional and financial services.
The emergence of China on the world stage has led to a realignment of North American trading patterns.

Japan's Paper & Board Shipments Expected to Fall

Paper and paperboard shipments in Japan in 2013 are expected to fall 1.5 pct from the previous year to 27,358,000 tons, down for the third consecutive year, the Japan Paper Association said Monday. 
The expected decline is chiefly due to sluggish shipments of mainstay printing paper amid the wider use of e-mail and the Internet.

Sun Chemical Sustainability Report: Footprint of Supplliers

Newest Sun Chemical Sustainability Report Highlights the Environmental Footprint of its Suppliers: Sun Chemical released its 2012 Sustainability Report, which showcases Sun Chemical’s leadership in eco-efficiency through established data-driven metrics, as well as examples of how raw material suppliers are contributing to the company’s environmental footprint.

Vertis Closing Dallas Facility

Vertis Communications to close Dallas facility, lay off 27:
Vertis Communications, a Baltimore-based supplier of direct marketing services and advertising inserts, is closing a Dallas facility and laying off 27 people, according to a company letter to the Texas Workforce Commissio.

Vogue Still First in Ads

Among the highly scrutinized March fashion magazines, Condé Nast's Vogue is holding on to its usual first place, with 457 ad pages, up 4.5 percent from 2012. Archrival Time Inc.'s InStyle weighed in with 361 pages, a 4 percent increase over last year's. Over at Hearst, Elle, as previously reported, came in third at 338 pages, up 6 percent.

Geiger (Farmers’ Almanac) Divesting Print/Manufacturing Business

Farmers’ Almanac Maker to Lay Off 75 as it Moves Printing from Lewiston: Geiger, the producer of the Farmers’ Almanac, as well as pocket diaries and calendars, is divesting itself of its printing and manufacturing business after 135 years. The company’s decision, one influenced by by changes in peoples’ behavior wrought by technology, will lead to 75 people losing their jobs, Peter Geiger, the company’s executive vice president and editor of the Farmers’ Almanac, told the Bangor Daily News on Tuesday evening.

Is Digital the Solution for Titles Failing in Print?

All Good Print Magazines Go to Digital Heaven…Or Do They?:
When a publication decides its earthly existence as a print life form is no longer a viable option and instead takes on a digital-only presence, is it really a heaven-sent opportunity or is it actually a gentle nudge by the minions of magazine hell to push it into its final resting place? If your print product isn’t connecting with an audience, is it really going to flourish among a billion more nondescript URLs or a million other apps?

Growth Expected in Media Market Competition

Media Market Competition, Growth Expected to Increase in 2013:
Media industry executives are optimistic about the coming year, specifically in the areas of product development, acquisitions and competition, new research reports from the Jordan, Edmiston Group, Inc. (JEGI) and AdMedia Partners show. 

Study: Poor Data Plagues Marketers

Study: Poor data quality plagues customer experience: While marketers acknowledge that data quality affects the customer experience, companies lack accurate information to improve things, according to a new report from data management company Experian QAS.

KPMG: M&A Expected to Increase

KPMG Survey: Mergers And Acquisitions Projected To Be On The Rise In 2013: Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity is expected to increase in 2013, according to a survey conducted by KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm, and the Research practice unit of SourceMedia, the publisher of Mergers & Acquisitions.  The survey of more than 300 M&A professionals in the U.S. found that 76 percent of respondents anticipate that their company will make at least one acquisition in 2013.

Marketers Interested in Mobile, Question Measuring ROI

Study: Marketers Interested in Mobile; Measurement/ROI Remains a Barrier: An ANA study view mobile marketing as a way to build brand and awareness yet remain concerned about metrics and ROI.
The most noted barrier to the development of marketers’ use of mobile is measurement—42% of marketers indicated they are concerned with having proper mobile metrics in place, and another 42% are concerned with an inability to prove ROI.

Americans Still Like Libraries

In a new survey of Americans’ attitudes and expectations for public libraries, the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project finds that many library patrons are eager to see libraries’ digital services expand, yet also feel that print books remain important in the digital age. 
The availability of free computers and internet access now rivals book lending and reference expertise as a vital service of libraries. In a national survey of Americans ages 16 and older:
80% of Americans say borrowing books is a “very important” service libraries provide.
80% say reference librarians are a “very important” service of libraries.
77% say free access to computers and the internet is a “very important” service of libraries.

Publishers Face Complex Future

Former Macmillan president Brian Napack, now a senior advisor at Providence Equity Partners, a private equity firm with $27 billion in assets that specializes in investing in media and education properties, offered a high altitude perspective on a publishing industry in the midst of “structural change.” Interviewed onstage by Publishers Marketplace founder Michael Cader, Napack responded to Cader's description of a publishing landscape dominated by the Random House/Penguin merger, McGraw-Hill’s withdrawal from educational publishing, the closing of Borders and the rise of technology companies as disruptors in the publishing business, emphasizing that “there’s been very little capital in-flow into publishing, the Random House, Penguin deal is all about scale but there’s no cash involved.”
Napack said that the McGraw-Hill deal was about, “unlocking value. It feels like a lot of change is going on but it’s the beginning of the end of change. We’re about to see what publishing looks like in the future...He said the clock is “ticking” for Hachette, “which likely is worried. There are only so many large publishing assets available to acquire,” and said more mergers were likely rather than acquisitions from players “outside” of publishing.
But Napack also emphasized that while the big six may end up as “the big three,” the power of innovation often flourishes in markets during periods of consolidation and new companies can “come from underneath,” and he cited the precarious but interesting market position of Barnes & Noble.

Financial Times Planning Staffing Changes

In a bid to compete with social networking sites and Google, The Financial Times has been planning to cut down staff to shift their traditional print news environment to a more digitally focused networked business. 
Lionel Barber, editor of the newspaper, said the newspaper is planning to appoint 10 new digital staff, and will be cutting down 35 of its existing 600 editorial jobs, The Telegraph reports.

Cenveo Completes Refinancing

Cenveo Corporation (the "Company"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cenveo, Inc. (CVO) announced that it obtained a $50 million unsecured term loan due 2017 ("Unsecured Term Loan") from Macquarie Capital. The Company used the proceeds from the Unsecured Term Loan, plus available cash and borrowings under its revolving credit facility to repay the remainder of its 7.875% senior subordinated notes due 2013 plus accrued and unpaid interest.

BusinessBolts: 74% of Small Businesses Use Content Marketing

BusinessBolts survey finds 74% of small businesses use content marketing: Seventy-four percent of small businesses use content marketing to increase traffic and promote their brands, according to a new report from content marketing company BusinessBolts.com.
“Content Marketing Survey Report 2013” was based on an online survey of 265 small-business owners and marketing executives at small businesses conducted in the fourth quarter.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

PPPC Reports 2012 Coated & SC Shipments

The Pulp and Products Council reported North American coated mechanical shipments fell -4.1% in 2012 as compared to the previous year.  Demand declined by -2.3%, imports were up +12.2% and the operating rate was 94%.  Coated woodfree shipments for 2012 decreased -3.9%, demand was down -4.7% and imports fell -7.4%.  The operating rate was 88%.  SC-A/SC-A+ paper shipments declined -20.4% for the year.  Demand decreased by -20.5% and imports fell -20.8%.  The operating rate for Supercalendered paper (including both SC-A, SC-B and SNC grades) was 93%.

Global Pulp Shipments Up 7.1% in December

Global pulp deliveries rose by 7.1% to 3.976 million tonnes in December, up from 3.712 million tonnes the previous month, according to Pulp and Paper Products Council (PPPC) data.
Shipments were 2.0% lower than the year-earlier period, down from 4.059 million tonnes in December 2011.

IP Plans Lay Offs with PM Close

Dozens of layoffs coming to International Paper:
International Paper announced on Tuesday it will be shutting down its No. 2 coated paperboard machine in its Augusta, GA mill by the end of February, taking dozens of jobs with it.
The company announced that approximately 75 positions are expected to be impacted at the mill as a result of this decision. The company says it will provide severance and outplacement assistance to affected employees.
The Augusta Mill will continue to employ more than 700 people, but they say they need to close this part of the plant to help balance production with demand.

Premier Announces Measures to Help Loggers

http://www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca/2013/01/premier-announces-measures-to-support-and-protect-logging-contractors.html 
Today Premier Christy Clark set in motion a $5-million fund to provide financial protection for forestry contractors, as well as announcing tax relief on previous compensation payments.
The compensation fund will strengthen payment protection for those who contract their services to forest sector companies. Logging contractors who provide services to licensees, but are not paid because of licensee insolvency, can now access this compensation fund to better protect their financial interests.
The Forestry Service Providers Compensation Fund was initially established in the spring of 2012, under the Forestry Service Providers Protection Act (FSPPA). Since the fund's inception the Province and industry have now reached an agreement around the fund's parameters, permitting logging contractors to be compensated if they incur a financial loss resulting from the insolvency of a licensee. The fund is administered arm's length from government.

CPI: Paper Myths and Facts

The Paper Industry has always been the subject of many common misconceptions and to dispel some of these, Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI) is pleased to announce the launch of ‘Paper Myths and Facts: A Balanced View'.
Paper is made from a natural, renewable and sustainable resource and boasts the highest recycling rate of any material in the UK, but environmental issues related to paper are still a source of numerous misconceptions. 
The Paper Industry has a good story to tell and some impressive statistics and research support the facts:
Europe's forests are increasing in size - by an area equivalent to 1.5 million football pitches every year and over 70% of the fibres used to make paper in the UK come from paper collected for recycling.
UK Papermaking has reduced total energy use by 34% per tonne of paper made.
The corrugated sector is vitally important to manufacturing, protecting around 75% of the UK's packaged goods in transit.
Over 80% of all corrugated packaging is subsequently collected for recycling.
Thanks to investment in lower carbon energy, annual emissions of fossil carbon have been reduced by 1.6m tonnes or 42%. 

The Paper Industry works continuously to optimise its processes and is already the biggest single user and producer of bio-energy in Europe.

Hearst Names Board Chairman

William Randolph Hearst III Named Hearst Corp. Board Chairman:
William Randolph ("Will") Hearst III, a grandson of the late Hearst Corp. founder (1887) William Randolph Hearst, was elected Hearst Corp. chairman of the board of directors on Jan. 22. He is a former San Francisco Examiner editor/publisher and is a partner emeritus at the venture-capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
The 63-year-old Will Hearst fills one of two vacancies created by the June 25, 2012, death of his 84-year-old cousin, George R. Hearst, Jr., who had served as board chairman since 1996.

Summit Business Media Closes Treasury & Risk

Summit Business Media Closes Print Edition of Treasury & Risk, Selling Futures Magazine:
Summit Business Media has shut down the print version of Treasury & Risk magazine and is in advanced talks to sell Futures. The moves are part of on ongoing adjustment of resources towards digital and brands that offer scale in core markets served.
In other words, the company is focusing on developing only its market verticals that offer the best opportunities for multiplatform buildouts, while closing or selling off the ones that don't.

Traditional Media Continues to Hold Sway

Traditional Media Continues to Hold Purchasing Sway In Digital World: Next to friends and family and manufacturer/retailer websites, traditional media continues to holds sway in influencing consumers' purchase decisions. Next to friends and family and manufacturer/retailer websites, traditional media continues to holds sway in influencing consumers' purchase decisions.
Traditional media, such as TV and print, continue to be trusted, reliable sources for 42% of those consumers surveyed -- ahead of retail sales associates and e-mail messages from manufacturers and retailers

Hearst Tries a New iPad Pitch

Looking for a reason to buy an iPad edition of a magazine? Hearst hopes this will do the trick:
Readers who buy the publishers’ titles from Apple’s Newsstand will get them before anyone else — on or offline.

Benetton Greening Supply Chain

Benetton Group is the latest global apparel company to join Greenpeace’s Detox Program. The Italy-based retailer, which operates 6,500 stores in 120 countries, is another coup for Greenpeace.
With its commitment to eliminate the release of toxic chemicals into water supplies and out of factories, Benetton joins apparel firms including Nike, Puma, Marks & Spencer and Zara.
Similar to other fashion companies who have signed Greenpeace’s pledge, Benetton promises to end the release of hazardous chemicals throughout the company’s global supply chain by 2020. This latest move by Benetton follows on the heels of other changes to which the company committed in recent years, including the switch to liquid wood clothes hangars, more eco-friendly white kraft paper bags printed with only water-based ink, reduced packaging and the increased monitoring of emissions throughout its operations.

Hot Print Markets For 2013-2014

Hot Print Markets For 2013-2014: Printing Impressions has compiled their projection for the hottest print markets by sector. Packaged Foods ranks number one with a revenue forecast of $1,151 billion, thanks to a potential 4% growth rate for 2013-2014.

Global Report on Packaging Preferences

Global consumers demand smarter packaging
Global consumers are guided by product packaging in their buying behavior. We reject products in plastic packaging and feel guilty when we throw away plastic water bottles. We worry about the amount of packaging consumed by society, and when shopping online we might consider having goods delivered in simple standard packaging instead of the original packaging if it makes them cheaper. These are the results of an international study by Innventia, Packaging 2020, carried out in association with Kairos Future.
The report describes seven global forces and their impact on the packaging industry and the packaging of the future. The conclusions are based on a survey carried out among consumers in the US, India and Sweden. A clear majority of the 1,500 interviewees see major problems with society’s consumption of packaging.

Marketers Continue Big Data Investments, but Struggle with Results

Marketers plan to increase their investments in data-related marketing initiatives this year, with a heavy emphasis on hiring, according to a report from Infogroup Targeting Services and Yesmail interactive.
According to the companies' report, “Data-Rich and Insight-Poor,” 68% of marketers said they expect their data-related expenditures to increase greatly or slightly this year, and only 3% said they would cut back in this area. Also, 56% plan to hire staff to handle data collection or analysis, with the most common position (20%) being data analyst. 
Sixty-percent of the more than 250 mid- and executive-level marketers who responded to the survey said they weren’t ready for the challenges of Big Data, and more than half said they were augmenting their marketing team and technology investments to become better prepared.
Eighty-one percent reported they are either somewhat or not very prepared when it comes to the new rules and regulations of marketing data governance.

GAO Review of USPS

http://www.gao.gov/highrisk/risks/efficiency-effectiveness/restructuring_postal.php
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) currently offers 12 nonpostal services (i.e., services not directly related to mail delivery) that were grandfathered by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) after enactment of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA). These services--which include Passport Photo Services, the sale of advertising to support change-of-address processing, and others--generated a net income of $141 million in 2011. Since enactment of PAEA, USPS has received approval from PRC to offer eight experimental postal products, which are products that differ significantly from other offered products, such as the sale of gift cards loaded with a specified sum of money. Lastly, USPS performs at least four discretionary services (i.e., services it chooses, rather than is required, to perform) for other federal agencies, such as accepting passport applications for the State Department.
USPS is currently pursuing 55 new initiatives that it identified based on outreach to postal stakeholders. USPS chose to pursue these initiatives because of their potential to increase revenue and add value to the mail, among other reasons.
USPS considered but decided not to pursue 25 other stakeholder-identified initiatives, primarily because of financial reasons. Twelve initiatives were abandoned because USPS determined they were not likely to be profitable or the initial investment was too high.

Discussion: CPM and RTB Models

For decades, cost per thousand (CPM) pricing has controlled how nearly all advertising is bought and sold and how different media properties are compared. While a focus on CPM-based buying also provided a foundation for the first decade of online display growth, it is now preventing the online advertising industry from realizing the full potential of what may be one of its biggest game changers—real-time bidding (RTB).

Gannett Selling Headquarters Building

http://news.yahoo.com/gannetts-downtown-rochester-building-sale-153504283.html
Gannett Co. says it's selling its downtown Rochester newspaper building that company founder Frank Gannett built 85 years ago.
The Gannett-owned Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester reports (http://on.rocne.ws/W4wS9m ) that the company announced Friday that the Gannett Newspapers building will be sold and the Democrat and Chronicle Media Group will seek a new home for its news and business operations in the city.