Condé Nast's W Cuts Frequency

http://www.adweek.com/news/press/cond-nasts-w-cuts-frequency-ups-digital-focus-146908

Condé Nast's W magazine is reducing its print frequency from 12 issues a year to 10 while amping up its digital presence.

While other magazines' frequency cuts usually are a symptom of falling ad pages, the oversized fashion glossy's first-quarter ad pages are the highest they've been since 2008 (the March issue was up 3 percent year over year), after a year in which ad pages rose 10.3 percent over 2011, to 1,202, per Publishers Information Bureau, leading to new publisher Lucy Kriz's recent internal recognition at the Condé Nast publisher’s awards.

Details of Time Cuts Reported

http://www.adweek.com/news/press/real-simple-s-sally-preston-out-146893

Some of the bigger-name casualties of today’s massive Time Inc. layoffs are starting to trickle out. Among the notables are Real Simple publisher Sally Preston, who jumped over from rival Martha Stewart Living a little over a year ago to the powerhouse lifestyle brand. Also gone is Health editor Ellen Kunes, who has been with the brand since 2007 and who led a much-touted redesign in 2010.

Picking up Real Simple will be Charlie Kammerer, who had been group publisher of This Old House and Coastal Living. Those two titles will be handled by AP Nate Stamos and Lifestyle Group publisher Greg Keyes, respectively. All You editor Clare McHugh will add responsibility for Health.

The cuts were by no means limited to the Lifestyle Group. At Entertainment Weekly, Erik Yates, an ad director who just started there in March from Rolling Stone, was also let go.

Rodale Brands Hit 5-Year Ad Page High

VIDEO: Rodale Brands Hit 5-Year Ad Page High:
Rodale Inc. is edging into 2013 on a high note, with its brands up 17 percent in March ad pages year-over-year, according to the company.
Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Runner’s World and Bicycling magazines are experiencing their best March issues in 5-plus years, with Women’s Health experiencing its best first quarter ever with a 25 percent increase when comparing the first quarter of 2012.
In addition to print, digital online-only revenue is up 33 percent across all brands for January when comparing numbers year-over-year, and new advertising partners are signing on with the company for the first time.

MeadWestvaco Reports Q4 Profits, Higher Sales

MeadWestvaco posts 4Q profit on higher sales:
MeadWestvaco says sales gains in its specialty chemicals business drove the packaging company to a fourth quarter profit.
The Richmond, Va., company reported earnings of $17 million, or 10 cents per share, for the three-month period ended Dec. 31, compared with a loss of $25 million, or 14 cents per share, in the final quarter of 2011. Adjusted for charges related to the spin-off of its consumer and office products business and other items, it earned 7 cents per share, far below the 18 cents per share analysts expected.
Revenue increased 4 percent to $1.33 billion.

Verso Plans to Sell Sartell Facility

Verso Paper Corp. today announced plans to sell its disaster-idled Sartell plant to AIM Development (USA) LLC.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The deal was announced in a two-paragraph email. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter. It includes substantially all of the assets of the mill, home of Verso's wholly owned subsidiary, Verso Sartell LLC.

Avery Dennison to Sell Office & Consumer Products

http://www.averydennison.com/en/home.html

Avery Dennison Corporation (AVY) today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its Office and Consumer Products (OCP) and Designed and Engineered Solutions (DES) businesses to CCL Industries Inc. (CCL-A.TO)(CCL-B.TO), a global leader in specialty packaging solutions, for $500 million in cash. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, adjustments and regulatory approvals, and is expected to be completed in mid-2013.

The Concept of Carbon Neutrality

http://www.wbcsd.org/Pages/EDocument/EDocumentDetails.aspx?ID=15348&NoSearchContextKey=true

The WBCSD Forest Solutions Group today released a report providing a framework for understanding carbon neutrality. The Issue Brief: Biomass Carbon Neutrality distills and synthesizes the complexity of the debate and underlines the importance of carbon neutrality in public policy.

Using biomass-derived fuels and materials instead of more fossil fuel-intensive alternatives is one approach to mitigating increases in atmospheric CO₂. However, the benefits of using biomass are under question, with the debate often centered on whether biomass is “carbon neutral”. There is no widely accepted definition for “carbon neutrality” and different people understand it to have different meanings.

Time Inc. Layoffs Begin

Time Inc. Laying Off Six Percent of 8,000 Staff:  The rumored and significant cuts at Time Inc. have begun today. According to an internal memo from CEO Laura Lang, about six percent of the company's 8,000 employees will be let go—close to 500 people. According to the memo, the cuts are impacting a variety of areas throughout the company, both domestically and internationally.

BtoB's Outlook 2013: Robust Optimism

http://www.btobonline.com/article/20130130/STRATEGY06/301309999/btobs-outlook-2013-marketers-show-robust-optimism

Marketers plan to markedly increase spending this year and are as bullish as in 2011, according to a study by BtoB, which presented findings along with marketer reaction during a webcast Tuesday.

The report, “Outlook 2013: Marketing Priorities & Plans,” found 49% of respondents planned to spend more this year, up from 40% in 2012. Only 10% said they planned to cut their budgets.

Magazine Use Digital to Boost Prices

http://readwrite.com/2013/01/24/why-magazines-are-using-digital-to-boost-prices-not-bolster-innovation

As magazines make the transition from print to pixels, some publishers are using the move as an opportunity to jack up their prices - in some cases, to more than they were charging for print editions.
And that's for tablet versions that are too often crappy afterthoughts.  To be fair, magazines are contending with legitimate financial concerns. Their advertising revenue has been declining and the historically discounted subscription rates they've charged for print delivery just aren't enough to pay the freight. To cope, many publishers are asking readers to chip in more - on digital versions as well as print editions.

Survey: 100% of Magazines Digital in 2013

http://www.emarketer.com/Article/This-Year-All-Publishers-Go-Mobile/1009628
Media businesses have already gone through a first wave of digital transition, and in the last few years, mobile has been the next frontier. Publishers have been tasked with deciding whether to offer their content on the smaller-screen devices—and how. 
This year will be a seminal one, marking the first time 100% of publishers will format their content for mobile, according to an Alliance for Audited Media survey of 210 media companies in North America. The development points to both digital’s essential role in media companies’ future profits and the importance of mobile to consumers’ daily media lives.

New Approach: Keep Magazine Apps Simple

http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2013/01/just-read-it-magazine-publishers-push-minimalist-apps-without-fluff028.html

Faced with floods of online content, readers open magazine apps for a cohesive, relaxed reading experience -- only to cope with massive file downloads and confusing, complex interfaces.

A new batch of magazine publishers wants to move in a different direction. Drawing on the concept of "subcompact publishing," recently articulated by Craig Mod, and often mentioning Marco Arment's The Magazine as inspiration, these publishers are creating minimalist magazine apps that do just enough -- and no more -- to provide a focused, deep, quality reading experience.

Men's Health Growth: Two, Indpendent Platforms

http://www.foliomag.com/2013/rodales-bill-phillips-digital-evolution-mens-health#.UQmAJujZGKw

Bill Phillips, who became vice president and editor-in-chief of Men's Health when David Zinczenko left last November, cut his teeth on the brand's website. He oversees the editorial development of both the website and the magazine now, but here Phillips checks in with FOLIO: to recount what it took to bring the website into its own as a standalone brand—distinct from Men's Health the magazine.  Phillips says that growth across the Men's Health digital assets has fundamentally come from understanding that audiences have different needs and wants from each platform—website, social and tablet. Acknowledging that and treating each platform as its own product helped contribute to their growth. 

Publishers: New Avenues to Tech Innovations

http://www.foliomag.com/2013/publishers-crowdsource-app-innovation#.UQl_y-jZGKw

The publishing industry is looking toward technology communities to foster innovation around mobile products. While the concept doesn’t seem like something new, the way in which companies are approaching the tech community is.

Six 2012 Startup Stories

Startup Stories: Here, in our annual look at recent startups, we examine six from the last 12 months that stand out as key initiatives in the mobile, print and online markets. They range from larger consumer publisher brands to smaller b-to-b plays that aim to disrupt markets via the mobile platform.

Relaunch of Best Life

Best Life: Economic indicators reach beyond dry data and convoluted graphs. That is to say that a number of environmental factors can suggest which way the economy is moving. Keeping that in mind, the relaunch of a magazine whose core focus is to showcase a luxury lifestyle and advertise luxury goods could indicate things are moving in the right direction. That was publisher of Men’s Health Ronan Gardiner’s hope when he spearheaded the return of Rodale’s Best Life in 2012.

DuJour: Quality Goals for Digital & Print

DuJour: It took Jason Binn a career in the luxury market and two straight years of independent research studying the media consumption and purchasing habits of his target audience, but the launch of DuJour Media has taken niche to the next level.

Success Story of Ratchet+Wrench

Ratchet+Wrench: When there’s a hole in your marketplace, you fill it. That’s the attitude of Jay DeWitt, president of 10 Missions Media, the company that introduced the 100,000-circulation title Ratchet+Wrench in July 2012.

International Paper Reports Q4, 2012 Results

International Paper 4Q 2012 results: net earnings down 16% from year ago to $235 million:
International Paper reported preliminary full-year 2012 net earnings attributable to common shareholders totaling $794 million compared with $1.3 billion in full-year 2011.
International Paper (IP) reported preliminary full-year 2012 net earnings attributable to common shareholders totaling $794 million ($1.80 per share) compared with $1.3 billion ($3.03 per share) in full-year 2011. In the fourth quarter of 2012, the company reported net earnings of $235 million ($0.53 per share) compared with $281 million ($0.65 per share) in the fourth quarter of 2011. Amounts in all periods include special items and non-operating pension expense. Full-year 2012 Operating Earnings were $1.2 billion ($2.65 per share) compared with $1.4 billion ($3.12 per share) in 2011. Operating Earnings in the fourth quarter of 2012 totaled $305 million ($0.69 per share) compared with $319 million ($0.73 per share) in the fourth quarter of 2011. Annual sales totaled $27.8 billion in 2012 compared with $26.0 billion in 2011. Quarterly net sales were $7.1 billion in the fourth quarter compared with $6.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011. Full-year 2012 business segment operating profits were $2.0 billion compared with $2.2 billion in 2011. 

IP/Smart Papers Settle Suit

http://www.journal-news.com/news/news/suit-settled-in-wastewater-case/nT8jD/

The city of Hamilton has settled a federal lawsuit with International Paper and SMART Papers over an outstanding termination fee for wastewater treatment services at the former SMART Papers plant. 

The city, which originally filed suit for $3.2 million, has received a settlement from both papermakers for a total of $2.76 million, according to Doug Childs manager of energy management and utility business services. Of that amount, $2.6 million will be paid by International Paper and $250,000 has already been paid by SMART Papers. The funds, minus about $80,000 for legal and other miscellaneous fees, will be deposited into the city’s wastewater treatment fund.

China's Reliance on Recycled Paper Pushes Recovery

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2013-01/16/content_16123274.htm

Fueled by escalating paper and cardboard demand, China's recovered paper production has seen rapid growth in recent years. Consumption jumped from 7.6 million tons in 1994 to 71 million tons in 2011, China Paper Association figures show.
Asian countries, especially fiber-short countries like China and India, will remain heavily dependent on recovered paper and account for a large share of the demand growth in the future, predicts Hannah Zhao, a Resource Information Systems Inc. economist on recovered paper.
In 2011, China used 56.6 million tons of recycled fiber-based pulp, accounting for 62 percent of the total pulp consumption in China. About 38 percent of the recovered paper was recycled domestically.

SK's Hansol Increases Coated Woodfree Price

South Korea's largest paper and board producer, Hansol Paper, has tabled price increases of 5-6% for coated fine paper and cartonboard exports, effective February 1.

The proposed rises will be implemented on orders received from that date on the company's coated fine paper, including one-side coated products, and also on coated recycled board grades, such as grayback coated duplex board and whiteback coated duplex board.
Hansol attributed the hike to the rising costs of raw materials, including market pulp, recovered paper, chemicals and energy.

New Face for The New Republic

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/28/business/media/the-new-republic-aims-to-broaden-its-audience.html?_r=0

There are not many firsts for a politically savvy, 98-year-old publication like The New Republic. But Franklin Foer, its 38-year-old editor, experienced one recently when he passed a Hudson News store at Union Station here and saw the magazine displayed prominently near the checkout. 
It’s all part of the plan by Chris Hughes, the 29-year-old co-founder of Facebook, former online campaign adviser to President Obama and The New Republic’s newest owner, to turn around the magazine he bought in March.

What Magazines Can Learn from eBooks

http://paidcontent.org/2013/01/25/what-digital-magazines-can-learn-from-ebook-publishers/

A recent Wall Street Journal article by Keach Hagey takes a look at trends in digital magazine pricing and finds a number of publishers charging more for tablet editions than print. As ad revenue declines, publishers are turning to digital magazines as a way to “become more leveraged toward consumer revenue and a little less dependent on advertising,” in the words of Hearst president David Carey.
And here’s Condé Nast president Bob Sauerberg: “We’re using this new platform and the clear demand for all access to our content as a way to redefine our subscription offerings at a higher price. The industry is trying to take a step forward because we’re all trying to get more money from the consumer.”

Sperduti on Rebranding J.Crew Retail

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-01-24/anthony-sperduti-on-rebooting-j-dot-crew-retail

J.Crew thought their men’s business was considered irrelevant and wanted to rebrand it. At the time [2007-08] there were a lot of blogs about menswear that gave a lot of smaller brands an outsized footprint and large reach. J.Crew was making great products, they had amazing attention to detail, they just weren’t part of the conversation. Mickey Drexler, the CEO, asked what they could do to remedy that: Was it a national campaign or rethinking their catalogue? Our answer was a small space with no overt branding that was outside the retail corridor. We believed the Liquor Store had the perfect makings to recontextualize J.Crew menswear. The rent was half of what a billboard in Tribeca would cost. For us it was a big lesson: There is more than one way to rebrand a company. Offering something experiential and acting smaller reverberates on a much larger scale.

Nonprofits Hurt By New Postal Rules

http://www.thenonprofittimes.com/article/detail/nonprofits-hurt-by-new-postal-rules-5160

Six of the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) new workshare discount rates, that took effect yesterday, are shallower for nonprofit mailers than for commercial mailers, and unfairly discriminate against nonprofits, contends the Association of Nonprofit Mailers (ANM), based in Washington, D.C.
Three of the new discounts -- high density letters, high density flats, and automated 5-digit flats -- are higher than the old rates, two categories (high density plus letters and high density plus flats) are new and the discount for non-automated 3-digit flats is slightly lower than the old rate. But the key issue is the discrepancy between the nonprofit and commercial rates.

Rolling Stone Debuts iPad App

Rolling Stone Debuts iPad App with Support From MEI, Nervous Pixel: Jenkintown, PA — Managing Editor Inc. (MEI) today announced its professional and creative services support of Rolling Stone magazine’s recently released iPad app. Wenner Media, publisher of Rolling Stone and other entertainment magazines including Us Weekly, produced the app using vjoon K4™ Cross-Media Publishing Platform and the Adobe® Digital Publishing Suite™ (DPS), both top-tier products provided and supported by MEI.

Publishers Increasing Invesment In Mobile

Survey: Publishers Upping Their Invesment In Mobile: A survey of North American newspaper, magazine and business publication members shows how they are innovating and investing in cross-media platforms.
With an eye on profitability, more respondents report moving to some form of a paywall. Of those currently not using a paywall, 44% plan to implement one in the next 24 months.
Business publications and newspapers are more than twice as likely to have implemented a paywall as magazines.
The most employed paywall is metered, allowing consumers to access a set number of articles before payment is required. Almost 40% are using this type of paywall, while 17% are using a hard paywall (payment required to read any content). One-third (33%) are using a combination paywall that restricts access to premium content.

AF&PA Reports P&W 2012 Numbers

http://www.afandpa.org/
The American Forest & Paper Association has released its December 2012 Printing-Writing Paper Report. According to the report, total printing-writing paper shipments decreased 9 percent in December compared to December 2011. For the year of 2012, printing-writing and related paper shipments were 4.6 percent below the 2011 level. All four of the major printing-writing grades posted decreases compared to last December, with inventory levels increasing in November, led by double-digit increases in mechanical grade papers.
Additional key findings:
December shipments of coated mechanical (CM) papers decreased 10 percent compared to December 2011 and 5 percent for the year.
December shipments of coated free sheet (CFS) papers decreased 7 percent when compared to December 2011 and were down 3 percent for the year in 2012. Year-to-date imports of CFS through November were down 12 percent compared to the 11-month period in 2011.
Uncoated free sheet (UFS) papers shipments decreased 7 percent compared to December. Annual purchases of UFS papers for the year were down 4 percent compared to 2011. Year-to-date UFS imports are up 4 percent in 2012 compared to same 11 months in 2011.
December uncoated mechanical (UM) paper shipments decreased 27 percent when compared to December 2011, with annual shipments 17 percent below 2011 levels.

EURO-GRAPH Reports 2012 Coated, SC Results

http://www.euro-graph.org/publicms/index/view 
EURO-GRAPH reported European coated mechanical paper shipments fell -7.3% in 2012, as compard to the previous year. December shipments decreased -13.1%. Demand was down -9% for the year, -16% for the month, and exports declined -1.5% and -3%. Coated woodfree shipments fell -2.9% in 2012 and -9.6% in December. Demand was down -3.6% for the year and -12.9% for the month. Exports rose +0.1% and +1.5%. Supercalendered paper shipments declined -5% in 2012 and -9.7% in December. Demand decreased -3.7% for the year and -10.2% for the month. Exports fell -10.4% and -7.3%.

New Financing for Great Northern Paper

Enhanced Community Development, a subsidiary of Enhanced Capital Partners ("Enhanced Capital"), announced today it recently participated in providing $50 million in New Market Tax Credit financing to the Great Northern Paper Mill ("GNP") in East Millinocket, Maine, which includes $40 million in Maine New Market Capital Investment tax credits and $10 million in Federal New Market Tax Credits.
This investment will be used for capital improvements at GNP which will result in up to 50 new jobs at the mill by the end of the year, plus more than 100 new indirect jobs in related industries including logging, forestry, and trucking. The plant upgrades include a conversion from oil to clean-burning natural gas, a 30% increase in annual production capacity, and a complete overhaul of the grinder room.

AF&PA Reports Dec. Recovered Paper Numbers

http://www.afandpa.org/ 
The American Forest & Paper Association released its December 2012 U.S. Recovered Fiber Monthly Report on Jan. 24.
According to the report, total U.S. industry consumption of recovered paper in December was 2.38 million tons, less than 1 percent higher than in November. Receipts decreased for most grades and, coupled with the flat consumption, caused across-the-board decreases in inventories. Total consumption in 2012 was 3 percent lower than in 2011.
U.S. exports of recovered paper in November dropped off 4 percent from the strong October figures, though they were still 4 percent higher than November 2011. Total exports of recovered paper in 2012 were 5 percent lower than in 2011.

Moody's: European Paper Co.s Must Diversify

http://www.bdlive.co.za/business/industrials/2013/01/24/moodys-warns-european-paper-companies-to-diversify

Ratings agency’s report says European paper companies should look to nonpaper operations and emerging markets to drive long-term growth and protect profits MOODY’s released a "special comment" report on Thursday saying European paper companies could safeguard growth and profits by diversifying away from paper markets.

The ratings agency said despite declining paper volumes, diversification would enable European paper and forest-product companies to restore long-term profitability and strengthen their credit profiles.

China's 2012 RCP Imports Up 10.2%, Pulp Rises 14.8%

China's total recovered paper (RCP) imports grew 4.5% to around 2.687 million tonnes in December 2012, up from some 2.570 million tonnes in November, according to data from China Customs.

December's figure was 3.8% lower than the 2.792 million tonnes recorded in the same month in 2011.   

RCP imports totaled over 30.066 million tonnes in 2012, up 10.2% from the preceding year. The intake in 2011 totaled just over 27.280 million tonnes.

China's total pulp imports fell 1.3% last December compared to the previous month, to nearly 1.394 million tonnes, according to data from China Customs.

The December drop, which came following an increase of 3.8% in November from October, was attributed largely to a decline of 6.8% in bleached softwood kraft (BSK) pulp imports. 

Pulp imports for 2012 totaled around 16.462 million tonnes, a surge of 14.8% from 2011, which came in at 14.340 million tonnes.

Paper Excellence & Union Reach Agreement

http://www.hspp.ca/

Howe Sound Pulp and Paper (HSPP) has reached a new collective agreement with Local 1119 of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union (CEP).

The five-year contract was set to go before the CEP membership yesterday (Jan. 24) for a ratification vote, union local president Don Rheaume said Monday, Jan. 21.

Alberta-Pacific Announces Pulp Price Hike

Alberta-Pacific (Alpac) announced Friday that its northern bleached hardwood kraft (NBHK) pulp price would increase in North America and China, effective February 1 until further notice.
Alpac Pulp Sales told customers that its aspen grade NBHK price would be $790/tonne in North America.

Barnes & Noble Closing 1/3 of Stores

http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/28/barnes-noble-to-shutter-one-third-of-retail-stores-over-the-next-10-years/

Barnes & Noble has put up an excellent fight over the past few years against the rising tide of digital competitors like iPad, Kindle Fire, etc. 
But it would seem that the bookseller has still come up a bit short, as the Wall Street Journal reports that the company has plans to shut down nearly 20 stores per year over the course of the next decade.

Number of Magazines on Tablets

http://www.pubexec.com/blog/how-many-magazines-being-sold-tablets

How many magazines are being sold on the tablets?
This seems like it would be an elementary question, one covered far and wide. But, my research tells me that this information does not exist out there in any accessible way. So, how did I compile it?
Remember when you used to have to count on your fingers to figure out things? That’s basically what I did. I went to three different tablets, found digital magazines, and added them up. 
Here’s what it looks like more or less today (counts were all made in January 2013)...

Hearst Titles on iPad Before Print

http://tabtimes.com/news/media/2013/01/18/hearst-publish-magazines-ipad-they-go-print?goback=.gmp_125214.gde_125214_member_207401881

Magazine publisher Hearst is taking a unique approach to tablet publishing by offering the tablet edition before the print version becomes available.

Hearst's decision applies to subscriptions and single copies of magazines. 
Hearst says that all 22 of its magazines will become available on Apple’s Newsstand "days" before the print editions are published, with this headstart apparently varying by publication.

2013 Retail Sales Forecast to Grow 3.4%

http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=News&op=viewlive&sp_id=1513

The National Retail Federation released its 2013 economic forecast today, projecting retail industry sales (which exclude automobiles, gas stations, and restaurants) will increase 3.4 percent*, slightly less than the preliminary 4.2 percent growth seen in 2012. The subdued forecast comes on the heels of a holiday season that went head-to-head with Washington’s political wrangling over fiscal concerns, shifting consumers’ spending plans downward.  In the end, holiday sales in 2012 grew 3.0 percent.

79.8% of Consumer Use Coupons

http://www.bizjournals.com/prnewswire/press_releases/2013/01/24/DE47273

Consumers' expectations for value in their purchasing decisions remained strong throughout 2012. NCH's August 2012 Consumer Survey found that 79.8% of consumers regularly shop using CPG coupons, very similar to the 80.6% prior year result, and well above the 63.6% who reported regularly using coupons in the pre-recession 2007 study. Digital coupons represent less than 1% of all coupons distributed.

B-to-B Marketers Concerns with Data Quality

Study: B-to-b marketers struggle with data quality:
More than 60% of companies work with unreliable contact data that may be negatively affecting marketing and sales efforts, according to a study by marketing list-building company NetProspex Inc.