BoSacks on Publishing Revolution

http://www.pubexec.com/blog/bosacks-speaks-out-the-publishing-revolution-revisited

If you can just step back for a moment and look, not as an active member but rather as a voyeur, you will see that we, too, are not at liberty to be inactive participants in our industry and its future.  There are some publishers who are timidly seeking an easy way through the technologic turmoil, and there are those that are active participants in the future.

What makes this timely for me is the news last week about Time Inc. negotiating to sell off some of their large titles. I see this move as “being a very active participant in our future.” Time Inc. has always been a smart company that has seen and acted on the future before any other publisher. There are numerous actions that they have taken years before the rest of the industry followed.  And there is a forward thinking angle that many have missed in the guess work of their current action.

LinkedIn: A Sleeping Giant of Publishing

http://www.digiday.com/publishers/why-linkedin-is-a-sleeping-giant-of-publishing/?utm_source=Daily+Must-Reads+from+MediaShift&utm_campaign=4e0aeda07b-Daily_Must_Reads10_24_2011&utm_medium=email

Over the last four months, LinkedIn, always living in the shadow of the sexier social platforms, has quietly built out a publishing platform. It is now a publisher in its own right, under former Fortune editor Dan Roth, with LinkedIn Today feeding aggregated articles from more than 1 million publications to LinkedIn’s 200 million users based on their preferences. It complemented that with an original publishing effort around “influencers,” recruiting a who’s who of business like Richard Branson, T. Boone Pickens and Ari Emanuel, and about 250 others.

A New King of Magazines Emerges

http://www.pubexec.com/aggregatedcontent/a-new-king-magazines-emerges

In 1922, the same year Henry Luce and Briton Hadden founded Time magazine in New York City, Edwin Thomas Meredith MDP +1.43% launched a title called Fruit, Garden and Home in Des Moines, Iowa. 
Two years later, the magazine changed its name to Better Homes and Gardens, today one of the biggest-selling titles in the U.S. and a core product of Meredith Corp., the Iowa-based TV and magazine firm still controlled by the Meredith family. It is now poised to merge with most of the glamorous Time Inc. publishing empire that Mr. Luce built into international fame.

Behind RDA’s Chapter 11 Filing

Behind RDA’s Chapter 11 Filing:
RDA Holding has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in four years.
The move to convert $465 million in debt to equity comes after the company considered a "wide range of alternatives" however, according to a statement from Robert Guth, president and CEO of RDA.
http://www.printweek.com/news/1171678/Printers-hit-Readers-Digest-files-Chapter-11-again/
The move comes less than four years after the last time RDA filed for Chapter 11 protection, in August of 2009, and leading commercial printers Williams Lea, RR Donnelley and Quad/Graphics are again among the top unsecured creditors.

Resolute Workers Refuse Pension Cuts

Resolute Forest Products’ workers in Ontario and Quebec stand firm on refusing pension cuts:
Workers at Resolute Forest Products mills in Ontario and Quebec today demanded that Quebec’s pension regulator, the Régie Des rentes, and the company reach an agreement to resolve the solvency deficit in the pension plan without any cuts to benefits.
“The company and the Régie must work out a plan in the coming weeks to solve the funding problem for the pension plan. Our members sent a strong message today that we will not agree to any cuts in pension benefits,” said Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union President Dave Coles.

Resolute & Fort Frances Reach Tax Agreement

Fort Frances and Resolute Forest Products reach tax appeal agreement:
The Town of Fort Frances and Resolute Forest Products has reached an agreement to resolve the outstanding assessment appeal complaints over Resolute’s mill.
Resolute had been seeking reductions of about 58%.
Instead, the property assessment will be reduced by about 25% for the years 2009-2012.
As a result, the town will have to pay Resolute a $1.763 million tax refund rather than the possible $4.098 million had Resolute been successful in their assessment appeal.

Sappi NA Invests in Future Workers

http://www.usm.maine.edu/publicaffairs/sappi-fine-paper-invests-100000-usms-stem-initiative
Sappi Fine Paper North America, a leading global paper company, has pledged $100,000 over the course of four years to support the University of Southern Maine Pioneers Program, the first college-level STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) program for high-achieving students in Maine.
“We anticipate having nearly thirty percent of our workforce retire in the next 5 years and so there is a huge demand for STEM-related jobs,” says Donna Cassese, Managing Director of Sappi’s Westbrook Mill.

Finish Paper & Board Production Falls in 2012

http://www.forestindustries.fi/juurinyt2/tiedotteet/Pages/TheFinnishforestindustry2012Europeaneconomiccrisisdepressesproduction%E2%80%93economicgrowthmustbeboostednothinder.aspx
In total, Finland produced 10.7 million tonnes of paper and paperboard in 2012; this is 5.6% less than in 2011. The fall in production volumes was due especially to the economic downturn in the main market areas of Europe, production capacity cuts and a fall in demand for graphic paper grades. Graphic papers, i.e. printing, writing and newsprint grades, account for about two-thirds of the Finnish paper industry's overall production.  

RDA Holding Files Bankruptcy Protection...Again

http://www.foliomag.com/2013/readers-digest-holding-co-files-bankruptcy-second-time#.USO4L-jZGKw

RDA Holding Co.—parent of Reader's Digest Association and the 90-year-old Reader's Digest—filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection over the Presidents Day holiday weekend.
The announcement by CEO (since Sept. 2011) Robert Guth came just days before the third anniversary (Feb. 22) of RDA's first emergence from Chapter 11.Then, under 2007-2011 CEO Mary Berner, the company had restructured its debt from  $2.2 billion to $525 million. (A casualty was much of the pensions going to retirees working under contract.

InfoTrends: Top 10 Print Trends

http://thedigitalnirvana.com/2013/02/pellow-predicts-2013-top-10-trends-for-the-printing-industry/

At a Canon Oce webinar on January 23, InfoTrends Group Director Barbara Pellow presented “2013 Top 10 Trends for the Printing Industry.”
1. Digital Color is King. 
2. Digital Wide Format Goes Mainstream. 
3. Inkjet Accelerates Migration from Offset to Digital. 
4. Enhanced Substrates Drive Digital. 
5. Web-to-Print Manages Marketing Supply Chains. 
6. Content Reigns.
7. Hyper-Personalization Drives Digital Print. references. 
9. Mobile Marketing Changes Communications.
10. Direct Mail and Social Media Converge. 

OfficeMax/Office Depot Reportedly in Merger Talks

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-officemax-office-depot-said-to-be-close-to-merger-20130218,0,7359927.story

Shares in Naperville-based OfficeMax Inc. soared 14 percent Tuesday morning on a report it is in advanced merger talks with Office Depot Inc. 
And Office Depot shares were up 25 percent after the Wall Street Journal reported the two companies were in advanced discussions, citing person familiar with the negotiations, with a deal possible as early as this week.
Currently, the deal is expected to be structured as a stock-for-stock transaction, the person said.

Perils of "Native" Advertising

Atlantic Magazine Crosses the Line (Advertising):
The Atlantic, the 157-year-old magazine, got into hot water recently when they placed a online story about the Church of Scientology on the publication’s website. The article on the controversial church talked in very positive terms about the successes of the past year in their efforts to expand.
Although the story was marked with a yellow banner that identified it as sponsored content, it could easily appear at first glance as any other article on Atlantic’s site. The article is the latest example of a concept called Native advertising, which many consider a disruptive technology that allows content written by advertisers to be displayed like the articles written by the staff. This crosses the traditional “church versus state” model used in journalism to separate advertising content from editorial content.
The story went viral on Twitter resulting in criticisms over both the church and the publisher the Atlantic’s use of Native advertising. As a result the Atlantic removed the article and replaced it with a notice saying that the company had, “temporarily suspended this advertising campaign pending a review of our policies that govern sponsor content and subsequent comment threads.”

Yellow Pages Reduces Directory Size

http://www.ypg.com/en/newsroom/602-yellow-pages-group-alters-print-directory-sizing-in-favour-of-more-compact-forma
Yellow Pages Group (YPG), a leading multimedia and marketing solutions company, is reducing its traditional 9” x 11” Yellow Pages™ directory to a handier 7” x 9” format as part of an ongoing upgrade of its print products. The change will take place on a rolling basis across Canada. As the company continues its transformation to a digital marketing solutions and services provider, it has been actively streamlining and modifying its print product segment based on feedback around usage and format.

Can Meredith Become Luxury Publisher?

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/can-sensible-meredith-become-luxury-publisher-14736

Could Time Warner's loss be Condé Nast’s gain?

Reports that the media giant is looking to combine its women's magazines with Meredith Corp.’s make some sense: Time Inc.’s lifestyle titles like Real Simple and Cooking Light could combine with Meredith’s own heartland magazines such as Better Homes and Gardens to make a women’s magazine powerhouse. One sticks out like a sore thumb, though, and that’s InStyle.

2012 Radio Revenue Up 1.0%

Radio revenue up 1.0% last year: New York—Radio revenue totaled $16.5 billion last year, up 1.0% over 2011, according to a report by the Radio Advertising Bureau.
The top advertising category in radio last year was automotive, which grew 29%. Advertising for TV, communications and restaurants grew 18% last year, and advertising by financial institutions rose 17%. 

PPRC Members Lobby Congress

http://www.paperage.com/2013news/02_15_2013pprc_washington.html

American workers employed in the U.S. forest products industry this week visited Washington, D.C. Their goal? Educate members of Congress and administration officials on the impact of legislative and regulatory decisions both on the environment, and on the families and communities that depend on forest products manufacturing for their livelihood.

IP Seeks $57 Million Tax Break

International Paper seeks $57 million tax break; would generate $225 million in new tax revenue:
International Paper will seek $56.9 million in tax breaks over the next 15 years on Wednesday.
In return, the company commits to retain 2,274 high-paying jobs in Memphis, add 101 new ones and invest $115.7 million, including construction of a fourth office tower at its East Memphis corporate headquarters.

Marketers Shift From Traditional, But Not Direct Mail

Marketers Shift Focus From Traditional Tactics ... But Not Direct Mail: A survey finds marketers expect to decrease focus on newspapers (32%), consumer magazines (28%) and other traditional channels in 2013 --yet, direct marketing is one offline tactic that is not an area of shifting focus.
According to a survey conducted by global staffing organization Aquent and the American Marketing Association (AMA), while print is taking a hit, in general, direct marketing is not an area that many marketers plan to shift focus away from -- only 9% cite this tactic as an area of declining focus.

67% of Shoppers Use Circulars

Traditional Media Remains Key Source for U.S. Shoppers: Traditional media and channels are still very important sources of ideas on what to buy, according to the 2013 BrandSpark/Better Homes and Gardens American Shopper Study, which examines "what is on the minds of American shoppers."
Leading the pack: 67% of shoppers turn to circulars to get ideas on what to purchase on their shopping trips, making it the.  Meanwhile, almost 3 in 10 get ideas from newspaper articles, one in 5 cite TV ads, and, one in 6 note magazine ads, as sources of purchase ideas.

MediaDailyNews Mag Bag: Forbes and More

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/193538/mag-bag-record-january-for-magazine-web-sites.html#axzz2L05coSxN

Digital audiences for magazines are growing fast, with big increases in consumption via apps and Web sites. The Web sites for two major magazines, Forbes and Cooking Light, have reported big increases in traffic in January. 

Forbes.com had a record January 2013, with 16 million unique visitors during the month according to comScore -- an increase of 26% over January 2012, and a 67% increase since it was relaunched in June 2010. According to Forbes, the Web site content -- around 400-500 original pieces of content per day, produced by around 1,000 topic experts and a core group of full-time reporters -- generates over 100,000 social actions per day.
And more...

DOJ Approves Bertelsmann/Pearson Book Merger

http://www.randomhouse.com/news/2013/02/15/bertelsmann-welcomes-antitrust-clearance-of-penguin-random-house-by-the-u-s-department-of-justice/

Media companies Bertelsmann and Pearson welcome the clearance of the planned combination of their book-publishing companies into the new, international Penguin Random House publishing group by the U.S. Department Of Justice.

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/doj-clears-penguin-random-house-merger-us.html

The Penguin Random House merger has been given antitrust clearance by the US  Department of Justice, a move welcomed by Random House parent company Bertelsmann as well as Penguin parent Pearson.

Future's Circulation Up Across Portfolio

http://www.futureplc.com/2013/02/14/future%E2%80%99s-photography-group-sees-circulation-increase-across-the-entire-portfolio/

Future, the international specialist media group and leading digital publisher, today announced an increase in circulation across the whole of its photography portfolio, with Digital Camera taking individual market leadership for the first time, and Future becoming officially the leading photography publisher in the UK.

Lagardère Suing Vivendi

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/13/lagardre-sca-idUSnBw1vgyM3a+104+BSW20130213

Regulatory News:   In its capacity as a Canal+ France shareholder1, Lagardère (Paris:MMB) has summoned Vivendi and Groupe Canal+ (hereinafter "the Vivendi group") to appear in the Paris commercial court on March 21, 2013, for the purposes of obtaining a restitution from the Vivendi group to Canal+ France of its cash, which amounted to close to €1.6 billion on November 30, 2012.

Gulf Separates Marketers & Consumers

Marketers Are Out of This World: Marketers should invest in channels with proven ROI instead of constantly exploring new frontiers, says ExactTarget.
Marketers' perceptions of interactive marketing may seem a little out of this world to the average consumer. According to ExactTarget's Marketers From Mars study, a report that compares marketers' views to those of consumers, marketers are becoming a “focus group of one.” Consider the following: While 61% of surveyed marketers follow at least one brand or company on Twitter, only 12% of consumers do the same. Likewise, while 86% of marketers have liked a brand on Facebook, only 58% of consumers admit to becoming a brand's Facebook fan.

Quad/Graphic's CEO Testifies in Congress

http://www.hsgac.senate.gov/hearings/solutions-to-the-crisis-facing-the-us-postal-service

U.S. printing prices have failed to keep pace with inflation during the past 25 years, the CEO of the country’s second largest printing company told a Senate panel this week.
“During that same time period, the price of postage has continued to increase and as a result the single largest expense of printing is now the postage associated with delivering the final product,” Joel Quadracci, Chairman, President & CEO of Quad/Graphics Inc., testified Wednesday during a Senate hearing on the “Crisis Facing the U.S. Postal Service.”

Catalyst Sells Share of Powell River Energy

Catalyst Paper selling its 50% interest in Powell River Energy:
Catalyst Paper has agreed, subject to court approval, to sell its approximately 50% interest in Powell River Energy Inc. and Powell River Energy Limited Partnership to Powell River Energy Trust, a Brookfield Renewable Energy affiliate for $33 million.
Powell River Energy Trust currently holds the other 50% stake in the Powell River Energy joint venture originally established in 2001.

Resolute Reviews Repositioning Fort Frances

http://fftimes.com/node/257610

Resolute Forest Products might be in a position to decide what it will do with its Fort Frances mill later this spring.

During a conference call Tuesday coinciding with the announcement of Resolute's preliminary fourth quarter and 2012 results, Resolute president and CEO Richard Garneau said the company currently is looking to reposition the mill here.
There's an investigation underway as to what kinds of grades the company.

Catalyst Paper: BC Hydro Power Rate Hurts Co.'s Revival

http://www.vancouversun.com/Hydro+hikes+negate+sacrifices+workers+retirees/7957417/story.html

On Oct. 6, 2012, The Vancouver Sun published my opinion piece headlined Eliminating barriers at home will help business compete globally. In the piece, I stated that manufacturing companies that sell their products on the international market, such as B.C.'s Catalyst Paper, often face barriers at home that undermine their global competitiveness.

Having just exited creditor protection, Catalyst circulated the article to local, provincial and federal officials to encourage elimination of barriers to investment and export, like BC Hydro rate hikes which increased Catalyst's hydro cost by $27 million.

AF&PA Elects Chairman, Sets 2013 Initiatives

AF&PA Board Elects New Chairman and Officers - Sets 2013 Association Key Policy Initiatives: The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) announced the election of Graphic Packaging President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David Scheible as the new AF&PA board chairman, along with the 2013 slate of board officers.
Scheible has served as Graphic Packaging’s president and CEO since 2007. Since being elected to AF&PA’s board of directors, he has served in various leadership roles, including as chairman of CEO Task Force on Biomass and the Recycled Paperboard sector.
Beginning terms as members of the AF&PA Board of Directors in 2013 are: John Crowe, Buckeye Technologies Inc.; Ray Dillon, Deltic Timber Corporation; Mike Fiterman, Liberty Diversified International; James Morgan, Interstate Resources, Inc.; and Mark Staton, PaperWorks Industries Inc.In one of the board’s first actions of 2013, the group launched its advocacy on AF&PA’s key policy initiatives for the year. These include a focus on sustainability, air and greenhouse gas regulations, carbon neutrality of biomass, recycling, access to paper-based communications, U.S. Department of Agriculture programs, products fees, postal service reforms, and other policies affecting manufacturing.

Boise Invests in Packaging Business

Boise announces key investments in its packaging business
Boise has announced key investments in the converting operations of its Packaging business. The largest capital improvement is the installation of a new 110” corrugator at the company’s Central Texas Corrugated (CTC) sheet feeder facility in Waco, Texas, which is expected to start up in third quarter 2013.

USPS Enhances Every Door Direct Mail Program

Direct Mail for All: 
Every Door Direct Mail – Retail is a service that the U.S. Postal Service provides to local businesses designed to help them reach prospective local customers, whose names or addresses they lack. The USPS has added two enhancements to the service: an online mapping tool and credit card payment.

Advertisers Integrate Ads, ROI Metrics Still Questionable

75% of Advertisers Use Social Ads, Half Integrate With Print:
PRINT IS TOP OFFLINE CHANNEL ADVERTISERS INTEGRATE WITH
When asked which online tactics they typically run their paid social marketing efforts in conjunction with, respondents’ top three responses were online display (83%), online video (46%), and mobile (40%). Offline, advertisers’ paid social media advertising campaigns were mostly combined with print (52%), followed by TV (37%).
SOCIAL MEDIA'S EFFECTIVENESS IN QUESTION DUE TO LACK OF METRICS
According to  survey, many advertisers are doubtful of social media advertising's effectiveness because of a lack of "relevant, universally employed metrics."

Bill in Senate Would Require Online Sales Tax

New Bill Would Require E-Coms to Charge State Taxes:
The tax bill may be coming due for online retailers who sell across state borders without collecting state taxes.
Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) led a group of senators today in introducing a bill that would require online and catalog sellers to collect taxes at the point of purchase. Uncollected taxes from such purchases amounted to some $23 billion in 2012, according to the bill's sponsors.
The National Retail Federation immediately announced its support for the Marketplace Fairness Act, saying it would level the playing field between online and brick-and-mortar retailers, which have complained for years that online sellers maintain an automatic price advantage over them through non-collection of taxes.

December & 2012 Print Shipments Fall

http://blogs.whattheythink.com/economics/2013/02/december-2012-us-commercial-printing-shipments-decrease-224-million-full-year-shipments-down-1-47-billion/

December 2012 US commercial printing shipments were down -$224 million, or -3.3% compared to 2011. On an inflation-adjusted basis, shipments were down -$386 million (-5.6%).
For the year, shipments were $80.4 billion, down -1.8% or -$1.47 billion. On an inflation-adjusted basis, shipments were down -$3.23 billion, or -2.9%.

More on Time/Meredith Talks

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/13/time-warner-in-talks-to-sell-off-majority-of-magazines/?ref=business 
Time Warner Considers Spinning Off Some of Its Magazines  

Time Warner is in talks to shed much of Time Inc., the country’s largest magazine publisher and the foundation on which the $49 billion media conglomerate was built, according to people involved in the negotiations. Time Warner is in early discussions with the Meredith Corporation to put most of Time Inc.’s magazines.

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/time-inc-sale-talk-shocker-147273

Time Inc. Sale Talk Shocker Meredith said to eye women's division, including People and InStyle The publishing world got a jolt today with reports that Time Warner is in talks to sell its publishing unit Time Inc., a move that would cap years of speculation.

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/meredith-time-inc-comparison-147280 
Meredith, Time Inc.: A Comparison

Meredith Corp., the company that's reportedly in talks to buy most of Time Inc., couldn’t be more different from the publishing giant.

2013 Forecast: Retail Sales Up 3.2%

http://www.bdo.com/news/pr/2451

Following uneven sales results in December and January, retail executives are moderating their expectations for 2013. According to a new survey by BDO USA, LLP, retail CFOs project a 3.2 percent increase in total store sales, down from last year's expected 4.5 percent increase, but still in line with recent projections released by the National Retail Federation. Similarly, they anticipate a 2.3 percent increase in comparable store sales this year, down from last year's projected 4.1 percent growth. While concerns over consumer confidence are likely driving these more conservative projections, the increase comes on top of 2012's strong 4.2 percent growth. Moreover, only seven percent of CFOs say they expect their total sales to decrease this year, a sign that retailers see the industry stabilizing.

January Retail Sales Up

http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=News&op=viewlive&sp_id=1528
 Retail sales ticked up in the month of January as consumers adjusted their spending in response to the increase in payroll taxes and rise in gasoline and energy prices. According to the National Retail Federation, the world’s largest retail trade association, January retail sales (excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants) increased 0.3 percent seasonally adjusted from December and increased 5.4 percent unadjusted year-over-year.

USPS: 80% Support New Schedule

USPS: 80% of Americans Support New Delivery Schedule:

A survey released today by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), conducted by independent market research company IPSOS between February 8-11, found that 80% of Americans support the new delivery schedule, which as of August 5 eliminates Saturday mail delivery (package delivery remains unaffected). The survey was conducted among 1,002 U.S. residents at least 18 years of age.

Sappi Europe to Raise Coated Prices

http://www.na.sappi.com/aboutus/news

After correcting our prices for coated fine paper to some extent during the first quarter 2013, following the significant fall in prices during the last months of 2012, the continuing rise in input costs means that current profitability has by no means reached acceptable levels. While we expect industry demand to improve from the low levels in the beginning of the year, the unprecedented rise in input costs (pulp, chemicals and transport costs) entirely outstrips the benefits from our price improvements and cost reduction programs so far. As a result Sappi is obliged to raise its prices for coated fine papers for the second time this year since current price levels are unsustainably low.
Sappi Fine Paper Europe will therefore increase its prices for all coated fine paper sheets and reels by 5 - 7% as from the 1st of April 2013. In the event that market conditions mean that commercial downtime needs to be taken at its coated mills during this time Sappi will not hesitate to do so, since the overwhelming priority is to get the business back to a sustainable profitability level.

Burgo Closes Newsprint Mill

http://burgopapers.com/index.php?l=en

Burgo halted production at its 150,000 tonne/yr Mantova newsprint mill in northern Italy on February 8, as it announced it would in January.
The mill's 188 employees will benefit from the Italian earning equalization fund for a period of 12 months, a company spokesperson said.

Sappi: Cheaper Paper from China Threat

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-02-12/sappi-says-cheap-china-paper-threatens-profit-south-africa-jobs

Sappi Ltd., the world biggest maker of glossy paper, said that cheap products from China and Korea are hurting its cash flow and earnings.

Investment in South African production and jobs are under threat if the situation continues, Alex Thiel, the company’s Southern Africa chief executive officer, said in an e-mailed response to questions. There is a “clear trend over a number of years of uncompetitive behavior from these countries."