Auction in Advance of Sartell Demolition

http://www.sctimes.com/article/20130605/BUSINESS/306050008/Auction-former-Verso-mill-starts-Sartell

The demolition of the iconic paper mill along the Mississippi River in Sartell won’t start until at least next month, but the dismantling of one of the area’s biggest employers for more than a century has begun.

On Tuesday, a couple of hundred bidders and watchers viewed the start of a two-day auction of equipment, shop tools, materials, cranes and myriad other items that remained in the 1 million-square-foot manufacturing facility. On Thursday, winning bidders will begin to haul away their purchases. Items that can be moved without a forklift will be gone by Saturday. Bigger equipment will be removed by riggers in the next two weeks, with the most difficult pieces scheduled for late June.
AIM Development bought the mill contents and property from Verso Paper Corp. after last year’s Memorial Day explosion and fire led to the 105-year-old plant’s demise. The development company, a subsidiary of Montreal-based American Iron & Metal, brought in BidItUp Auctions & Appraisals from California to run what probably qualifies as the biggest rummage sale in Central Minnesota history.

Twice the Wildfires Than 40 Years Ago

http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2013/releases/06/chief-testifies-on-wildfire.shtml

U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell highlighted the challenges facing the agency as it continues to respond to increasingly extreme wildfires, in a statement before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee today.

“On average, wildfires burn twice as many acres each year as compared to 40 years ago. Last year, the fires were massive in size, coinciding with increased temperatures and early snow melt in the West,” said Tidwell. “The largest issue we now face is how to adapt our management to anticipate climate change impacts and to mitigate their potential effects."

Finland Enters Recession

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323844804578526704062469308.html

Finland slipped into a recession in the three months to March, the latest member of the euro zone to succumb to the currency area's longest postwar contraction that appears set to continue.

Finland is regarded by economists as a member of the euro zone's stronger "core," comprising those economies that have relatively manageable debts and high credit ratings. But according to figures released Wednesday by the European Union's statistics agency, Finland joined France and the Netherlands as other core nations mired in recession, and became the ninth euro-zone member to experience at least two straight quarters of economic contraction. Germany and Belgium, two other members of that core group, each grew by just 0.1% over the first quarter, while Austria's economy was flat.

Hearst's Harper's Bazaar Redesign

http://www.pubexec.com/article/harpers-bazaar-nations-oldest-fashion-magazine-reinvents-itself/

We’ll call it the Gwyneth era, the recent exciting period of growth and change at Harper’s Bazaar. It kicked off with the March 2012 redesign, which included a one inch wider trim size, higher quality paper and a splashy new interior with dramatic type treatments designed by Robin Derrick, Former Creative Director of British Vogue and Executive Creative Director of Spring Studios.

Newsweek Daily Beast CEO Resigns

http://www.adweek.com/news/press/newsweek-daily-beast-ceo-baba-shetty-resigns-150043

Baba Shetty, the Newsweek Daily Beast Co. CEO, is leaving the company ahead of Newsweek's planned sale, Tina Brown announced today in a company-wide memo. Shetty, who was the chief of strategy and media at ad agency Hill Holliday when he joined Newsweek in late 2012 and oversaw Newsweek's recent transition to a digital-only magazine, is planning to take the summer off "to spend some time with his family," Brown wrote. "We wish Baba great success in his future ventures," she added.

NewsBeast international publisher Rhona Murphy will return to New York as interim CEO. Also getting a title upgrade is vp of operations Andrew Perlmutter, who has been named general manager of business operations and development.

Cabels's Opens More Stores

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/06/05/cabelas-announces-plans-for-cheektowaga-ny-lubbock/

Cabela's Incorporated (NYS: CAB) , the World's Foremost Outfitter® of hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, announced today plans to bring the unique Cabela's shopping experience to customers in Cheektowaga, N.Y.; Lubbock, Texas; and Berlin, Mass. 
The Cheektowaga and Lubbock stores are scheduled to open in 2014. The Berlin location is expected to open in 2015.

PwC: Newspaper Revenue Declines Through 2017

http://adage.com/article/media/newspaper-revenue-declines-2017-pwc/241860/

Despite the promise of online paywalls and gains in digital readers, U.S. newspapers' total revenue will continue to decline through at least 2017, a new report said.

Total U.S. newspaper revenue is projected to slip at a combined annual growth rate of 2.9% between 2013 and 2017, as circulation trends improve but advertising falls at a compound annual rate 4.2%, according to the latest annual Global Entertainment and Media Outlook from PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Some of that promise comes in the form of more readers online. Newspaper websites drew more than 100 million unique visitors in 2012, according to the Newspaper Association of America. They also saw a 7% boost in unique visitors between the ages of 21 to 34. As more people go to newspaper websites, digital advertising is expected to increase through 2017, growing at a compound annual rate of 9.7% between 2013 and 2017, the report said. But the gains won’t be enough to offset the 7.8% compound annual decline in print ads.

The Micropublishing Explosion

http://pandodaily.com/2013/06/03/the-micropublishing-explosion-has-begun

Last week, Marco Arment announced that he has sold The Magazine to the minimalist iOS publication’s executive editor, Glenn Fleishman. Arment said he had accidentally built a business he was ill-suited to running. “Glenn’s doing almost everything already, so I’m effectively a figurehead,” he said.

It might also have been the case, however, that Arment saw that a wider trend was on its way, one that would see The Magazine as just one among thousands of titles available through the App Store.

When The Magazine launched just seven months ago, it stood out as the first publication that traded on the principles of “Subcompact Publishing,” a manifesto laid out by designer and writer Craig Mod. (Update: Fleishman has pointed out, however, that The Magazine pre-dated Mod’s essay.) The Magazine was built for the age of smartphones and tablets from the ground up, free from the legacy concerns of traditional magazines, which have been stuck adapting their print products for digital consumption, usually with nothing more than glorified PDFs. Arment’s product, on the other hand, was consistent with the tenets of subcompact publishing: lightweight, easy to distribute, and easy to use.

Reed Elsevier Completes Divestiture

http://www.retailonlineintegration.com/article/how-many-times-do-consumers-get-mailing-catalog-before-they-buy/1
Reed Elsevier Group has completed the sale of its French b-to-b media and professional services unit, Reed Business Information France, to funds managed by Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners, BNP Paribas Développement and some officers of the company. 
This divestiture is the latest in Reed Elsevier's ongoing effort to improve its earnings by focusing on electronic formats and face-to-face conferences and exhibitions. Most of the company's RBI-U.S. unit was sold, through multiple transactions, when the strategy was announced in 2009. The Variety brand, originally retained, was purchased for $25 million by Penske Media Corp. in October.

Reader's Digest HIres TriVu

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/201726/readers-digest-taps-trivu-to-enhance-analytics.html#axzz2VBdl6kSZ

As part of a broader effort to scale video ad sales, Reader’s Digest Association has tapped metadata analytics provider TriVu Media. Per the deal, Reader’s Digest plans to supplement its marketing and sales force with TriVu’s metadata analytics.
The media and direct marketing giant is hoping the combined resources will address two of the biggest challenges facing online video advertising: transparency and scale.

Transcontinental Swings to Profit in Q2

Transcontinental Swings to Profit in Q2: Transcontinental Inc. reversed a large loss last year to earn $27.5 million in the second quarter on stable revenues. The company said the acquisition of Quad/Graphics Canada and Redux Media helped offset the loss of Zellers flyer printing and a more difficult advertising environment.

Four Mills Announce Newsprint Price Hike

Four North American newsprint producers - two in the East and two in the West - have announced $40/tonne price increases effective July 1 on shipments of 30-lb (48.8 gsm) newsprint, with other basis weights increased accordingly.

The four companies' combined capacity accounts for about a third of overall newsprint production capacity in North America.
The first company to announce, White Birch, informed its customers of the hike on May 30. Kruger, Norpac and Howe Sound have all announced similar increases of their own this week.

Domtar and PrintEco, Promoting Responsible Paper Usage

http://www.domtar.com/en/investors/pressreleases/index.asp?location=SecondaryNav

Domtar Corporation (NYSE: UFS) (TSX: UFS) today announced its partnership with PrintEco, whose free personal use software optimizes paper use for today's most popular applications. Seamlessly integrated with Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, Firefox, & Chrome, PrintEco allows users to easily practice responsible paper usage, while also saving time and money. 
As part of the agreement, Domtar will be the exclusive paper company sponsor of PrintEco's flagship product, which led to PrintEco being named one of Entrepreneur Magazine's 100 Brilliant Companies. Domtar EarthChoice(®) messaging incorporated into the program will allow PrintEco users to learn how their responsible choices made throughout the fiber lifecycle can lead to a more sustainable world.

SFI Begins Revision of Standards

http://www.sfiprogram.org/sfi-standard/introduction-to-the-standard/standard-development-process1/

Today, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc.® (SFI®) launched the process of revising its current standard to develop the SFI 2015-2019 Standard, reaching out to more than 10,000 stakeholders for input.  Currently 240 million acres (100 million hectares) are third-party certified to the SFI 2010-2014 Standard on public and private lands.

China Closing More Capacity

China to decommission outdated paper capacities

There is a need to close several facilities with an annual capacity of less than 51,000 tons

The government of China has officially announced  the reduction of outdated capacities for production of paper and cardboard by 4.55 million tons.
Such a decision is part of the earlier announced plans of the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to close up to 19 production facilities from different segments of the country’s industrial production, including pulp and paper.

Sappi Names Printers of the Year

Sappi Fine Paper North America Announces Printers of the Year Gold...:
Sappi Fine Paper North America today announced the 10 gold winners of its 16th North American Printers of the Year awards for 2012-2013. These distinguished winners were chosen as the most outstanding print submissions from approximately 1800 entries this year. The 10 gold winners receive $20,000 as well as 5,000 lbs of paper towards supporting marketing and brand initiatives.

China's Logs and Lumber Imports Up 10%

http://www.fortmilltimes.com/2013/06/05/2738640/wood-resources-international-llc.html

China’s hunger for wood was less acute in 2012 than in the previous year. In particular, importation of softwood logs fell substantially from the record levels of 2011. Importation of lumber was also lower in 2012, but the decline was much less than that of logs. The biggest changes in log and lumber imports between 2011 and 2012 were the sharp decline of Russian log volumes crossing the Chinese border and the reduced lumber shipments from the US to Chinese ports, as reported in the Wood Resource Quarterly. During the first four months of 2013, import volumes of both logs and lumber picked up and were 12 percent and 19 percent higher, respectively, than in the same period in 2012.

Circulation Strategies to Improve Catalog Response Rates

http://www.retailonlineintegration.com/article/how-many-times-do-consumers-get-mailing-catalog-before-they-buy/1
Q: "Could you share any ideas about how many times consumers should get a mailing/catalog before they're likely to feel some brand recognition and buy? Is it better to send people the same/similar catalog a second time after a couple of months? Or send the catalog and then follow up with just a mailing/letter? Any information gratefully received." — Caroline Saunders, head of marketing, Dreamgenii
A: Will catalog response improve over time to rented prospecting names based on sending the same prospect multiple catalogs? The answer is no. Lots of catalogers mail the same prospecting universe of names multiple times, so there's quite a bit of data out there on the results of multiple catalog mailings to the same households. The most typical response to mailing the same profitable universe of rented names multiple times is that the list either responds the same time after time or the list shows a softening in response as buyers are culled from the list. It's rare for a catalog list to show an increase in response rates over time.

Housing Recovery Boosts Home Magazines

http://adage.com/article/media/seeking-shelter-housing-recovery-boosts-mags/241827/ 
Publishers are heading into summer optimistic about a housing recovery that's restoring confidence -- and spending -- to advertisers in the home category. 
Last week, Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller home-price index posted its biggest gains in seven years. Other indicators, such as building permits and new and existing home sales, are also showing promise. “The boost in spending from the house category has been new,” said Lucy Schmidt, print director at media-buying agency Empower MediaMarketing. “That's a direct reflection of the housing market.” 
Ad pages in the national shelter-magazine category climbed 7.2% in the second quarter, buoyed by an 8.7% increase in June issues over the year prior, driving year-to-date growth of 6%, according to the Media Industry Newsletter. Monthly magazines overall saw ad pages drop 0.9% in the second quarter, following a flat first quarter, MIN's data show.
Hearst's HGTV magazine, which published its first issue in June/July last year, ran 91.28 ad pages in its June issue this year, a 76.6% increase. Some of that growth is a new magazine expanding from a relatively small base, but Empower's Ms. Schmidt said it also reflects a trend in home advertising toward do-it-yourself projects.

Delias Sells Alloy Business

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-06-04/delias-sells-alloy-business-for-3-dot-7m-plus-debt

Teen apparel retailer Delias Inc. has sold its Alloy business to an investor group for $3.7 million in cash and the assumption of $3.1 million in liabilities.

Under the terms of the deal, Delias also agreed to provide transition services to the investor group, which will operate the brand under a new company called Alloy Apparel and Accessories.
Brian Lattman, one of the investors who led the Alloy acquisition, will be president of the new company. He most recently worked as chief merchandising officer at LANY LLC.
Shares in Delias ended regular trading down 2 cents, or 2.7 percent, to 91 cents. The stock has declined 23 percent this year.

Newsweek Subscribers, Circulation Fell By Half In Three Years

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/04/newsweek-circulation-subscription-numbers_n_3383326.html?utm_hp_ref=media

The Pew Research Center painted a grim portrait of Newsweek's numbers on Monday, on the heels of Tina Brown's announcement that the magazine is exploring a sale.

Newsweek lost more than half of its subscribers between 2007 and 2010, plunging from 3,077,771 subscribers to 1,535,930. Ad pages also declined 60 percent from 2002 to 2012.

Consumer Magazine Market Predicted to Shed $1.3B by 2017

http://www.adweek.com/news/press/consumer-magazine-market-predicted-shed-13b-2017-150014

The narrative behind the magazine industry has remained steady for a while—newsstand is down, circulation is flat, and digital is growing but tiny—and according to PwC's new Entertainment & Media Outlook 2013-2017, the financial future of publishing will reflect that decline.

PwC's report, set to be released Wednesday, estimates that the U.S. consumer magazine market will be worth $23 billion in 2017, down from $25 billion in 2012. The market has bounced back slightly since the recession (total magazine revenue fell 15.8 percent in 2009 alone), but PwC predicts that it will drop again as print circulation falls and marketers continue to abandon the medium.
Over the next four years, expect to see even more advertisers abandon print. PwC estimated that consumer magazine advertising will fall to $15.2 billion in 2017 from $16.4 billion in 2012. Advertising now accounts for 67 of total consumer magazine revenue—up from 62 percent in 2009, when it declined in line with the recession.

World Press Trends

http://themediaonline.co.za/2013/06/world-press-trends-increasing-audience-engagement-is-future-for-news-media/

Print newspaper circulations continued to rise in Asia and decline in mature markets in the West, while digital advances have increased the audience for newspaper content as never before, the annual World Press Trends survey of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) showed.

But the growth on digital platforms is not being followed by consequent growth in advertising revenues. An analysis of the World Press Trends data shows that news sites enjoy high readership, but the level of reader engagement is low.
The data showed:
More than half the world’s adult population read a daily newspaper: 2.5 billion in print, more than 600 million in digital form.
The newspaper industry generates more than US$200 billion of revenue annually. Newspaper circulation declined only -0.9% globally in 2012 from a year earlier, as rising circulations in Asia offset circulation losses elsewhere.
Circulation declined over one year by -6.6 % in North America, -5.3 per cent in western Europe, -8.2 per cent in eastern Europe, and -1.4% in the Middle East and North Africa. It increased +1.2% in Asia, +3.5% in Australia and New Zealand, and +0.1% in Latin America.
And more...

F+W Media Launches E-Commerce

F+W Media: In 2008, e-commerce was far from the buzzword status it enjoys these days. But that’s the year enthusiast publisher F+W Media launched its e-commerce business, which has now ballooned to include more than 30 digital shops serving its audience that spans from the U.S. to the U.K and beyond.

SourceMedia Video Boosts Rates

SourceMedia Adds Video Commercial to Subscription Page:  Financial services media company SourceMedia recently incorporated a short video commercial into its subscription page for flagship title American Banker. The 53-second spot, created in-house, has boosted conversion rates by 10 percent in its first two weeks on the page.

All You Available on Tablets

M-Commerce: Time Inc.’s All You has added shoppable capabilities to its tablet edition. Starting with the May issue, customers using an iPad or Kindle Fire can tap a “shop now” icon to see where the product is for sale with a direct link to purchase.

Dwell President on AR Commerce

AR-Commerce: Augmented reality has had success enhancing content and advertising, but many, including Michela O’Connor Abrams, president of Dwell Media, believe its real value lies in e-commerce.
Dwell, a modern design title, partnered with e-retailer AHAlife to produce what the companies are calling “the first truly shoppable magazine” last fall.

Pulp Downtime Trims 45,600 mt from Market

http://www.canforpulp.com/

http://catalystpaper.com/

http://northernpulp.ca/

Three key North American producers of northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) will shutter mills this month for regularly scheduled maintenance work, according to industry contacts and public filings.

Canfor Pulp said when announcing its first quarter results that during the second quarter it has planned maintenance outages at two market NBSK mills.
Also in British Columbia, Catalyst Paper has annual maintenance downtime scheduled at its 403,000 tonnes/yr NBSK mill at Crofton, BC, during June.
Northern Pulp Nova Scotia meantime is scheduled to idle its 282,000 tonnes/yr of northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) pulp mill at Pictou, NS, for 12 days of annual maintenance downtime in June, contacts said.
During the outage, the Paper Excellence-owned Northern Pulp mill is trimming and estimated 9,600 tonnes of output.
The closures at Canfor Pulp, Catalyst, and Northern Pulp will result in an estimated 45,600 tonnes of market NBSK output getting trimmed from supplies during June.

Drug Insert Bill in Congress Draws Protests

http://www.mpbn.net/Home/tabid/36/ctl/ViewItem/mid/5347/ItemId/28284/Default.aspx

Maine Gov. Paul LePage is calling on Congress to eliminate provisions in a pending bill that he says would put hundreds of Maine jobs at risk. The bill would end the manufacture of printed inserts with pharmaceutical drugs, which LePage says would affect business for a major paper supplier in northern Maine.

The legislation in question, supporters say, is designed to secure the drug supply chain, and safeguard against counterfitters. 

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Anti-fraud-bill-opposed-by-Finch-4573394.php

Finch Paper, which has operated a mill on the bank of the Hudson River in the Warren County city for over a century, urged the area's congressmen to vote against the measure because it contains an "anti-paper provision" that would require the electronic invoicing of drug shipments. Finch says this would significantly reduce the market for the uncoated printing papers it produces.

Such is the nature of legislating: A bill that drew no major cries from pharmaceutical companies or consumer advocates prompts an objection from a paper company. It passed in a voice vote.

Three Potential Buyers for UPM's Docelles

http://www.upm.com/en/Pages/default.aspx

Three interested buyers have visited the site of UPM's Docelles mill in Vosges, northeastern France, which the company put up for sale in January. However, UPM said it was too early to give details about the interested parties.

"The process is still ongoing and progresses, and the utmost confidentiality is essential to the success of this operation," a company spokesperson said, adding that the firm anticipates it will have a better view of the situation by the end of June.

Printing Equipment Market Growing

http://whattheythink.com/articles/63857-opportunities-print-equipment-markets/

The total global market for new printing equipment was $21.5 billion in 2012 and will reach $22.7 billion by 2017 according to our new research study.

This modest growth, averaging 1.6% annually over five years, comes after a period of sharp decline as the recession and uncertainty took hold from the 2007 high of $25.3 billion. 
We estimate that there are about 1.1 million digital and analogue presses installed and operating across the world’s print suppliers in 2012, with the total number increasing by 120,000 during 2007–17. This is primarily due to increased sales of digital presses as the analogue press installed base remains roughly constant.

European Magazines Are Struggling in U.S.

http://www.adweek.com/news/press/european-magazines-are-struggling-us-market-149951

Once upon a time, the hottest kind of publisher to be in the U.S. was a European one. Companies like Bonnier, Dennis, Emap, Bauer and Hachette Filipacchi established footholds in the States with buzzy titles, made big acquisitions and touted cross-Atlantic success of the Euro business model (heavy on newsstand sales, light on subscriptions). But recent years have seen once-hot titles shuttered, assets sold and expectations lowered.

Certainly, the economy has made it tough for everyone. "Both U.S.-owned and international publishers are saying that if they're not seeing properties rebound after four or five years of downturn, then they’re shutting down or scaling back," said media banker Reed Phillips.

Maine Officials Ask EPA to Clarify Boiler MACT Rules

http://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/-king-michaud-ask-epa-to-clarify-and-finalize-rules-impacting-maines-paper-industry

Senator Angus King and Representative Mike Michaud sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency today on regulations impacting Maine's paper industry. They requested that EPA clarify a boiler rule and amend the list of non-waste fuels, which are both issues that were brought to their attention during the University of Maine's Paper Days.

Inc. Magazine Redesigned, Starting with Paper Upgrade

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100785585

The oldest and most trusted publication aimed at entrepreneurs has been redesigned and restructured to meet the changing habits of readers, more closely integrate the magazine with Inc.'s digital properties and provide an innovative and effective environment for audience engagement by advertisers. The redesigned magazine features upgraded paper quality, richer cover stock, bold new typefaces, more white space, powerful use of photography and an entirely new structure that sets Inc. apart from traditional magazine pacing. Inc.'s new design is steeped in the drama of entrepreneurship: innovative, creative, powerful and efficient.

1105 Media Acquires Two Publications

1105 Media Acquires Two Publications From Peter Li Education Group:  1105 Media has acquired two brands from education media company Peter Li Education Group. School Planning & Management and College Planning & Management will be added to 1105's education group, currently anchored by T.H.E. Journal and Campus Technology. The deal matches up with 1105's two existing education brands, expanding reach into the K-12 and higher education markets. School Planning & Management and College Planning & Management reach 48,000 and 30,000 through controlled circ, respectively. Terms of the deal were not released.

Apple/EBooks Trial

In E-books Trial, U.S. Says Apple Conspired with Publishers: A three-week trial got under way before a federal judge in New York in a case pitting the Justice Department against the popular iPad and iPhone maker that could shine a light on the secretive Silicon Valley giant's business practices.