Pacific West/Port Hawk.: Down to a Few Signatures

Sale to Pacific West Commercial Corp. now just needs a few signatures:
The sale agreement between Pacific West Commercial Corp. and NewPage Port Hawkesbury was approved by the court today.
Pacific West Commercial Corp. also received approval of its amended power rate applications by the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board today.
The only thing remaining to wrap up the sale is the signatures.
The purchase is expected to be completed tomorrow and most of the employees required to run the super calendared paper machine will be back on the job on Sunday.

Congressman Asks US Gov. to Review Port Hawk Deal

http://michaud.house.gov/press-release/michaud-pushes-us-response-canadian-paper-mill-subsidies Today, Congressman Mike Michaud, a former papermaker, urged the U.S. government to examine the details of the financial package offered by the provincial government of Nova Scotia to a paper mill in Port Hawkesbury. Michaud sent a letter to United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk asking him to obtain complete information about the province’s rescue package and to determine whether it is consistent with Canada’s NAFTA and WTO commitments. If violations are found, Michaud urges expeditious action.

FutureMark & Manistique Become FutureMark Paper Group

http://www.futuremarkpaper.com/news_details.html?id=MTIx

FutureMark® Paper Group launched today as the umbrella group for two recycled paper producers previously operating as Manistique Papers and FutureMark Paper Company. Guided by an unwavering commitment to sustainability, FutureMark Paper Group is now the leading North American provider of responsibly made high-recycled paper for books, magazines, catalogs, retail inserts, business papers, commercial printing applications and packaging.

Catalyst Closes Snowflake Mill

http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/20120925snowflake-plant-closure-imminent-out-work.html

The economically struggling region of Navajo County around Snowflake will see its jobless rate spike Monday when Catalyst Paper Corp. closes its paper mill and puts 308 well-paid employees out of work.
The company announced the closure in July amid bankruptcy proceedings for Richmond, British Columbia-based Catalyst, which has three larger paper mills in Canada.

Chinese Pulp Business Not Sustainable

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/09/27/4860846/china-wood-pulp-production-to.html

China will continue to see rising wood pulp production along with rising imports of wood chips to make that pulp,  according to 2012 The China Pulp Market: A Comprehensive Analysis and Outlook, a new study release today by RISI the leading information provider for the global forest products industry. The study also concludes that large-scale papergrade market pulp production in China is not a sustainable business over time.

More Change: Time Names Group President

http://www.adweek.com/news/press/time-incs-lang-announces-shakeup-144027 
Time Inc.’s Laura Lang today bumped up Paul Caine to the role of group president, signaling an emphasis on global growth at a company facing a tough business climate.

Caine, who has quickly established himself as CEO Lang’s right-hand man, continues as chief revenue officer, a role he got under Lang's short-lived predecessor Jack Griffin. And while he won’t get any new direct reports, he will have a global mandate as well as a “clear authority to steer our advertising product roadmap,” Lang wrote in an internal email sent out following a quarterly management meeting of the company’s top couple hundred executives.

TV Guide Launches Special Interest Titles

http://www.pubexec.com/article/tv-guide-magazine-and-sandra-lee-to-publish-special-interest-publications/1

TV Guide Magazine and Sandra Lee Inc., are proud to announce the launch of a new series of special-interest magazines and tablet editions, Sandra Lee, which will focus on all aspects of living well – from cooking and entertaining to fashion and style.

National Geographic: 4.5 Million App Users

National Geographic App Downloads Pass 4.5 Million:  
Natural science, exploration and adventure publication National Geographic is seeing traction in the digital space, at least according to its new Consolidated Media Report (CMR) from the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC).
The National Geographic English-language magazine app has reached 4.5 million downloads as of August 31, 2012, while the English-language version of the National Geographic Traveler magazine app has been downloaded by more than 740,000 since the same period.

Investcorp To Sell SourceMedia

Investcorp To Sell SourceMedia: Investcorp has put New York-based publisher SourceMedia up for sale, according to multiple sources.
SourceMedia, which provides news, analysis and research in the b-to-b space through publications including American Banker and The Bond Buyer, has an EBITDA of around $12 million.

Magazine Revenues Helped by Digital

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/183997/mag-bag-digital-will-raise-total-magazine-revs.html

Magazines’ digital advertising is paying off, according to an eMarketer report, which says they will lift overall magazine revenues in coming years, despite decreases on the print side. Magazines may finally be “over the hump” in their transition from print to digital publishing.

Newspaper Ads Down in 2012

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/184002/more-declines-predicted-for-newspapers.html

All the trend lines for newspaper advertising are pointing down, and the latest forecast from eMarketer does nothing to dispel this gloomy picture.
According to the research firm’s most recent report, total ad revenues for newspapers will decline from $22.5 billion in 2012 to $21.5 billion in 2013, $21 billion in 2014, $20.63 billion in 2015, and $20.4 billion in 2016, for a 9.5% drop over the next four years.

Global, NA Ad Spending Up

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/184043/global-ad-spend-up-24-biggest-growth-mideast-a.html
Global advertising spend picked up still sluggish single-digit growth in the second quarter, with Europe remaining the only region going lower.
Worldwide advertising spending was up 2.4% to $139 billion in the second quarter 2012, according to Nielsen's Global AdView Pulse.

North America ad spending also followed global trends -- up 2.4%, with Canada sinking 2%.

Consumers Still Rely on Coupons

Parents Seeking Offers, Coupons Turn to Print and Digital: A Harris poll finds parents are more likely than consumers without children to have stepped up money saving activities, with traditional channels showing a slight lead as the place to go for offers. The poll, conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of location-based marketer Placecast, finds parents relying on print and online to save money. Clipping coupons from newspaper inserts (31%) and relying on coupons arriving at the home (31%) are top sources for parents.

Congress Holds Hearings on On-Line Tax

Online tax debate grows as retailers and states weigh in on the clash: On July 24 the House Judiciary Committee convened for a hearing on the Marketplace Equity Act, one of three bills empowering states to compel online merchants to collect sales tax. The bills were designed to close what supporters claim is a loophole from the 1992 Supreme Court decision Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, wherein only merchants with physical presence in a state must collect sales tax.

Quad Expands Agreement with USA Weekend

Quad Expands and Extends Its Agreement to Print and Distribute Usa Weekend:
Quad/Graphics Inc. has expanded and extended its agreement with Gannett Co. to print copies of USA WEEKEND, a Sunday magazine inserted into 700+ newspapers weekly. The new, longer-term agreement will include additional incremental print volume beginning in 2016, as well as additional freight, logistics and distribution services volume.

USPS Defaults on Prefunded Payment

USPS Default on Mandated $5.6 Billion Prefunded Payment: For the second time in two months, the U.S. Postal Service will not make a mandated payment to prefund retiree health benefits. Absent legislative action, the Postal Service is unable to make a scheduled $5.6 billion payment to the U.S. Treasury on Sept. 30. As was the case with the default of a similar $5.5 billion payment due August 1, customers can be confident in the continued regular operations of the Postal Service. We will continue to deliver the mail and pay our employees and suppliers

RIT Takes Over the Print-in-the-Mix

RIT Taking Over the Print-in-the-Mix Website as The Print Council Ceases Operations: The Print Council, established in 2002 to promote the broader use of print in the marketing and media mix, is transfering sponsorship of the Print-in-the Mix website to Rochester Institute of Technology. Print-in-the-Mix was created in 2007 with a grant from The Print Council and is a clearinghouse of research on the effectiveness of advertising media including print, mobile and other direct forms of marketing communication.