Thursday, January 24, 2013

UPM Signs Agreement for Stracel Sale

UPM Signs Agreement on the Sale of Assets of UPM Stracel in France:
UPM has signed an agreement on the sale of assets and part of the land of the UPM Stracel paper mill site with Blue Paper SAS, the joint venture company of VPK Packaging Group NV and Klingele Papierwerke.
The transaction is expected to be closed during March 2013 once all legal and administrative conditions will be fulfilled.
UPM stopped the production of coated magazine paper on the mill on 4th January 2013. 

Talks on Support of Kruger Mill Sought

Liberal Leader Dwight Ball says his party wasn't breaking its commitment to not play politics with Corner Brook Pulp and Paper when it issued a press release Tuesday asking for a status update on a long-term plan for the mill.
The new release said it's time for an update from the provincial government, which has committed to helping the struggling mill if the company can come up with a long-term strategy for the operation's sustainability.

Plastic Bag Ban Bill Revived in CA

Assemblyman Marc Levine, in his first piece of legislation, is calling for banning plastic grocery bags throughout California, starting in 2015.
Levine, D-San Rafael, introduced Assembly Bill 158 on Tuesday, reviving a similar bill that got stuck in a Senate committee last year after it faced criticism from plastic bag manufacturers and grocers.

Pulp & Paper Chemical Industry Growth 2012-2017

The pulp and paper chemical industry is a highly diverse and growing global market. The global industry is forecast to reach an estimated US $38.98 billion by 2017, with a CAGR of 3.3%. The various companies involved with this industry have embraced innovations to offer sustainable products against the megatrends such as population growth and scarcity of resources.

Boise Cascade Files for IPO

Boise Cascade files for IPO worth up to $243 million:
Boise Cascade LLC, which makes wood products and building materials, said Wednesday that it plans to sell 11.8 million shares of its common stock in an initial public offering that could generate up to $243.5 million in proceeds.

RR Donnelley Closing Wisconsin Plant

RR Donnelley Closing Appleton-area Plant: Chicago-based printing giant RR Donnelley will close its printing facility at W6545 Quality Drive in Greenville before the end of April.

Folio: People On The Move

People On The Move | 1.24.13:
Vox Media has named Marty Moe as its chief operating officer and group publisher. Moe was the company’s chief content officer. Joe Purzycki is now vice president, national sales. Purzycki had been senior director of East Coast sales.
Time Inc. has named Stephanie Vautravers as its executive director of digital sales, branded solutions. Vautravers had been director of mobile advertising at Turner and more...

Rodale Names CTO

Upping its commitment to a new e-commerce platform, Rodale has brought on Bobby Chowdhury to serve in the newly-created role of Chief Technology Officer.
Chowdhury will oversee the technology infrastructure of the company, including an expansion of Rodale's web and software development teams, and will be given a strategic role in the construction of Rodale's, an e-commerce platform scheduled to launch in the spring.

National Geographic Celebrates 125 Years with New Book

This fall, readers can join the National Geographic Society in celebrating its past and future with a new book National Geographic 125 Years: Legendary Photographs, Adventures, and Discoveries
That Changed the World (National Geographic Books; ISBN 978-1-4262-0957-4; on sale Nov. 6, 2012; $50 hardcover), by author and historian Mark Collins Jenkins, a former National Geographic Society archivist. The foreword is by Gilbert M. Grosvenor, the Society’s former chairman, president and National Geographic magazine editor, who is a fifth-generation member of the Society’s founding family.

Gov. Awards More Federal Shipping to FedEx, UPS than USPS

The U.S. Postal Service, required to send congressional letters at reduced rates, can’t win regular business from the federal government, according to an inspector general’s report.
Private-sector competitors led by FedEx Corp. (FDX) and United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) “consistently” have more than 98 percent of the $337 million annual shipping spending by federal agencies, according to the Jan. 18 report.

Random House/Facebook with App for Book Lovers

The relationship between authors and social media has long been a close one, with many of the former realizing the usefulness of the latter when it comes to staying in touch with their existing fanbase, and reaching out to new readers to win them over as fans. Now, one publisher believes that it’s time to take that close relationship to the next level with the launch of a new Facebook app that will “enable book lovers to discover new authors and share their favorite books with friends.”

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