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."

Reports: Understanding Pellet Sector

http://www.forestbusinessnetwork.com/25921/new-reports-an-understanding-of-the-wood-energy-pellet-sector/

Wood energy pellets: love them or hate them. It all depends upon your perspective and understanding. That’s why the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (the Endowment) today released two new reports on the rapidly-growing wood energy pellet industry: “The Wood Pellet Value Chain: An economic analysis of the wood pellet supply chain from the Southeast United States to European Consumers,” and “Applying Pathways to Sustainability: A case study of how hypothetical bioenergy facilities in VA and GA can increase the sustainability of their supply chains.”

Australia: Renewables Cheaper Fuel

Down Under, Renewable Energy Is Now Cheaper Than Fossil Fuels (Going Green):
From Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the results of a new study that found that energy from renewable energy—specifically wind farms—is now cheaper than gas or coal plants.
The results suggest that the Australian economy is likely to be powered extensively by renewable energy in future and that investment in new fossil-fuel power generation may be limited, unless there is a sharp, and sustained, fall in Asia-Pacific natural gas prices.

WWF: APRIL Should Stop Work in Tropical Forests

WWF Urges Indonesian Pulp Producer APRIL to Immediately Stop Pulping Tropical Forests: Following the announcement by Asia Pulp & Paper that it has stopped all clearance of Indonesian forests, WWF is now calling on its competitor Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL) to stop pulping tropical rainforest.

Time Inc. Reportedly for Sale

Time Inc. Reportedly on the Block:
Speculation about Time Warner selling off its publishing unit Time Inc. has been a favorite pastime of media watchers for years now. Partly because of the thrill of imagining the country's largest publisher being spun off and partly because of revenue and operating income challenges that have nagged the unit when compared to TW's other groups. And, as Time Inc. is in the midst of laying off six percent of its global workforce, a report today by Fortune, a Time Inc. title no less, cites several unnamed sources who say that Time Warner is indeed in discussions with a buyer to sell most or all of its publishing unit.
Fortune describes the talks as "formative." 

Vertis Communications Closing Plant

Vertis Communications Plant Closing in Medina, OH: A bankruptcy and company selloff by parent company Vertis Communications will result in the closure of the Medina Vertis printing facility on East Smith Road as of May 1. A total of 52 employees will lose their jobs.
Vertis plants in Dallas, New Jersey and Fort Erie, Ontario will also be closed.

Time Inc.’s Cooking Light Enjoys Growth

Time Inc.’s Cooking Light Sees Boom from Social, Mobile Audiences:
January was a big month for Time Inc.’s Cooking Light as the brand showed significant growth in key metric areas including unique visitors, page views, natural search, social media referrals and mobile traffic. Though the year’s first month traditionally draws considerable growth for the brand, the Cooking Light team is developing plans to capitalize on the growth and ride the momentum through the rest of the year.

FOLIO, min Plan Print/Digital Event

FOLIO: and min Team Up for New MediaMashup Event:
FOLIO and min are partnering in the launch of a new event called MediaMashup. To be held in New York City on April 16, 2013, the event offers a day-long agenda that examines the cross-section of digital and print media. 

Asset International Buys Investor Economics

Asset International Buys Investor Economics: Asset International, a b-to-b research, marketing and events provider for the financial sector, has agreed to acquire Canadian business intelligence firm, Investor Economics.

Postmaster General Pleads Case to Congress

Postmaster General Pleads His Case to Senate Committee:
Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe appears today before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to plead for passage of a reform bill that the lame duck congress failed to act on at the close of 2012 Donahoe wants to run the USPS like a business, and to do so needs to eliminate billions in prepayments to the federal health and retirement plant that the USPS is called upon to make each year. 

Financial Times Turns 125

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/financial-times-turns-125-147251

The Financial Times marks its 125th anniversary today, and, befitting the challenges facing newspapers today, the celebration will have practical elements.

An ad campaign with the somber tagline "Still guiding the way for global business" is breaking in print and online...With its pioneering metered paywall, the FT has been held up as a rare success story in a newspaper industry that has struggled to adapt to the digital age. Last year, subscriptions to FT.com, at more than 300,000, surpassed print circulation for the first time. Mobile is the fastest-growing source of the FT's digital traffic, accounting for 25 percent of its visitorship. 

Long-Time Exec. Leaves Time Inc.

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/peter-bauer-leaves-time-inc-147226

Peter Bauer, one of Time Inc.'s longer-serving executives, is hanging it up after 26 years at the magazine publishing giant.

Bauer spent most of his career at Time Inc., most recently serving as vp of Time Inc. Branded Solutions, and survived a number of reorganizations and layoffs.
His exit came just as Time Inc. laid off 6 percent of its global headcount, or 480 people, in the face of a challenging market for print advertising. Insiders called his departure a retirement and not related to the layoffs, however.

Magazine Publishers Feel Sting of USPS Changes

http://associationsnow.com/2013/02/magazine-publishers-feel-sting-of-post-office-cutbacks/

After last week’s announcement that the U.S. Postal Service will cut Saturday mail, associations in the publishing industry are expressing concern that the change could hurt their members’ business models. 
Like packages and direct-mail pieces, magazines rely on the U.S. Postal Service to deliver their goods. So how did they take the news that the USPS would be taking Saturdays off starting in August? Not well. More details: 
The reaction: Multiple associations spoke out against the changes—with the Magazine Publishers Association reacting strongly. “Like Congress, MPA was taken by surprise by today’s announcement,” the group’s president and CEO, Mary Berner, said in a statement on February 6. “While we have actively participated in conversations around postal reform, and in particular, five-day delivery, we did not expect the USPS would act unilaterally, without congressional approval, and we await Washington’s reaction and more details.” The National Newspaper Association argued that the change could hurt its members, mostly community newspapers, by forcing them to use alternative methods to deliver papers and content to readers on weekends.

A New Design for SELF

http://www.pubexec.com/article/self-redesigns-repositions-grow-iconic-magazine-brand/1

SELF, for over thirty years, the leading women’s active lifestyle brand, has revamped and rebooted its look, feel, approach and architecture to reach beyond the 13 million current users and readers to a new generation of young, healthy living, active women who embody the SELF lifestyle.

Newpapers: 4 Success Stories

http://www.journalism.org/analysis_report/newspapers_turning_ideas_dollars

In America's embattled newspaper industry, some business innovations are showing clear signs of success, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center. While many of these are occurring on the digital side, some papers are generating new print revenue-through circulation gains, niche products and even sales reorganization.

The report follows a year-long effort to identify newspaper successes in the search for new business models. This report analyzes four such dailies whose executives explained, in detail, the motivation and strategy behind their experiments and shared internal data about the results with the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism.

McGraw-Hill Reports 2012, Q4 Results

http://www.wave3.com/story/21132945/mcgraw-hill-reports-4th-quarter-and-full-year-2012-results

McGraw-Hill Education Reclassified to Discontinued Operations in Anticipation of the Sale Closing in the 1st Quarter
McGraw Hill Financial Revenue Increased 22% in the 4th Quarter and 13% for the Full Year
Diluted EPS from Continuing Operations Increased 80% to $0.67 in the 4th Quarter and 19% to $2.37 for the Full Year 
Adjusted Diluted EPS from Continuing Operations Increased 56% to $0.72 in the 4th Quarter and 32% to $2.75 for the Full Year, Creating a Baseline for Future Comparisons 
The Company reported fourth quarter 2012 revenue of $1,226 million, an increase of 22% compared to the same period last year.  Net income and diluted earnings per share from continuing operations were $190 million and $0.67, respectively.  For the full year, revenue increased 13% to $4,450 million and net income and diluted earnings per share from continuing operations were $676 million and $2.37, respectively.

Folio: People On The Move

People On The Move | 2.13.13: Penton has named Joe Territo as senior vice president of content and user engagement. Territo was most recently executive director of content for Advance Digital.
Flirt Communications has named director of production Kari McGlinnen and creative director Pete burns as partners.
Ad Age has named Michael Learmonth as deputy managing editor. Learmonth was previously a digital editor at for the publication. Rupal Parekh has also been named as deputy editor. Parekh was serving as an associate editor for Ad Age.
Randi Siegel and Chris Peel have been promoted to joint advertising directors of Men’s Health. Siegel was serving as executive fashion director and Peel was formerly an advertising sales manager for the magazine.
Fortune has named Pattie Sellers as senior editor-at-large and executive director of MPW/Live Content for Time Inc. Joining Sellers’ team will be Leigh Gallagher, who will serve as co-chair of MPW along with Stephanie Mehta. And Colleen Leahy, reporter at Fortune will assume a new role as MPW digital program manager and more...