NewPage Luke Mill Gets Energy Break

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/md-dc-utilities-pay-paper-mills-burning-black-liquor-for-alternative-fuel-credits/2013/02/22/440078da-696b-11e2-95b3-272d604a10a3_story.html

Maryland, Washington DC, utilities pay NewPage’s Luke paper mill for renewable energy from black liquor process.

When Maryland and the District set floors requiring electric utilities to use increasing amounts of renewable energy, environmentalists cheered the prospect of money going to new solar and wind projects. But today, several years after the legislation went into effect, it has had an unexpected outcome. Thanks to a wrinkle in the definition of renewable, the lion's share of the money used to meet those standards is flowing to paper companies that burn "black liquor," a byproduct of the wood-pulping process. Paper mills have been using black liquor to generate most of their power needs since the 1930s.

Alberta-Pacific Announces Pulp Price Hike

Alberta-Pacific (Alpac) announced that its aspen northern bleached hardwood kraft (NBHK) pulp
price would increase in North America and China, effective March 1 until further notice.
Alpac Pulp Sales said Friday that aspen grade NBHK price would increase by $30/tonne, to $820/tonne in North America.

In addition, Alpac said its export price to China would be $660/tonne. That's $20/tonne above its last price announcement, when the firm raised NBHK to $640/tonne.

Suzano also slated its Mar. 1 list price at $870/tonne in North America, $820/tonne in Europe, and $720/tonne in Asia.

Promotions Pushed Consumer Purchases

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/20/ca-strongmail-systems-idUSnBw8vnhKja+104+BSW20130220 
The survey, conducted online nationwide by Harris Interactive on behalf of StrongMail from January 7-9, 2013 among 2,166 online adults ages 18 and older, found that 67 percent of U.S. online consumers made a purchase from a retailer during the 2012 holiday season as a result of a sale or promotion. Of those who made a purchase from a retailer as a result of a sale/promotion this past holiday season, more than half (51 percent) said an email from a retailer influenced their purchase decision, followed by TV ads (45 percent), print ads (newspaper/magazine) (42 percent) and online advertising (33 percent).

Revenue-Hungry States Look at Taxing Ads

http://adage.com/article/news/revenue-hungry-states-set-sights-taxing-ads/239989/

Desperate for cash, the governors of Ohio and Minnesota are eyeing a tax on advertising. And even as agencies, broadcasters, newspaper publishers and big advertisers prepare to push back, there is concern that such moves could not only pass, but spread to other states and to the federal level

2013 So Far

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2013/02/19/attention-publishers-iconic-is-not-a-business-model/

Let’s review what the year 2013 hath wrought so far in the media industry.
Reader’s Digest, staggering under $1.2 billion in debt, has filed for bankruptcy for the second time in four years. Rolling Stone owner Jann Wenner managed to stave off a bankruptcy filing of his own by refinancing $200 million of debt under spartan new terms. 
And in the biggest news of all, Time Inc. is negotiating to spin off most of its magazines into a new company to be controlled by Meredith Corp. Held back from the deal will be Time magazine, Fortune and Sports Illustrated; Meredith is “said not to want them,” according to Michael Wolff.

Google's SVP on Advertising

http://www.businessinsider.com/google-just-described-its-incredibly-simple-plan-to-kill-print-advertising-2013-2#ixzz2LweCvwN5 
Google svp/advertising Susan Wojcicki told Adweek how she sees ad dollars continuing to move out of traditional media in favor of online.
In response to a question about how Google chief business officer Nikesh Arora believes 50 percent of all ad spend will switch online in five years, she said she believed print would continue to be the preferred victim of that shift, as people stop buying magazines and papers because they already own tablets and iPads.

Games of Thrones Runs Print Ad

http://adage.com/article/creativity-pick-of-the-day/dragon-flies-overhead-game-thrones-print-ad/240015/

HBO's Game of Thrones' Season 3 premiere is just over a month away -- and the show does a spectacular job advertising just how close that is with this two-page ad in Monday's edition of the New York Times.

Retail Online Integration

http://www.retailonlineintegration.com/blog/observations-from-nrf

Retailers of all types — brick-and-mortar, internet, catalog and multichannel variations of the three — are facing the same inventory challenges, yet still view their issues from the bias of their primary channel. 
I was reminded of this while attending the recent National Retail Federation (NRF) Convention. Marketers seem to be further along with embracing multichannel or omnichannel planning (we refer to it as "allchannel" at Direct Tech) than the operations side of retailing. Inventory planners, in particular, haven't fully embraced the new customer marketplace.

New Jobs to Serve Modern Media

http://www.themediabriefing.com/article/2013-02-12/job-titles-changing-face-modern-media

What are the most innovative and important new job roles that are re-shaping the media world? As technology and audience habits change, so do our professional functions.

So we asked our community to name the most vital job titles in a modern media business and we added our own suggestions to create the list below. And before anyone asks, it doesn't include "head of growth hacking".

USPS Looks at Digital

http://www.retailonlineintegration.com/article/understanding-postal/1

The U.S. Postal Service is dipping its toes into the digital waters, recently announcing plans to embark on several digital initiatives, starting with the formation of a new Digital Solutions Group (DSG) within its organization.
USPS Vice President of Digital Solutions Paul Vogel told customers at a recent meeting that the federal agency is considering how best to transition from the existing hybrid environment of physical and digital into a more digital role in the future.

Economy Continues to Gain Traction

Economy Continues to Gain Traction: Last week: The U.S. economy is gaining some traction. The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® for the U.S. (a measure of where the economy is right now) rose in January for the third consecutive month. The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® for the U.S. (a signal of where the economy is headed near-term) also increased, suggesting the economy is building momentum, even as the federal government is about to face some serious spending cuts.

Chairman to Bid for Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble Chairman to Bid for Chain’s Retail Business: The chairman of Barnes & Noble plans to bid for the retail business of the bookstore as the company struggles with a changing competitive landscape.
On Monday, Leonard Riggio told the company’s board that he would make an offer for Barnes & Noble Booksellers, barnesandnoble.com and other retail assets. The proposal would not include the e-book division, Nook Media.

Standard Register Reports 2012 Results

Standard Register Reports Q4 Results, Reduces Loss: Standard Register, a leader in critical communications management solutions, today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2012. The Company reported fourth quarter 2012 revenue of $143.6 million and a net loss of $0.2 million or $0.01 per share. The results compare to 2011 fourth quarter revenue of $161.4 million and a net loss of $95.5 million or $3.28 per share.

HP Reports Q1 Results

HP Q1 Results Top Analysts Forecasts: HP today announced financial results for its first fiscal quarter ended Jan. 31, 2013. First quarter GAAP diluted earnings per share (EPS) was $0.63, down from $0.73 in the prior-year period and above its previously provided outlook of $0.34 to $0.37 per share.