Transcontinental Closing Plant in Quebec

Transcontinental Closing Its Printing Plant in Quebec; Around 150 Jobs Lost:
Transcontinental Inc. is closing, on or about Dec. 20, 2012, its printing plant at 7743 Bourdeau St. in LaSalle, Quebec, leading to the loss of some 150 jobs. All employees affected by the termination of printing operations at this plant have been informed of the decision and will receive severance pay as well as out-placement services to help them find new jobs. “The printing industry is undergoing a major transformation that is altering supply and demand. Given the capacity and potential of our network, we have concluded that we have excess production capacity in relation to market demand. In order for Transcontinental inc. to remain competitive in this industry under pressure and get the most out of its most efficient equipment, we have had to make the difficult decision to terminate our printing operations at LaSalle,” said Marian Kerr, senior vice president, Retail and Newspapers - Eastern.

Martha Stewart Scaling Way Back on Print

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Scaling Way Back on Print:
Just ahead of its third-quarter earnings call, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia today is announcing it is scaling back its print operation by cutting 1.1 million-circulation Everyday Food from a standalone 10x frequency to a 5x supplement to flagship magazine Martha Stewart Living. In the meantime, the 760,000-circulation Whole Living, also on a 10x frequency, has been put on the block—the company says it's already in discussions on a possible sale—and if a buyer doesn't materialize then the brand's content will be folded into Martha Stewart Living. The pullback on print will come with a staff reduction, which The New York Times reports to be about 70 people, and MSLO says the new cost efficiencies of the moves could realize up to $35 million in annualized savings.

Walgreens Debuts Healthy Living Magazine

http://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/news/2012/11/01/walgreens-debuts-healthy-living-magazine.html
Walgreen Co. is getting into the magazine business with a healthy living guide available Nov. 4. The Deerfield-based drugstore chain's Happy And Healthy, Your Guide To Living Well With Walgreens will be a glossy, bi-annual magazine in English and Spanish. There will also be a similar version for Duane Reade  customers. Walgreens expects circulation to be about 65 million. The magazine will be online at walgreens.com, in stores as well as inserted in Sunday newspapers across the country.

National Geo Launches Magazine On iPhone

National Geographic Launches Magazine on the iPhone:
National Geographic’s brand, which already reaches over 400 million worldwide—is about to grow a little bigger with the introduction of its magazine on Apple’s iPhone. National Geographic magazine’s iPhone edition will launch with the November 2012 issue. The app will provide daily updates, including video, photography, audio recordings, maps, graphic timelines, daily feeds of news, Instagram photographs from the brand’s photographers and photos from the National Geographic online community of fan photographers. Unique content will be offered each time a user opens the app.

Penguin & Random House Merger Creates Giant

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2012/10/29/penguin-books-random-house-merger/1665505/
Two of the largest book publishers, Penguin, home to Patricia Cornwell and Nora Roberts, and Random House, which publishes E.L. James and George R.R. Martin -- are planning to merge into the world's larest publisher in a deal announced Monday.If approved by government regulators, the merger would combine the two publishers' parent companies, the British-owned Pearson and the German-owned Bertelsmann. The merger also heads off a bid by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., which owns publisher HarperCollins, to buy Penguin for $1.6 billion.
The new joint venture would publish about 25% of all books in the U.S. But what the consolidation means for readers and authors isn't as clear.Under the terms of the agreement, Penguin and Random House will combine their businesses in a joint venture named Penguin Random House. Bertelsmann will own 53%, Pearson 47%.John Makinson, currently chairman and chief executive of Penguin, will be chairman of the new firm; Markus Dohle, currently chief executive of Random House, will be its chief executive.

 

 

Media Buyers Waiting Until After Election

Nearly half of media buyers waiting until after election to buy advertising: Nearly half (47%) of media buyers plan to wait until after the presidential election to buy advertising for their clients in order to avoid competing with political ads, according to a survey by media buying and selling software company Strata Marketing. The survey was based on an online poll of 80 advertising agencies, conducted in October. It found that only 35% of ad agencies expect their business conditions to be better during the second half of the year than during the first half, and 19% said they expect business conditions to be worse in the second half compared with the first half.
Also, nearly one-third of agencies surveyed do not expect their business to return to a strong growth period until after 2013.

Consolidation Key To Secure Newsprint's Future

Consolidation is key if we're to secure newsprint's future:
There are many newspaper presses around the country running maybe four or five hours in every 24. It doesn't take a genius to see that this is simply not sustainable. The overheads associated with running and maintaining these operations are massive, but there are many companies across the UK in the same position. That simply needs to change. There have been many developments in the publishing sector in past decades, but many publishers have not moved with the times and have retained their printing operations. I propose a new model with publishers sticking to producing content and leaving the print to the specialists, with a clear division between print and publishing. We should pool capacity to a point where newspaper plants are producing major titles through the night while production of the regional titles is carried out during the day shifts. This would result in an elimination of this spare capacity.

Globe & Mail AmongTop 80 Newspapers

The Globe and Mail Among the Top 80 Best Printed Newspapers: The Globe and Mail and TC Transcontinental are pleased to announce that The Globe and Mail, Canada's National Newspaper, has been welcomed into the Top 80 of The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers International Newspaper Color Quality Club for 2012-2014.The new TC Transcontinental Canada-wide network of hybrid presses – the only one of its kind in the country – gave The Globe and Mail the flexibility to deliver colour on every page of its publication, plus glossy magazine-quality production. The Globe and Mail is  printed at five TC Transcontinental plants in Canada. Members of the Color  Quality Club Jury evaluated the quality of copies produced by the  Transcontinental Vaughan printing plant.

Mercer Reports Q3 Results

Mercer International Inc. Reports 2012 Third Quarter Results:
Mercer International Inc.today reported results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2012. Mr. Jimmy S.H. Lee, President and Chairman, stated: "During the third quarter of 2012, NBSK pulp prices remained generally weak. Despite this, we generated Operating EBITDA of €22.3 million, primarily as a result of strong pulp sales volumes and energy sales in the quarter."

Mondi Releases Q3 2012 Report

Mondi Group releases 3Q 2012 report
Mondi Group announces that underlying operating profit for the third quarter ended 30 September 2012 was EUR 135 million (year-to-date EUR 405 million, 2011 EUR 490 million) in line with that of the comparable prior year period (Q3 2011 EUR 136 million) and below that of the prior quarter (Q2 2012 EUR 150 million). This was in line with expectations and reflects a stable trading environment considering the impact of the traditionally weaker European summer months, annual maintenance shuts at a number of the Group's larger operating sites during the quarter and ongoing strong cost containment. Sales volumes were, on average, similar to those achieved in the previous quarter but above those of the comparable prior year period, although demand in the downstream converting operations was below that of the prior year.

Wired Editor To Launch Publishing Tools Startup

http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/02/ryan-singel-contextly/
Well, there goes another tech journalist with the startup bug.
Ryan Singel, editor of Wired’s security blog Threat Level, told me that today is his last day on the job, because he’s leaving to run his startup Contextly. Over the past decade, Singel has held various reporting and editing roles at Wired — apparently he helped start Threat Level back in 2006, and I got to know him few years later, when he was writing for the site’s Epicenter business blog. With Contextly, he said his goal is to “make tools for journalists actually designed by journalists, rather than marketers or advertisers or techie guys that don’t actually get how journalism works.”

Letterpress Is A Sign Of The Times

http://www.feltandwire.com/2012/11/01/letterpress-is-a-sign-of-the-times/
http://vimeo.com/51544296
In this charming video by The Ronaoke Times, John Reburn owner of Appalacia Press talks about the idea that seeing a surge in the letterpress business in these digital times, is a sign of overall economic growth for the Virginia town. In the video he says, “Digital will always have its place because of commerce and business and how things are made, but putting your handwriting and giving it to somebody has turned into being such a gift, it will trump anything digital or online.”

Verso NBHK Pulp Increase Announced

Verso Paper Corp. has announced a US $20 per ton increase on Nov 1st for (NBHK) pulp. The NBHK is at its mill in Quinnesec, Michigan, the company's coated freesheet facility.

 

Resolute's NBSK Pulp Price Increase

Resolute Forest Products is the latest pulp manufacturer to announce an increase in the NBSK pulp price in North America by $20 per ton, effective November 1.

Norske Skog Q3 Lower Debt, Good Cash Flow

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/01/idUS52643+01-Nov-2012+HUG20121101

Gross operating earnings in the third quarter were NOK 365 million, compared to NOK 393 million in the previous quarter. The weak markets in Europe and Australasia were offset by lower variable- and fixed costs and effective production adjustments. Despite very challenging markets, we have been able to implement effective production adjustments, considerable cost reductions and a significant debt reduction this year, says President and CEO in Norske Skog, Sven Ombudstvedt. Cash flow from operating activities (before financial items) was NOK 550 million, an improvement of NOK 162 million from the same quarter last year. The good cash flow for the period was a result of an effective realisation of trade receivables and reduction of inventories.

Resolute Forest Issues 2011 Sustainability Report

Resolute Forest Products issues Sustainability Report for 2011 Performance:
Resolute Forest Products released its Sustainability Report for 2011 Performance today, detailing company efforts to balance environmental, social and economic considerations. The report also publicly introduces Resolute’s first company-wide sustainability strategy which has three primary areas of focus:
Reinforce Resolute’s environmental credentials, taking appropriate steps to responsibly manage its environmental footprint;
Position the company as a competitive employer, attracting and retaining employees based on opportunities to quickly learn and grow within a dynamic organization; and
Build solid community relations in Resolute’s operating locations, recognizing that economically viable and civically involved companies support long-term regional prosperity.

Flambeau Paper Financially Sound

http://www.pricecountydaily.com/news/article_d6e0ec5a-2390-11e2-a1a5-0019bb2963f4.html
While it is true that the Flambeau River Papers have missed making state loan repayments since March 2012, Senator Bob Jauch said it is important to temper recent news reports by looking at a broader picture of the situation. Jauch said in an interview on Monday, that he has been assured by the company that the Flambeau River Papers will be resuming the payments to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation in January. He was also assured that the company remains financially stable and plans to continue to sustain and grow its presence in the paper industry.  “It is important to note that the Flambeau River paper company has paid back 75 percent of the principal on one loan and 50% of the principal on the other two loans,” Jauch said. “Very clearly, the company is meeting its responsibilities.”

 

Incentives to Keep IP Headquarters In Memphis

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/oct/31/international-paper-seeks-incentives-to-expand/?partner=RSS 
Local officials plan to offer International Paper a package of incentives to keep the company's corporate headquarters and more than 2,000 jobs in Memphis. Three high-ranking city officials said they have been told by Mayor A C Wharton that Memphis is in a dogfight with Mississippi to keep the Fortune 500 corporation based here.The company, they said, is seeking a 30-year property tax break on a new building it would construct in Memphis.

In addition to retaining the company's current workforce, the project would bring another 100 high-paying jobs to the city, the officials said. The company recently acquired a competitor, Austin, Texas-based Temple-Inland.
 

RRD Puts Measures In Place After Google Filing

 http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20121101/NEWS01/121109997/r-r-donnelley-3q-profit-shrinks-cuts-forecast
Printing services provider RR Donnelley & Sons Co., which mistakenly filed Google Inc.'s earnings report ahead of schedule two weeks ago, said it has put measures in place to prevent any such incidents in the future.The company, whose third-quarter revenue fell more than expected, is the top agent for handling Securities and Exchange Commission filings and owns the EDGAR Online portal for SEC filings, used by corporations, analysts and investors.Chief Executive Thomas Quinlan, on a conference call with analysts, called the incident "deeply regrettable"."Everyone at RR Donnelley wishes it could have been undone. We have already begun to implement additional enhancements that will help to prevent an extremely rare incident like this one from happening again," he said.
Filing agents such as Donnelley take paper documents and convert them for submission to the SEC in the appropriate format. As of mid-October, the company had handled more than 75,000 submissions this year, according to SECInfo.com. RR Donnelley also lowered its full-year revenue forecast to $10.1 billion-$10.2 billion from $10.4 billion-$10.5 billion.

RRD Net Earnings Cut As Printing Sales Slump

RR Donnelley’s Net Earnings Cut in Half as Net Sales Slump : RR Donnelley’s Net Earnings Cut in Half as Printing Sales Slump:  R.R. Donnelley & Sons reported third-quarter 2012 net earnings of $71.4 million  on net sales of $2.5 billion, compared to net earnings of $158.0 million on net sales of $2.7 billion in the third quarter os 2011. "While our top line continues to be pressured by challenging industry dynamics and ongoing global economic headwinds, we remained focused on managing our cost structure to drive improved operating earnings and margins in the third quarter," said Thomas J. Quinlan III, RR Donnelley's president and CEO. "As we close the year and look ahead to 2013, our focus on aggressively aligning the cost structure with revenue will remain intact."  Net sales in the quarter were $2.5 billion, down $174.5 million, or 6.5 percent, from the third quarter of 2011. Pro forma for acquisitions, net sales decreased 6.9 percent due to volume declines, a 118 basis point unfavorable impact of changes in foreign exchange rates, price erosion and a 46 basis point unfavorable impact of lower pass-through paper sales.

Pivotal Research Lowers Ad Forecast, Citing Sandy

Pivotal Research lowers ad forecast, citing effects of Sandy:Media research company Pivotal Research Group lowered its U.S. ad forecast to a 0.5% decline in the third quarter, a 1.4% decline in the fourth quarter and zero growth for the full year, citing the effects of massive storm Sandy and other recent variables. The projections are down from an earlier forecast of 1.2% growth for the third quarter, 0.9% growth for the fourth quarter and 1.4% growth for the full year. The projections do not include political or Olympic ad spending.
“The first signs of a stormy second half of the year for advertising had become clear once the agency holding companies reported, and then Superstorm Sandy arrived, making us certain that 2012 will prove to be a year without growth for the U.S. advertising economy,” wrote Brian Wieser, senior research analyst at Pivotal Research Group, in the report. Wieser estimated Sandy will cost the advertising industry about $500 million in lost revenue, due to interruptions in local TV and radio programming and also factoring in decision-making by media buyers in the wake of the storm.

Capitalizing on Business Documents

Capitalizing on transactional documents: What happens when messages are sent within a printed business document? You may be surprised to know that they get read. This year the average consumer will see or hear more than one million marketing messages—that's almost 3,000 per day. But what happens when messages are sent within a printed business document? You may be surprised to know that they get read.
According to research from Pitney Bowes, printed bills garner more of the consumer's time than other channels, even when compared to the same content in electronic format. In other words, despite the advent of e-billing, most likely your utility bill or bank statement is read more often in print.

People Still Like To Read

http://www.economistgroup.com/leanback/mass-intelligence/people-like-to-read/
Last week, John Micklethwait, editor-in-chief of The Economist, spoke on NPR’s “The Diane Rehm Show”, along with Stephen Shepard, dean of the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate School of Journalism and former senior editor at Newsweek and BusinessWeek. Given the recent announcement by Newsweek and the difficulties most print publishers are going through, both discussed the future of news magazines in this digital age. Here are some highlights from the interview:
 - The conventional thinking seems to be that in the age of the 24-hour news cycle, who needs a weekly news magazine? But why is Time successful and not Newsweek? What makes one magazine successful compared to another? “It’s that vague concept called editorial quality, by which I mean original stories that are not available elsewhere”, Shepard said. Publications that produce valuable content that readers are willing to pay for use the news for a forward-looking story that incorporates analytical thinking and is relevant not necessarily to what happened yesterday but to what the impact of yesterday’s news is.

 

Newspaper Inserts Drive Users Online

Newspaper Inserts Drive Users Online as Part of New Path to Purchase: Valassis, one of the nation’s leading media and marketing services companies, shared consumer insights from a recent survey conducted via social media that demonstrates favorable response to newspaper-delivered advertisements. According to findings from a 2012 Valassis survey, conducted on Facebook, 30 percent of respondents said they searched online for more information about a product or service within 30 days of seeing a newspaper insert. This consumer behavior further demonstrates how the traditional path to purchase has evolved and is no longer linear. The survey also revealed that of respondents who use newspaper inserts:
76 percent said inserts are one of the main reasons they purchase the newspaper;
92 percent say that inserts save them money; and
65 percent said inserts save them time.
Nearly 60 percent of insert users bought a product or service in response to seeing a newspaper insert, according to the survey. These findings indicate one of the ways traditional print and digital media work together to drive consumers from awareness to action.

Hearst UK and Polestar Agree To New Deal

Hearst Magazines UK and Polestar Agree to New Deal: Polestar is to retain our position as the Number One print supplier to Hearst Magazines UK. All twelve titles in the existing portfolio printed by Polestar are to be retained in a new three-year deal, which encompasses both print and subscription mailing. John Hughes, Production Director of Hearst Magazines UK, says: 'We are very pleased to continue our long standing relationship with Polestar. We trust them and know that they will support our publishing requirements into the future.'

Wenner Media Strikes Content Deal With Yahoo

Wenner Media Strikes Content Deal with Yahoo:
While digital content partnerships between publishers have been a common tactic for driving traffic and branding from one site to another, less common are dedicated pages shared between the two. Such is the deal that Yahoo and Wenner Media announced today, with Yahoo's omg! and Yahoo Music featuring mini-sites and blended content from Us Weekly and Rolling Stone. Likewise, UsMagazine.com and RollingStone.com will feature Yahoo-branded channels. Taking the syndication deal a step further, Us Weekly and Rolling Stone print magazines will also feature Yahoo content.
According to the partnership, the two companies will pool editorial resources to contribute content across the sites. Wenner's Men's Journal will also provide its content to Yahoo, making it the first time the brand has appeared on the network. The partnership gives Wenner a huge upside on scale. According to September comScore numbers, Usmagazine.com and Rollingstone.com attracted 6.7 million and 3.1 million uniques, respectively. omg! and Yahoo Music attracted 28 million.

Total Ave Circ Decrease For Newspapers, Some Gain

Total average circulation decreases for newspapers, but some titles post gains: The total average weekday circulation of U.S. newspapers fell 0.2% from April through September of this year compared with the same period in 2011, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. However, some newspapers posted circulation gains, notably The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, each of which has a paywall on its website. Total average weekday circulation for The New York Times grew 40.3%, to 1.6 million. The Wall Street Journal saw a 9.6% gain, to 2.3 million.
Weekday circulation for USA Today, which recently unveiled a redesign for all its platforms, fell nearly 4%, to 1.7 million, while the Washington Post's average weekday circulation decreased nearly 9%, to 462,228.

Device Type, Demographics Affect Readership

http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1009453&ecid=a6506033675d47f881651943c21c5ed4
The print industry has looked to tablets as a potential savior of a suffering business. Whether digital ad revenues will make up for print losses remains to be seen, but millions of tablet users have taken to the devices to access periodicals on a regular basis.
More than a third of tablet users in the US read newspapers on their devices each month, and even more check out magazines, comScore found in August. Readership was a few percentage points above average for Kindle Fire owners, with iPad users coming in second place for both types of periodicals. NOOK and other Android tablet users were slightly less likely than average to read magazines and newspapers on their devices.

Australia Mags Tackle Bias Among Media Buyers

http://www.adnews.com.au/adnews/magazines-to-tackle-mystery-bias-among-media-buyers
Australia's big three magazine publishers are ramping up plans to tackle what they believe to be a baffling bias among media buyers against magazine advertising as part of a push from the recently revived Magazine Publishers of Australia. Underlying the new program is ad market comparisons for the UK and US markets which show Australia is dramatically less enamoured with magazine advertising than other key international markets. The common lament from magazine publishers is that media buyers do not value enough the fact that magazine readers pay for their content via cover prices.

Kimberly-Clark Divests and Closes Mills in Europe

Kimberly-Clark divests and closes mills in Europe
US tissue paper maker is withdrawing from its European disposable nappies business. According to a statement to Euwid, Kimberly-Clark reported that it was not able to establish a sustainably profitable nappies business in Europe. For this reason Kimberly-Clark has made the decision to close nappy production and sales in Europe and exit the diaper category. Only Italy remains exempt from this move. Five production facilities in Europe are affected by the decision; four of them part of the group’s Consumer division and one in the Professional segment. The changes will affect between 1,300 and 1,500 employees. The plants are located in the UK, Spain and Poland.

Swedish Media-Bonnier Invests In Newspapers

Swedish Media Group Bonnier Invests in KBA Commander CT: Official inauguration of KBA Commander CT at DNEX TryckerietAs well as intensifying its internet operations Bonnier, the globally prominent Swedish media group, has invested in printed newspapers with highly-automated Commander CT presses from Koenig & Bauer (KBA). The company's print arm, Bold Printing Group, has production plants in Akalla, a suburb of Kista near Stockholm, Malmö and Borås, and is one of the biggest print groups in Europe.

Resolute Downtime Removes Pulp from Market

http://www.resolutefp.com/Products/Commercial_Printing_Papers/

Resolute Forest Products, which was scheduled to shutter its 683,000 tonnes/yr pulp and paper mill in Fort Frances, ON, on Sunday due to sluggish market conditions. Resolute spokesman Seth Kursman told the newspaper the downtime would trim about 6,000 tonnes of pulp and 6,900 tonnes of paper output.
The downtime was to last from Oct. 28 to Nov. 11, a company official told The Fort Frances Times last week.

Trends in Green Packaging

http://blogs.whattheythink.com/going-green/2012/10/survey-says-sustainability-is-top-trend-in-packaging/

A new study conducted by Packaging World and DuPont, 2012 Survey of Packaging Trends, surveyed 500 industry professionals to find out what the driving forces, emerging and longterm trends in packaging are, and, according to 59% of respondents, “cost” is (shocking!) the primary factor driving the industry. That said, via Environmental Leader, “cost would fall 28 percent in terms of importance, below factors like sustainability at 51 percent and food safety and security at 37 percent, in the next 10 years in both Europe and North America.”

Also:

Consumers will put a greater value on recyclability and the perceived “greenness” of packaging in 10 years, the survey found. The public will also increasingly demand proof of sustainability claims, such as lifecycle analysis data.

Sandy’s Big Impact on Magazines

Sandy’s Big Impact on Magazines and the Media: Instead of delivering his keynote address Monday afternoon at MediaNext, Condé Nast president Bob Sauerberg announced his offices would be closed as a result of Hurricane Sandy, which bore down on the East Coast over the weekend and into Tuesday.; and there was more.

Disney To Buy Lucasfilm, Star Wars Franchise

Disney To Buy Lucasfilm And Star Wars Franchise For $4 Billion:
The Walt Disney Company officially announced that it is acquiring Lucasfilm Ltd, including the legendary Star Wars franchise, in a stock and cash transaction valued at $4.05 billion.
In a statement Disney CEO Robert Iger had said, "this transaction combines a world-class portfolio of content including Star Wars, one of the greatest family entertainment of all time, with Diney's unique and unparalleled creativity accross multiple platforms, businesses, and markets to generate sustained growth and drive significant long-term value."
The deal denotes that Disney will acquire ownership of Lucasfilm Ltd and its current operating businesses in live action film production, consumer products, animation, visual effects, and audio post production, plus the company's portfolio.

Condé's Townsend: Print Isn't Dying

Condé's Townsend: The Old Days of Magazine Publishing Are Over:
The notion that print is dying is “naive,” Condé Nast CEO Charles Townsend told an audience Friday at the Paley Center for Media in New York City, though the executive stopped short of saying that print could survive on its own as a standalone entity.
 “The sensibility that print is cratering is just nuts,” Townsend said. “There’s nothing in the way of growing these businesses, but you can’t do it without a really substantial digital presence. It’s really managing a brand as opposed to a magazine.”

Publishers Seek to Connect Print & Mobile

Looking for a Deeper Connection Between Print and Mobile:
Publishers are driving engagement between the print and digital platforms by linking magazines directly to mobile. Standalone mobile products these days are a given, but publishers are also looking for ways to extend the print experience into new areas of a reader’s life, and mobile devices are the gateway.

Men's Magazines Enjoy Big Uptick

http://www.adweek.com/news/press/mens-magazine-smackdown-144853

September was a banner advertising month for women’s fashion glossies, but men’s magazines also had a big uptick, in male apparel and grooming. Publishers are taking advantage by dusting off a couple of shuttered guy-oriented titles. Fairchild recently relaunched men’s fashion title M, and last week, Rodale reintroduced Best Life. Can’t decide which one to pick up at the newsstand? Here’s a preview.

Global Consumer Confidence Slowly Improving

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/186304/study-global-consumers-confidence-remains-cautiou.html

Global marketers should note that global consumers' confidence is still improving -- albeit slowly.
A study from The Cambridge Group, a Nielsen company, says a third-quarter index score of 92 grew one point versus the previous quarter. But this shouldn't be seen as a strong recommendation for the near-term.

Publishers Explore Opportunities for New Titles

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/dr_oz_might_be_the_rx_for_mag_publisher_sg6FghHvhi2pt4JenAExqN

Publishers looking for promising ideas are said to have approached talk show host Dr. Mehmet Oz about doing an eponymous magazine. According to the industry grapevine, Rodale, Hearst and Time Inc. are the most likely candidates.

Pivotal Lowers Ad Forecast, Cites Storm

http://www.btobonline.com/article/20121031/ADVERTISING13/310319996/pivotal-research-lowers-ad-forecast-citing-effects-of-sandy

Media research company Pivotal Research Group lowered its U.S. ad forecast to a 0.5% decline in the third quarter, a 1.4% decline in the fourth quarter and zero growth for the full year, citing the effects of massive storm Sandy and other recent variables.

WSJ Still Top in Circulation, USA TODAY #1 in Print

http://www.bostonherald.com/business/media/view/20121030wall_street_journal_remains_no_1_us_newspaper/srvc=home&position=recent

The Wall Street Journal kept its position as the No. 1 newspaper. Its average circulation grew 9.4 percent to 2.3 million.

http://www.wmctv.com/story/19953083/usa-today-remains-number-one-in-total-daily-print-circulation?clienttype=printable

USA TODAY remains number one in total daily print circulation in the United States, according to the latest Audit Bureau of Circulation report. USA TODAY's daily print circulation was 1,627,526 for the period ending September 30, 2012. Total average daily circulation with digital replica and digital non-replica included was 1,713,833.

Canada’s Book Publishers Look Ahead

Canada’s Book Publishers Are Looking Beyond Mere Survival:
Last week was a painful one for book publishing. On Monday, D&M Publishers in Vancouver filed for bankruptcy protection, laying off staff and leaving authors uncertain about their future as the company attempts a reorganization. It was a terrible blow to the industry, and if D&M does go down, this will do great harm to our culture.
Most reports about the D&M situation mention a number of other Canadian publishers who are no more, thanks to bankruptcies or financial reorganizations...That assertion was alarming for two reasons.
The first reason is that it is not true.
Independent publishing in this country is alive vigorous and vital. There are more than 100 active publisher members of the Association of Canadian Publishers...Our strength lies not in the size or the reach of any one publisher, but in the diversity and breadth of the publishers considered as a whole.
The second reason is more worrying.

Sappi Awards Two U.S. Printers

Two U.S. Printers Recognized in Sappi International Printers of the Year Awards: Sappi Fine Paper North America celebrates two winners from our region for the widely-renowned 2012 Sappi International Printers of the Year Awards; Fry Communication (Mechanicsburg, PA) for its innovative production of Style.com in the magazine-web category, and Continental Colorcraft (Monterey Park, CA) for the execution of the coffee table exhibition catalog, “Eye for the Sensual,” in the books category.

Bertelsmann’s Print Unit: Be Printers

Bertelsmann’s Print Unit to Do Business as Be Printers: The printing division of Bertelsmann SE & Co., which was founded a few months ago, will operate under the name Be Printers from now on. The international media company had merged most of its worldwide print operations into this unit to achieve improved control and focus.

NBSK Pulp Price Up for November

Tembec, Resolute Forest Paper and Canfor are the latest pulp manufacturers to announce an increase in the NBSK pulp price in North America by $20/metric tonne, effective November 1.

Harbor Paper (Former Grays) Restarts

http://www.governor.wa.gov/news/news-view.asp?pressRelease=1994&newsType=1

Gov. Chris Gregoire today celebrated the reopening of Harbor Paper, formerly Grays Harbor Paper Co., which reopened in September and immediately began producing paper (recycled uncoated freesheet). Today, Harbor Paper is in full production and brings an estimated 175 family wage jobs to the region.

AF&PA Reports Boxboard Production

US boxboard production down 2.1 percent in September
The American Forest & Paper Association has released its September 2012 U.S. Paperboard Report, which said total boxboard production decreased by 2.1 percent compared to September 2011 and decreased 6.9 percent from August 2012.

Study: 45% of Consumers Prefer Ads in Print

Study Reveals Online Marketing is Falling Short with Consumers: A new study from Adobe finds both consumers and professional marketers believe traditional marketing is still more effective than online marketing.
Respondents say the most preferred place to view an ad is while looking through a favorite print magazine; Digital ads scored only in the single digits.

Favorite print magazine – 45%

Favorite TV show – 34%

Pearson & Bertelsmann Merge Penguin & Random House

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/29/person-bertelsmann-idUSWEA599020121029

Pearson and Bertelsmann today announce an agreement to create the world's leading consumer publishing organisation by combining Penguin and Random House.

The combination brings together two of the world's leading English language publishers, with highly complementary skills and strengths. Random House is the leading English language publisher in the US and the UK, while Penguin is the world's most famous publishing brand and has a strong presence in fast-growing developing markets. Both companies have a long history of publishing excellence, and both have been pioneers in the dramatic industry transformation towards digital publishing and bookselling.

Vertis Holdings’ Creditors Oppose Auction, Loan Terms

Vertis Holdings’ Creditors Oppose Auction, Loan Terms: Unsecured creditors say Vertis Holdings Inc.’s auction and financing proposals don’t include enough protections to make sure they’re not left holding the bag during the company’s third trip through Chapter 11. The official committee representing Vertis’ unsecured creditors are urging a bankruptcy judge to slow down the sale of Vertis’ print advertising and direct-mail marketing business, which they say is being run for the sole benefit of senior lenders led by General Electric Capital Corp.

Amazon to Collect Arizona Sales Tax

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2012/10/amazon_will_start_collecting_a.php

Online retailer Amazon will no longer be Arizona's duty-free store.
Amazon noted in its latest FEC filing that it's going to start collecting Arizona sales tax on purchases in the state, which currently stands at 6.6 percent.
This change -- which was apparently caught by the Arizona Republic over the weekend -- comes after quite a bit of complaining from state-level authorities about Amazon skirting the sales-tax in Arizona.

Retailers as Ad Networks

http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/retailers-ad-networks-144850

Amazon built all sorts of buzz and intrigue during Advertising Week [1] this month by touting its third-party ad platform. But what the e-commerce giant is doing isn’t actually all that new.
Brands repackaging their own audiences for display ads “is very much an emerging space,” said Jay Habegger, co-founder and CEO of ad network OwnerIQ, a retargeting firm that is in talks to work with the majority of the top 25 retailers.

Some Good News for Newspapers

http://www.adweek.com/news/press/newspapers-digital-circulation-climbs-144889

Finally, here's some good news for U.S. newspapers, for a change: the Audit Bureau of Circulations has issued its twice-annual newspaper circulation report [1], and it shows that overall circulation held steady as papers’ efforts to expand their digital distribution paid off.
The standout was The New York Times, whose total circulation grew more than 40 percent to 1.6 million. Its digital circulation more than doubled in the past year to 896,352, the result of an aggressive push to grow its paid digital subscription base via its paywall, which went up more than a year ago (though it wasn't enough to cure all its revenue ills [2]). With the increase in digital, the Times’ online daily circulation now tops its print circulation, which comes in at 717,513. The Times’ Sunday circulation also sharply increased, from 27.7 percent to 2.1 million.
Archrival The Wall Street Journal, with a more established paid site, grew its total circ 9.4 percent to 2.3 million as its digital circ surged to 794,594 from 537,469 a year ago.

FT Reports Q3 Earnings

FT Continues Strong Digital Growth in Q3 Earnings:
The Financial Times has more digital subscribers than print and that gap is only growing.
Digital subscriptions increased again in Q3--up 17 percent since January and 26 percent year-over-year--and now account for 313,000 of the 600,000-plus combined subscribers, according to FT ownership group Pearson who released its nine-month interim management statement on Monday. FT reaches an audience of close to 2.1 million daily.

Next Issue Media, from Big 5, Enters Next Phase

Next Issue Media Enters Next Phase of On-Demand Model:
Next Issue Media, supported by a joint venture between five of the biggest domestic publishers, is set enter its next phase of growth as it plans a formal marketing push into the holiday season. Internal metrics released by the company recently show it's attracting a significant number of new readers to the consortium's brands. And in the next few weeks, NIM will be adding  another round of titles to its catalog, this time from outside the consortium. But don't expect the number of available titles to grow too quickly. While Next Issue Media continues along the path of a premium-priced, on-demand model for magazines, it's doing so for only a small slice of the industry. 

AF&PA Reports September P&W Ships

http://www.afandpa.org/

The American Forest & Paper Association has released its September 2012 Printing-Writing Paper Report.

According to the report, total printing-writing paper shipments decreased 7 percent in September compared to September 2011.

September shipments of coated mechanical (CM) papers reach second highest monthly total for the year but are still down year-over-year.

IP Announces Pulp Price Increase

International Paper (IP) informed customers worldwide today that it will increase fluff pulp prices by $30/tonne, effective November 1 until further notice.

Third Deadline Catalyst Paper’s Elk Falls Sale Passes

Third deadline for sale of Catalyst Paper’s Elk Falls mill seems to have passed without a completed deal:
Catalyst Paper plans to sell its abandoned Elk Falls mill site in British Columbia to Alberta developer Harold Jahn for $8.6 million.
Jahn, owner of  Pacifica Deep Sea Terminals Incorporated, plans to transform the 400 acre site into an industrial park and port facility.
However deadlines to complete the deal keep coming and going and it doesn’t seem that the deal has been finalized.

Sales Still Up, but Confidence Faltering?

Sales Still Up, but Confidence is Slipping: “Our industry still isn’t gaining any traction,” notes the latest edition of NAPL’s Printing Business Conditions , reporting that sales did rise for the second quarter, but remain down slightly for the first half of 2012; “We’ve been witnessing this up-and-down pattern for two years now.”
The latest report (PDF) indicates that more members of the NAPL Printing Business Panel are seeing pre-tax profitability increase (31.9 percent in August 2012, compared to 24.3 percent in January 2012), but fewer expect business to improve over the next six months.

Cenveo Debt Buyback May Foretell Sale

Cenveo Debt Buyback May Augur a Sale: Cenveo Inc. has started buying back its 7.875-percent notes before they mature in 2013 as part of its mission to deleverage the printing and packaging company, which may be headed toward a sale. During Cenveo’s Aug. 9 second-quarter earnings the company’s chairman and CEO, Robert G. Burton  Sr., addressed the potential sale of the company. “We’ll decide if we’re going to sell the company, and by the way, we’ve had people knocking on the door for the last several years,” he told listeners.

Standard Register Reports Q3 Loss

Standard Register Reports 2.6M Q3 Loss:Standard Register (SR), a leader in critical communications management solutions, today announced its financial results for the third quarter and first nine months of 2012. The Company reported third-quarter 2012 revenue of $145.7 million and a net loss of $2.6 million or $0.09 per share.

2015 Global Digital/Mobile Revenues $2.5 Billion

http://www.pubexec.com/article/global-scene-digital-publishing-opportunities-poised-take-off-worldwide/1

A deep dive on global trends in digital publishing was offered today during a webinar co-produced by the World Newsmedia Network (WNMN) and FIPP, the international magazine media association. Global in-app purchase revenues are expected to jump to $5600 million by 2015, from $970 million in 2011, Stone said, and total digital and mobile revenues for magazines to approach $2.5 billion, approximately doubling their current total.

SF Drops Yellow Pages Ban After Court Ruling

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2012/10/following-yellow-pages-ruling-seattle-san-francisco-halt-similar-program

Free speech? San Francisco was forced to reconsider its Yellow Pages ban after a federal court struck down a similar law in Seattle.

San Francisco’s law banning the delivery of Yellow Pages is being sent to the trash can after a federal court ruled that a similar law enacted in Seattle violated First Amendment protections.