Condé Nast Names Executives

http://www.adweek.com/news/press/cond-nast-corporate-makes-two-new-hires-147084

Condé Nast has been on a bit of a hiring spree, announcing two additions to its executive ranks this week.

Today, the company said that it had named Patty Newburger to the newly created role of vp, special projects. 
On Tuesday, Condé announced that it had found a new svp of corporate communications, Patricia Röckenwagner. Previously, she was svp of marketing and communications for The McGraw-Hill Companies. (The company’s current svp of corporate media relations, Patricia Steele, will report to Röckenwagner and continue to oversee press-related matters, Condé said.)

Marketing Budgets Up, Multichannel ROI a Challenge

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/192763/marketing-budgets-rise-determining-multichannel-r.html#axzz2K9PdBdCu

Some 54% of companies participating in the Marketing Budgets Report expect to increase overall marketing investment this year, up from 45% in 2012. But determining ROI from combined online and offline channels remains complicated. 
While 71% report increases for their digital budgets this year, up from 68%, about 20% plan to increase traditional offline budgets -- up from 16% last year, according to the fourth annual report from Econsultancy, sponsored by Responsys. The analysis of 2013 budgets across a range of marketing disciplines and channels compares online with offline budgets of more than 800 companies and agencies.

Amazon Starts Collecting Sales Tax in CT

http://articles.courant.com/2013-02-04/business/hc-amazon-tax-agreement-20130204_1_sales-tax-amazon-tax-issue

Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, will begin collecting sales tax in the state this November as part of an agreement that Gov. Dannel P. Malloy says will mean hundreds of new jobs and a $50 million Connecticut distribution center.
It also means that residents will pay a 6.35 percent tax on every book, DVD, electronic device or tube of toothpaste bought and shipped to their doorstep from Amazon. And the tax will be paid when consumers click "Place Your Order" instead of at tax time, when state tax forms ask residents to declare online purchases. Many people have not declared those purchases and have not paid the tax, state officials say.

Bookish Launches with Support of Major Publishers

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bookish-launches-with-high-profile-exclusive-content-michael-connelly-on-the-book-he-needed-to-stop-writing-the-onion-editors-review-fifty-shades-of-grey-and-the-art-of-war-eat-pray-love-author-elizabeth-gilbert-takes--189805511.html

With the backing of Hachette Book Group, Penguin and Simon & Schuster, as well as the participation of 16 other major publishers, including Random House, Inc., Scholastic, HarperCollins Publishers, and Perseus Books Group, Bookish will provide readers with a wealth of original and exclusive content about books and writers, while also allowing users to conveniently browse, discover and purchase new reads without leaving the site.

USPS Most Trusted Government Agency

USPS Climbs Two Points in Most Trusted Company Survey; Remains Most Trusted Government Agency: The Postal Service ranks as the fourth most trusted company — a two-point increase from 2011 and its highest company ranking since the survey’s inception by the premier privacy trust study in America. The same survey also named The Postal Service the ‘Most Trusted Government Agency for the 7th year in a row”.

IP Annual 2012 & Q4-Earnings Down Sales Up

International Paper Reports Fourth-Quarter and 2012 Earnings:
International Paper reported preliminary full-year 2012 net earnings attributable to common shareholders totaling $794 million compared with $1.3 billion in full-year 2011. In the fourth quarter of 2012, the company reported net earnings of $235 million compared with $281 million  in the fourth quarter of 2011. Amounts in all periods include special items and non-operating pension expense. Annual sales totaled $27.8 billion in 2012 compared with $26.0 billion in 2011. Quarterly net sales were $7.1 billion in the fourth quarter compared with $6.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Full-year 2012 business segment operating profits were $2.0 billion compared with $2.2 billion in 2011. Business segment operating profits in the fourth quarter were $528 million compared with $577 million in 2011, both of which included special items. "Our success capturing merger benefits from the Temple-Inland acquisition contributed to our fourth quarter results and IP's record cash generation from operations in 2012," said John Faraci, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Given our runway levers and ability to execute, we are positioned to deliver a step-change in earnings as we move through 2013."
-Printing Papers operating profits were $147 million (before and after special items) in the fourth quarter of 2012 versus $201 million ($202 million including special items) in the third quarter of 2012. North American operations were impacted by higher planned outage-related maintenance expenses, seasonally lower sales and lower average sales price for paper, particularly in export markets. Europe's results were stronger quarter over quarter mainly from lower planned maintenance expenses.

Stora-Strong Cash Flow-Weak Demand In Paper

http://www.stockhouse.com/news/usreleasesdetail.aspx?n=8728827
"Stora Enso finished the fourth quarter with continued strong cash flow and operating earnings slightly up year-on-year, but slightly down on the previous quarter. This is the result of our ever-continuing focus on improving costs and working capital, and it demonstrates that we can and will continue on this path into the future as well. I want to give full credit for this to the Stora Enso people throughout the world. "I also want to highlight that the first two of our growth investments – the investments at Skoghall and the new board machine at Ostrołęka – have been completed on time. In fact Ostrołęka's new light-weight container board machine started up six weeks ahead of schedule and the focus is now on successful ramp up, which is expected to take couple of months. In Uruguay everybody from Stora Enso and our partners is fully focused on hitting our mid 2013 start-up target and, even more important, a successful ramp-up after that.  "The darker side of our news today is that the decline in consumer demand in paper-based media in Europe has continued in the fourth quarter. Whereas the structural trend in total paper demand has been about -5% per year since 2007, we now read the demand in the two largest media-driven segments, newsprint and coated magazine paper, decreased in 2012 by about 9%. As before, the unfavourable supply and demand balance has led to further pressure on margins.

Stora Shutdown Swedish Newsprint PM's-600 Jobs Cut

Stora Enso to cut 600 jobs
Stora Enso plans to restructure its operations through the permanent shutdown of two newspaper machines in Sweden. Stora Enso also plans efficiency improvements in the Printing and Reading customer service and the Building and Living Business Area. The profitability improvement actions are planned to reduce annual costs by EUR 54 million and reduce the number of employees by approximately 600 altogether. Printing and Reading plans the permanent shutdown of paper machine (PM) 2 at Hylte Mill in Sweden with annual capacity 205 000 tonnes of newsprint and PM 11 at Kvarnsveden Mill in Sweden with annual capacity 270 000 tonnes of newsprint in the second quarter of 2013. This represents 3.4% of European newsprint capacity. The plans to shut down capacity are due to continuing structural weakening of newsprint demand in Europe.

Australian Mill New Recycled PM

New recycled paper machine inaugurated at Botany mill, Australia
Amcor has inaugurated a new $500 million recycled paper machine at Botany Mill in Austrastllia. The paper machine has the capacity to produce about 400,000 tonnes of high-quality 100% recycled testliner and fluting grades. The machine came on stream on Oct. 16, 2012. The production line was officially opened in an inauguration ceremony held on February 1, 2013. "This is the most sophisticated recycled paper making machine in Australasia. It produces high-quality 100 per cent recycled brown paper that is stronger, more consistent and has an improved colour for our customers," he said. Construction of the new facility commenced in 2011, creating more than 800 jobs throughout the project and securing ongoing employment for more than 150 co-workers.

Södra Cell Reaches 100,000 Tonnes Of Textile Pulp

Södra Cell reaches 100,000 tonnes of textile pulp: Södra Cell has sold 100,000 tonnes of textile pulp since production began at its Morrum mill in December 2011. This milestone has been reached sooner than planned. "We had budgeted to produce 50,000 tonnes in 2012. That we have now reached 100,000 tonnes in January of 2013 is a fantastic result," said Dag Benestad, Business Operations Manager for Södra's textile pulp. It took 12 months to convert line 1 at Mörrum to textile pulp and the company is now looking at converting an additional line to hardwood-based textile pulp, primarily for customers in Europe and Asia.

Arkansas Waits For Chinese Firms Paper Plans

http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article/90581/arkansas-towns-wait-for-chinese-company-to-put-plans-to-paper
When word went out that Gov. Beebe was about to announce a $1 billion investment in Arkansas, some folks in south Arkansas were surprised that it turned out to be a steel mill in Osceola. They thought it was going to be a Chinese wood pulp mill at Camden or Arkadelphia. Beebe has hinted around about this project before. After a trip to China in April, he spoke of two strong business possibilities, including one related to the timber industry. But Whispers, you know, likes to do more than hint around. So here’s what’s happening: A company called Sun Paper — specifically Shandong Sun Paper Industry — plans to invest about $1 billion in building a plant employing 350 in one of those two south Arkansas towns for the purpose of producing paper pulp to be exported back to China. The smart money seems to be betting on Camden, with its abandoned International Paper Co. site and bountiful surface water supply. In a feature published last summer, trade journal Pulp & Paper International noted that Sun Paper “has a dynamic joint venture with global giant International Paper producing high quality ivory board for liquids and food packaging as well as a lucrative and growing dissolving pulp division.” At any rate, one of the two cities expects to make an announcement as exciting as Osceola’s in the next few weeks.

Asia P&P AgreesTo Stop Cutting Rain Forests

http://ht.ly/hqZhr
Asia Pulp & Paper, the third-largest pulp and paper company in the world, announced Tuesday that it is halting operations in Indonesia’s natural rain forests, a victory for advocates who have been negotiating with the company for the past year. The Singapore-based company, which controls logging concessions spanning nearly 6.4 million acres in Indonesia, said it also has agreed to protect forested peatland, which stores massive amounts of carbon, and to work with indigenous communities to protect their native land. As of Friday, the firm had pulled hundreds of excavators out of the forest and had hired a European nonprofit group called The Forest Trust, which negotiated the agreement, to independently monitor its operations. Aida Greenbury, the firm’s managing director for sustainability, said that a coalition of environmentalists, customers and some of the firm’s own employees had pushed for an end to native forest logging. “We heard very loud and clear what they want us to do,” she said. “It is an investment for the sustainability of our business, not only an investment in the environment and the social impact we’re creating.”The move shows how activists are increasingly focused on securing environmental commitments from corporate giants rather than governments, which can be slow to enact sweeping policy changes.

Russian Mill Growth in 2012

http://www.ilimgroup.com/press-centre/news/?id=592
Ilim Group Mills in the north-west of Russia continued their growth in 2012. The Koryazhma Mill (Arkhangelsk Oblast) manufactured 1,101,000 tons of pulp and paper products. This is 4% above the 2011 output. The figures include 381,000 tons of market pulp, with a 7% increase as compared to the previous year. Market containerboard production has gained 1% to reach 486,000 tons. Paper output increase amounted to 5%, reaching 235,000 tons. This includes 87,000 tons of sack paper, 111,000 tons of offset paper, and 36,000 tons of wallpaper.

Semper's Print Ind Survey Q4 Profitability

Semper's Print Industry Survey Reveals Fourth Quarter Profitability: Semper International, the leading placement firm for skilled help in the graphic arts and printing industry, announces its print Industry Insight survey has seen an increase in reported profitability during the fourth quarter of 2012. “We're seeing the slowdown we see every January, but we have high hopes for a solid first quarter,” notes Dave Regan, CEO Semper International. “We're seeing a disconnect in responses this quarter. Profitability was up and there is an increase in plans to hire. On the other hand we're seeing a drop in companies expecting sales to increase. This round of quantitative easing plus the recent spike in the stock market fuel my optimism for this quarter.”
Since February 2003, Semper International has provided a quarterly survey offering estimates of trends in the printing and graphics industries. To prevent bias, survey questions—both qualitative and quantitative—are designed by Semper corporate partner Cvent. Survey participants include more than 300 small-, medium- and large-printing companies; both clients and prospects of Semper International. Participants provide data on revenue and hiring as well as estimated outlooks on future trends. Data is requested from a random sample and is not screened. To preserve confidentiality, individual company information is not part of the tabulation.

WSJ. Magazine-First Look

http://www.wwd.com/media-news/fashion-memopad/first-issue-6694183
FIRST ISSUE: “I had this wacky idea to bring in columnists,” said Kristina O’Neill. She was at the NoMad Hotel on a recent Wednesday flipping through her maiden issue of WSJ. magazine, out Feb. 16, and recounting how she conceived some of her changes. A veteran of magazines — first at New York, the last 12 years at Harper’s Bazaar — O’Neill had been thinking about what distinguishes her new employer, The Wall Street Journal. “Being at a newspaper and just thinking about the columns of a newspaper, a six-column grid, I had this idea to do columnists in columns,” she said. Except, instead of Peggy Noonan and Karl Rove, she asked “luminaries in their field to talk about a topic that we sort of feel is pervasive in the ether,” a topic like discipline, for instance. Discipline sort of kept coming up. It was one of those words that I kept hearing at dinner parties. It gave me this idea to talk to different people in different fields,” she said. She called Karl Lagerfeld and Marina Abramovic and Dwyane Wade, among others, and a feature was born. In each new issue, six rotating personalities will sound off on a topic of the magazine’s choice.

Harman Press Expansion

The Harman Press Chooses North Hollywood For Expansion: In a move signaling an expansion of its commercial printing business, The Harman Press has re-located from its longtime address in Hollywood, CA to a larger facility at 6840 Vineland Avenue, North Hollywood in the San Fernando Valley, and added personnel to its executive roster. Family-owned for three generations, The Harman Press counts clients among the major motion picture studios such as Universal, and is known in political circles as print providers for local, state and national campaigns over the years. Other clients include healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente, and national businesses such as top auto auctioneers Gooding & Company. "To meet the increasing demand for quality printing in the age of digital information, The Harman Press is consolidating Los Angeles operations in a larger space and gearing up for a more aggressive approach to sales and production that a more demanding marketplace requires," said Harman Press President Philip Goldner."

ND Graphics & Fibermark Launch Partnership

ND Graphics and Fibermark Launch Formal Partnership: ND Graphics Inc. and FiberMark agreed today on an exclusive Canadian Master Distributor agreement to deliver sustainable, green printing solutions to the Digital Print and Signage Industries in Canada. From Mark West, President ND Graphics Inc.: “We’ve recognized for a long time that we need to offer a greener alternative to traditional wide format print media. With FiberMark, we have finally found a manufacturer to partner with that offers indoor and outdoor capable products that are both competitively priced and better for the environment.”

Social Media for Printers (Digital Nirvana)

Social Media for Printers (Digital Nirvana):
Social Media is huge right now. HUGE. If you keep up with this blog, then you’ve likely already caught a few posts about social media. But here is one more; one that is specifically focused on printers and how they are using social media to achieve their business goals and communicate with customers. I recently read a 2011 InfoTrends study on social media usage in the printing industry and was surprised to learn some of the findings. As of 2011, about 1/3 of print business had adopted social media and used it in their day-to-day business operations. I was at first surprised by how low the percentage was, but considering data was likely gathered for this study at the end of 2010, I would imagine the usage rate is significantly higher by now. What it also interesting is that print providing companies that were smaller in nature had the highest rate of social media adoption, while larger companies were less likely to engage in social networks. The most common networking platforms used are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and company blogs.

Editorial Leadership Shuffle At Wired.com

Editorial Leadership Shuffle at Wired.com:  Through a pair of tweets yesterday Mark McClusky and Evan Hansen announced a transition at the top editor spot at Condé Nast's Wired.com. Hansen is departing and McClusky, formerly the editorial development director, will be taking over the position, a role that Hansen had filled since 2005.

Felix Dennis Returns To Aquire Computer Active

http://www.brandrepublic.com/media/article/1169628/felix-dennis-returns-computer-active-acquisition/
Felix Dennis, the entrepreneur who made millions from computing magazines in the eighties, has returned to his roots with his company's acquisition of Computer Active today. Dennis Publishing’s acquisition of Computer Active from Incisive Media for an undisclosed sum is effective immediately, with 14 staff from editorial and commercial transferring with the business. Launched in 1998, Computer Active is a fortnightly mass market consumer magazine for home computer users, covering software and the internet with news, reviews and step-by-step projects. Its last reported audited circulation was 118,188 in the year January to December in 2011. Felix Dennis is one of media’s best-known entrepreneurs, who made his name as a pioneer of personal computer magazines, notably PC World which he later sold to VNU in the mid-eighties. He also co-founded a $2 billion computer mail-order company related to the magazines, which eventually went public on the NASDAQ.

Dell To Go Private In $24.4 Billion Deal

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/05/us-dell-buyout-idUSBRE9140NF20130205
Michael Dell will take computer company Dell Inc private in a $24.4 billion deal that marks the biggest leveraged buyout since the financial crisis.The company's founder and CEO, and private equity firm Silver Lake are paying $13.65 per share in cash for the world's No. 3 computer maker.The deal is being financed by cash and equity from Michael Dell, cash from Silver Lake, cash from Michael Dell's MSD Capital investment firm, a $2 billion loan from Microsoft Corp and debt financing from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Credit Suisse and RBC Capital Markets.The parties expect the transaction to close before the end of the second quarter of Dell's fiscal 2014. While analysts said Dell could be more nimble as a private company, it will still have to deal with the same difficult market conditions.

Can Publishers Make E-Tail Pay?

http://www.adweek.com/news/press/can-publishers-make-e-tail-pay-146983
In an age where print media is trailing digital growth but display ads still aren’t pulling their weight, publishers are looking to e-commerce to drum up some extra revenue. But while plenty of media companies are making an effort—whether it’s Harper’s Bazaar launching e-boutique Bazaar Shops last fall, Better Homes and Gardens’ new shopping channel or Lucky recently restructuring its executive team to focus on digital commerce—many are still struggling to find a profitable model. Veterans of the space say it’s a lot harder than it looks. One fatal flaw of many media-driven e-commerce sites is that they lack a merchandising strategy as meticulous as their editorial strategy, said Ben Lerer, the co-founder of Thrillist, which bought men’s flash sale site JackThreads three years ago. "Understanding editorial and merchandising curation is not the same," he said. “Most of these media companies don’t have a single merchandiser in the building.” Another major difficulty in combining e-commerce with content is getting consumers to transition from browsing to buying, said Tyler Thoreson, vp of men’s editorial, creative and customer experience at Gilt Groupe. "You need to remember what the reader came there for and what’s their headspace," said Thoreson. “From my experience, I’m not 100 percent convinced that it’s all that easy to turn a reader into a customer.” So, whether any publisher will manage to create a full e-commerce experience, from inventory to customer service, is still up in the air. As it becomes harder for media companies bringing in millions of unique visitors every month to make a profit from display ads, however, they may eventually be forced to start thinking more unconventionally.

Publishers Cool On Facebook

http://www.digiday.com/publishers/publishers-cool-on-facebook/
We are entering the end of the like era. There was a time, not long ago, when all industries, including publishing, wondered how to turbocharge their growth via Facebook. But as the plunging fortunes of Zynga show, that’s a dangerous proposition. Many publishers are realizing Facebook won’t offer much salvation. Sure, it still drives plenty of traffic, but those numbers aren’t growing as fast — and in some cases, they’re going in reverse. That means publishers aren’t pushing readers to “like them on Facebook” as much as they used to. After all, only 16 percent of a publisher’s fans organically see a page post. Given a choice, a publisher would much rather have someone sign up for an email newsletter or even follow it on Twitter.

Murdoch Must Wait As Rift Stalls Media Rules

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-05/murdoch-coveting-papers-must-wait-as-rift-stalls-u-s-media-rule.html
A move to make it easier for companies to own U.S. daily newspapers and nearby broadcast stations has stalled amid partisan tension that could prevent deals between companies such as Tribune Co. and News Corp. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski, a Democrat, hasn’t won approval of his proposal to ease a ban on cross-media ownership almost three months after asking fellow commissioners to vote for it. The FCC proposal’s fate may determine whether News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch has a chance to buy Tribune Co. newspapers in U.S. markets where his company owns Fox television stations. Tribune emerged from bankruptcy Dec. 31 with a plan to focus on its broadcast properties, and Murdoch plans to take a close look at the newspapers if they become available, according to a person with knowledge of his thinking.

Gannett Co. Reports Strong Q4 Results

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gannett-co-inc-reports-strong-fourth-quarter-results-driven-by-total-company-revenue-growth-of-9-percent-and-non-gaap-earnings-growth-of-20-percent-189640351.html
Gannett Co., Inc. a leading international media and marketing solutions company, today reported strong fourth quarter financial results. Earnings per diluted share, on a GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) basis were $0.44 for the fourth quarter of 2012 compared to $0.49 for the same quarter last year. Excluding special items in both years, fourth quarter earnings per diluted share were $0.89 in 2012 compared to $0.72 in the fourth quarter of 2011, a 23.6 percent increase. Gracia Martore, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are proud of our strong operating results this quarter with growth in revenue and margin expansion driving strong cash flow. This caps an extremely productive year in which we successfully implemented our strategy to position Gannett for success in the digital era. For the year, we achieved our first year-over-year increase in company-wide revenue since 2006. During the fourth quarter and for the full year, our Broadcasting business delivered record revenue and profitability. Our television stations significantly increased market share this year reflecting the value of their content and format in gaining new viewers while retaining their loyal base. Not to be outdone, local domestic publishing circulation revenue also increased for the third straight quarter driven by the success of our all access content subscription model. We are meeting or exceeding the revenue and operating profit goals we had for the all access content subscription model. Total digital revenue across Gannett increased 29 percent and represented 25 percent of total revenue.

For Publishers, Social Media Trumps Search

For Publishers, Social Media Trumps Search:
As a top referral source, social is expected to overtake search this year. Online publishers of all stripes have invested heavily in search to drive reader acquisition. With a market size approaching $3B in 2013, the SEO industry has thrived on the data feedback loops created by analyzing the keywords that users enter into search engines before arriving at their sites or competitive sites. Yet despite continued growth in user search activity and increasingly sophisticated keyword analysis tools, 2013 is shaping up to be the first year that social media eclipses search as the leading source of referral traffic to publishers. How could this be?

How Mobile Coupons Could Clip Newspapers

http://newsosaur.blogspot.de/2013/02/how-mobile-coupons-could-clip-newspapers.html
The rapidly expanding adoption of mobile couponing is poised to become a major challenge to one of the most profitable and important revenue streams remaining for newspapers: preprint advertising circulars. The good news for publishers at the moment is that newspapers carry 90% of the printed coupons issued annually by consumer-products companies in the United States, according to a mid-2012 survey by NCH Marketing Services, a division of the Valassis direct-mail company that serves as a clearinghouse for many of the billions of coupons redeemed every year. NCH says 305 billion coupons were issued in 2012. But things could be about to change, as consumers and marketers rapidly embrace the power of mobile phones to deliver the right deal at the right place and time to exactly the right customer. While only 6.0% of mobile phone owners used mobile coupons in 2012, the number rose to 16.3% in 2012 and is projected to leap to 24.3% by 2014, according to eMarketer, an independent research company.

UBM Sells Data Services Businesses

UBM Sells Data Services Businesses: B-to-b media company UBM has agreed to sell “the bulk” of its data services business for $252 million to Electra Partners, a private-equity firm. A deal was expected after UBM announced a “strategic review” of its data services segment in July. The combined business units, known as “Delta,” include Health, Technology and IP, Trade and Transport, and Paper. The businesses in the portfolio being sold off generated $300 million in revenues in 2011, but shed about $20 million last year. Operating profits declined slightly over the period, settling at about $43.2 million in 2012. Gross assets were listed at $466 million at the halfway point last year.

Bookish, New Web Site

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/04/bookish-new-web-site-provides-information-on-books-and-authors/?ref=media
Bookish, the Web site built by top publishers to provide information on their books and authors in a literary magazine-like format, opened for business Monday night. Although the site received financing from just three houses – Simon & Schuster, Penguin Group USA and Hachette Book Group – it will include books by 16 other publishers including Random House and Scholastic.Meant primarily as a destination for readers, visitors can also purchase books on the site directly from the publishers through bookish.com or other retailers if they’d like. Ardy Khazaei, Bookish’s chief executive, said this will be a better way for people to discover new books, because recommendations from friends are not necessarily the best way to find a match for a reader’s tastes. He added that friends and relatives “won’t be able to know about as many relevant books as our tool can.”

Billboard Mag Launches iPad App

Billboard Magazine Launches Dynamic iPad App Powered by MEI Portico: Managing Editor Inc. (MEI) today announced the release of Billboard’s new custom-branded app developed and deployed using MEI Portico™ and Adobe® Digital Publishing Suite™. The MEI team worked with Prometheus Global Media, owner of the Billboard brand, to create a unified app experience across three of its digital publications

Langley Holdings To Absorb Manroland in 2013

Langley Holdings release 2012 Annual Report, to absorb manroland as division in 2013: Langley Holdings PLC, the engineering group behind press builder Manroland Sheetfed, announced it's 2012 results today. Langley Holdings PLC, which is controlled by British industrialist Tony Langley, who is also Chairman of the Manroland Sheetfed, recorded a profit before tax of €121.3 million (2011: €76.3m), including a non-recurring gain of €25.2m (2011: nil).

Manroland Sheetfed is not as yet incorporated within the Langley Holdings PLC group and will report its results in March. However, unaudited headline figures are included in the Chairman’s Review and the company says that it intends to formally bring the press builder into the group as a division later this year.

“Green Teams” Save The USPS Money

http://blogs.whattheythink.com/going-green/2013/02/green-teams-save-the-usps-money/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=whattheythink
Although the ongoing saga of the embattled U.S. Postal Service is well documented by our friend Mr. Tree (if that is his name), at the very least the USPS is reducing its environmental footprint, and saving money at the same time. Says Environmental Leader: The US Postal Service says it saved more than $52 million in 2012 by reducing energy, water, consumables, petroleum fuel use and solid waste to landfills, and generated nearly $24 million in revenue by recycling. The agency uses employee-based “green teams” to identify ways of reducing material consumption, boosting recycling, avoiding landfill fees, cutting vehicle emissions, and other “no-cost or low-cost” sustainability actions.

Flambeau Completes Energy Project

http://www.pricecountydaily.com/news/business/article_e2606462-6b06-11e2-98fb-001a4bcf887a.html

With the help of Focus on Energy, Wisconsin utilities' statewide program for energy efficiency and renewable energy, and in partnership with Xcel Energy, Flambeau River Papers has implemented an energy efficient Sulfur Burner and Heat Recovery Steam Generator that will save over 600,000 therms of natural gas annually.

Union Threatens Strike at Sappi's Skowhegan, ME Mill

http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/Sappi-disappointed-with-union-vote.html

Officials at Sappi Fine Paper offices in Boston on Friday said they are disappointed with a union vote
Thursday night that could set the stage for a strike.

Electrical workers voted against a new contract, saying the next move is another meeting when workers can vote on possible work stoppage.

"We are disappointed that the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union did not ratify the offer," Joanna Rieke, manager of corporate communications said in a statement. "It is a very fair package, with 2 percent wage increases every year and improvements in the pension, with overall wages and benefits that are extremely competitive for our industry."

Tentative Deal Averts Port Strikes

After twice avoiding strikes in last-minutes moves over the last four months, negotiators reached agreement that averts a Feb. 6 strike at and shutdown of 14 East and Gulf ports.

The tentative agreement between US Maritime Alliance and the International Longshoremen's Association was announced on Saturday by federal mediators. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) Dir George Cohen said the agreement, which is pending approval by both groups' union members, was proof of the value of unions.

Marketers Continued Interest in Direct Mail

Marketers Decline Focus on Traditional Media...But Not Direct Mail (Digital Nirvana):
According to a survey conducted by Aquent and the American Marketing Association (AMA), nearly one in three marketers plans to decrease their organization’s focus on newspapers this year and approximately one-quarter plans to decrease focus on consumer magazines (28%), radio (24%), trade magazines (22%), and TV (21%). While that sounds scary, what’s interesting to me is that this doesn’t seem to include direct mail. Only 9% cited “direct marketing” as an area of declining focus. Why is that?

Ziff Davis Buys News Corp’s IGN

j2’s Ziff Davis Buys News Corp’s IGN:
j2 Global continues to build out its digital media portfolio with the acquisition of popular gamer lifestyle brand IGN Entertainment, a News Corp property.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
IGN--publisher of digital properties IGN.com, UGO.com, 1UP.com and AskMen.com--will officially fall under the purview of Ziff Davis, Inc.
"This is Ziff Davis' sixth acquisition in under three years and a transformative one," Vivek Shah, Ziff Davis CEO, tells Folio: in an email. "We continue to believe the tech and gaming vertical is one of the most attractive in digital media. The combined reach and scale of the companies places us in the upper echelon of digital media companies."

I-5 Publishing Buys Special Interest Publisher BowTie

Cat Fancy Publisher Sold in 8-Figure Deal:
A newly formed joint venture between Mark Harris, co-founder and co-owner of National Publisher Services (NPS), and David Fry, chairman of NPI Ventures LLC and CTO of Fry Communications, called I-5 Publishing LLC has acquired the books, magazines and websites of special interest publisher BowTie Inc.
Terms of the deal were not released, but Harris and Fry ballparked it at $10 million-plus. Included in the sale are Cat Fancy, Dog Fancy, Pet Product News International, Horse Illustrated, Urban Farm, AnimalNetwork.com, DogChannel.com and books like Dog Heroes of September 11th and The Original Dog Bible.

National Geographic Uses Google+ in Campaign

A Case Study in Google+: National Geographic:
To celebrate and promote National Geographic’s 125th anniversary campaign in January, the society used Google+ to court new and existing audiences in order to heighten awareness and engagement.
“If Alexander Graham Bell was imagining the National Geographic Society today and not 125 years ago and was trying to figure out a way to tell stories of exploration, he’d probably suggest a Google+ hangout,” says Amy Maniatis, chief marketing office for the National Geographic Society. “This is an emerging and rapidly growing platform that gives us a very unique way to make our story-telling incredibly successful and it lets folks participate.”

Time Warner May Sell NY Headquarters

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/30/us-timewarner-headquarters-idUSBRE90T16E20130130

Time Warner Inc is considering selling its New York headquarters and has asked real estate brokers to evaluate the building's value, according to two sources familiar with the situation. 
The company is considering a wide range of options, including selling the midtown Manhattan building and leasing it back, moving more employees into the building and closing other New York offices, or moving out from the building entirely, one source said on Wednesday.

Publishers See Gains in Luxury Ads

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/31/us-magazines-advertising-idUSBRE90U0KQ20130131

Glossy products still look best on the glossy page.

Advertising for luxury brands is driving increases in first-quarter ad pages at big magazine publishers, a welcome dose of good news for companies that have grappled with layoffs, restructurings and general malaise in a business whose fortunes have fallen as the online world has grown.
Conde Nast, Hearst Magazines, Time Inc and Rodale all expect a rise in ad pages sold in their magazines for the first quarter.

WSJ Launches Journal Report Digital Platform

http://www.btobonline.com/article/20130204/MEDIABUSINESS1204/302049996/wall-street-journal-debuts-digital-platform-for-journal-reports 
The Wall Street Journal has introduced a full digital platform for Journal Reports, a print franchise of the Wall Street Journal that provides in-depth features and reporting.

The new digital platform, called Journal Report, integrates traditional features of the print edition with interactive features such as building online communities.
Journal Reports, which will publish approximately 60 print reports as standalone sections in the Wall Street Journal this year, also announced a redesign, featuring new columns and a more graphic-intensive presentation.

Condé Nast Reports Best Q1 Ad Sales in 5 Years

http://www.condenast.com/press/press-releases/2013/01/24/cond%C3%A9-nast-announces-strongest-first-quarter-ad-sales-5-years

Condé Nast expects to end their first quarter (January-March) in 2013 with a 5% increase in ad pages, surpassing results for the same period last year, announced Lou Cona, chief marketing officer, Condé Nast. The company's sales success is due, in part, to the continued strength of its core brands, including Vogue and Vanity Fair, in addition to key performances of several other titles and in its men's category.

USPS Employee Green Teams Help Save Money

http://www.fedsmith.com/2013/01/31/green-teams-help-u-s-postal-service-save-millions/

The U.S. Postal Service saved more than $52 million in 2012 by reducing energy, water, consumables, petroleum fuel use and solid waste to landfills, and generated nearly $24 million in revenue by recycling. Together, these actions to save costs and generate revenue surpassed $76 million.

Kodak Completes Sale of Digital Patents

Kodak Completes $527 Million Transaction Related to Digital Imaging Patents: Eastman Kodak has completed a transaction for the sale and licensing of its digital imaging patents for net proceeds of $527 million.
The transaction, which achieves one of Kodak’s key restructuring objectives, follows other recent major accomplishments that include final Court approval last week for the company’s interim and exit financing. Kodak’s monetization of IP assets further builds on its momentum toward emergence in mid-2013.

Domtar Reports 2012 and Q4 Results

http://www.domtar.com/

FY 2012 

For fiscal year 2012, net earnings amounted to $172 million ($4.76 per share) compared to net earnings of $365 million ($9.08 per share) for fiscal year 2011. The Company had earnings before items¹ of $233 million ($6.45 per share) for fiscal 2012 compared to earnings before items¹ of $452 million ($11.24 per share) for fiscal 2011. Sales amounted to $5.5 billion for fiscal year 2012. 

Q4 2012

Domtar Corporation today reported net earnings of $19 million ($0.54 per share) for the fourth quarter of 2012 compared to net earnings of $66 million ($1.84 per share) for the third quarter of 2012 and net earnings of $61 million ($1.63 per share) for the fourth quarter of 2011. Sales for the fourth quarter of 2012 amounted to $1.3 billion.

Neenah Buys Southworth Premium Paper Brands

http://www.neenahpaper.com/

Neenah Paper, Inc. (NP) announced today that it has completed the purchase of certain premium business paper brands from the Southworth Company. These brands, including Southworth, the category leader, are sold largely to major retail customers such as Staples, Office Depot, Office Max and Walmart. Annual sales from the acquired brands are approximately $20 million.

The purchase was financed through the Company's existing credit facility and cash on hand. Other terms of the purchase agreement were not disclosed.

U.S. Renewable-Energy Capacity Doubled

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-31/u-s-renewable-energy-capacity-doubled-from-2009-2012-bnef-says.html

Renewable-energy capacity in the U.S. almost doubled from 2009 to 2012, helping reduce the nation’s carbon-dioxide emissions last year to the lowest since 1994, according to a Bloomberg New Energy Finance report. 

The cumulative installed solar, wind, geothermal and biomass-based energy sources in the U.S. climbed to 85.7 gigawatts in 2012, compared with 43.5 gigawatts in 2008, the London-based research company said in a report today. 
U.S. energy consumption fell 6.4 percent from 2007 to 2012 as new, energy-efficient commercial buildings were built and older ones were retrofitted. There have also been “greater efforts from consumers to cut energy use,” including significant growth in sales of hybrid and electric vehicles, Zindler said.

New Yorker Plans New Verticals

http://www.adweek.com/news/press/new-yorker-launch-new-online-verticals-146931

The New Yorker, which has launched several new Web channels over the past year, is continuing its digital expansion with the launch of two new channels—one dedicated to Science and Technology and the other to Business—in the coming months.

NYT Attacked by Chinese Hackers

http://gawker.com/5980420/chinese-hackers-infiltrated-the-new-york-times-computer-networks-for-4-months

The New York Times was the victim of an elaborate hacking attack from China, according to a report in Wednesday's Times. The attacks, which have been on-going for the past four months, were apparently in retaliation for an article the Times published about the vast wealth accumulated by Chinese Prime Minster Wen Jiabao's family.

Hackers first gained access to the Times's system on September 13th, but the breach wasn't noticed until October 26th, the day after the article was published and two days after the Times had asked AT&T to monitor its network for any unusual activity. The paper first became suspicious after receiving warnings from the Chinese government that, if their investigation continued, they would "have consequences." It wasn't until November 7th that the Times realized the hackers were still in their network, at which point they hired Mandiant, an outside computer security company, to investigate.

MediaPost "Mag Bag"

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/192428/mag-bag-real-simple-launches-wedding-channel.html#axzz2JgDIiTHj

Real Simple has launched a Weddings channel on its Web site, RealSimple.com, according to Folio. The channel consists of a dedicated home page with navigation to resources including checklists, gift ideas, décor, hairstyle inspiration, and a wedding planning boot camp...While Real Simple is launching new content channels, it’s also taking hits on the personnel side, as part of the layoffs announced by Time Inc. Adweek reported that publisher Sally Preston, who joined Real Simple in 2011 from Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, is leaving Time Inc. Preston will be replaced by Charlie Kammerer, previously group publisher of This Old House and Coastal Living...
Young men know that it’s important to smell good. Alpha Media Group is launching a new line of men’s fragrances in partnership with Omni Scents. The “Maxim Fragrance Collection,” set to premiere in department stores and fragrance retailers in this fall... 

Time Out North America has named Jennifer Morgan president, with responsibility for all operations including online and print properties in both New York and Los Angeles.  Previously, she served as chief operating officer and chief marketing officer at Collective...
Time Inc. Branded Solutions, the magazine publisher’s integrated sales and marketing division, announced two new hires this week. Stephanie Vautravers joined the division as executive director for digital sales, with responsibility for managing the New York digital sales team and serving the company’s largest East Coast clients. Barbara Leung has joined Time Inc. Brand Solutions as associate director for sales development. She previously worked at Conde Nast, where she most recently served as senior insights manager.

Buffett Still Interested in Newspapers

http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/top-news/news-record-sold-to-warren-buffett-company-1.87418

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said Thursday that is adding the Greensboro, N.C., News & Record to its growing newspaper division.

Berkshire bought the 122-year-old daily newspaper from Landmark Media Enterprises, based in Norfolk, Va.
Financial terms were not disclosed. The Omaha World-Herald, which oversees Berkshire's newspaper division, reported that the News & Record has daily circulation of 58,000 and Sunday circulation of 86,000.

Amazon eBook Sales Up 70%

http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2013/amazon-fourth-quarter-sales-up-22-to-21-27-billion/

Despite the sharp decline in net income, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos hailed this as a watershed moment for the company in a statement (below), “We’re now seeing the transition we’ve been expecting. After 5 years, ebooks is a multi-billion dollar category for us and growing fast – up approximately 70% last year. In contrast, our physical book sales experienced the lowest December growth rate in our 17 years as a book seller, up just 5%. We’re excited and very grateful to our customers for their response to Kindle and our ever expanding ecosystem and selection.”

Summit Business Media Sells Futures Magazine

Summit Business Media Sells Futures Magazine to Financial Media Startup:  Summit Business Media is set to announce that it sold its Futures brand to The Alpha Pages llc, a Chicago-based financial media startup.

Augmented Reality and Magazine Publishers

Augmented Reality Brings New Ad Revenue Opportunities to Magazine Publishers: Free WhatTheyThink webinar, sponsored by Ricoh, discussed Use of Augmented Reality in Print Publications:
Research shows that 70% of mobile searches lead to action within one hour—and print can be an important vehicle for getting those mobile searches started. This session discussed how magazine publishers and marketers can use augmented reality to make print interactive and cause the initiation of some of those important mobile searches.”