New Timber Regulations Begin for EU

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32010R0995:EN:NOT

The European Commission (EC) has brought in effect new measures to prohibit illegally harvested timber and timber products from being placed on the EU market. The new EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) came into force yesterday.

According to EUTR, EU operators selling timber and timber products will have to ensure that the timber has been harvested according to the relevant laws of the country of harvest. To ensure the legality of the wood, the operators must apply the so-called "due diligence" mechanism.
This involves providing information on the supply of timber products, including description of species, volume, country of harvest, the supplyer's name and address as well as evidence of compliance with applicable legislation. The system also requires risk assessment of the supply and, where high risk is identified, mitigation to eliminate any potentially illegal timber.
Traders along the supply chain within the EU will be obliged to keep records of all operators through to the end-user.
The EU member states are responsible for applying sanctions to operators who break the rules. Timber products from countries that have entered into Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) voluntary partnership agreements with the EU are considered to be in compliance with the new regulation.

Northern Wisconsin Mill Towns Brace for Worst

http://www.jsonline.com/business/northern-wisconsin-mill-towns-brace-for-worst-rm8vgcj-194552111.html

Wausau is busy fending off the most high-profile hostile corporate battle Wisconsin has seen in years. Manhattan-based hedge fund Starboard Value LP acquired the largest single stake in Wausau in 2011 and since then has pressured the company to break itself up.

Pressure from Starboard last year prompted Wausau to shut its oldest mill in the village of Brokaw, the mill that founded the company in 1899. Starboard's pressure also compelled Wausau to make an abrupt announcement in January that it will sell its remaining mills in the Midwest, including Rhinelander, Mosinee and a third across the state line in Brainerd, Minn.
Wausau barely gave itself five weeks to find prospective buyers, however, before it made an equally abrupt announcement: It will close the Minnesota mill. Nor has it said yet that it has found buyers for its two remaining Wisconsin mills.

USDA Awards $3 Million for Wood to Energy Projects

http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdamediafb?contentid=2011/06/0267.xml&printable=true&contentidonly=true

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the award of nearly $3 million in grants to 17 small businesses and community groups to develop wood-to-energy projects that require engineering services and will help expand regional economies and create new jobs.

"Biomass is a vital part of America's clean energy future as we work to decrease our dependence on foreign oil," said Vilsack. "Projects like these will help grow regional economies, create new jobs, and improve and protect our environment. We will need architects and engineers to design these plants, skilled laborers to build them and well-trained technicians to operate them."

MeeGenius Announces Partnership

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/meegenius-distribute-bestselling-random-house-100000294.html

MeeGenius, the leading digital platform for children's books, is announcing a new distribution partnership with renowned publisher Random House Children's Books, a division of Random House, Inc which will bring select titles from popular and award-winning authors and brands such as Richard Scarry, P.D. Eastman, The Berenstain Bears, Thomas & Friends, Barbie and DC Super Friends to more than 2 million MeeGenius readers.

Safeway Looking Away from Print

http://adage.com/article/media/safeway-envisions-future-print-ads/239975/

Safeway is doing its best to eliminate print advertising in favor of more personalized digital ads. The fifth largest grocery player in North America spent $20 million on newspaper ads through November of 2012. That's consistent with 2011, though a big drop off from the $33 million spent on newspaper ads in 2010. 

Still, print and free-standing newspaper inserts continue to dominate coupon media, even as digital coupons gain in popularity. Kantar Media found a 46% increase in digital coupon events by consumer packaged goods companies last year, with the trend accelerating as the year progressed.

USPS Posts Loss for January, Direct Mail Up 4%

http://www.btobonline.com/article/20130304/DIRECT0202/303049947/usps-amid-some-bright-signs-loses-437-million-in-january

The U.S. Postal Service posted a net loss of $437 million for January due to dwindling first-class mail usage and higher personnel costs. Overall revenue rose, however, driven by other product categories. 
January volume of first-class mail, the Postal Service's most profitable product, declined by 2.0%.

However, revenue for the month increased 4.4% to $5.6 billion, as standard mail, used most often for advertising, experienced a 4.0% increase in volume and a 2.6% rise in revenue. Periodical mail volume and revenue also rose—2.6% and 2.9%, respectively.

BtoB/Eloqua Survey: Defining the 'Modern Marketer'

http://www.btobonline.com/article/20130304/ADVERTISING13/303049944/btob-eloqua-survey-defining-the-modern-marketer-reveals-trends

Marketers feel that powerful prospect targeting is their most important goal, but also say they have a long way to go to reach best-of-breed competency, according to new research by BtoB.
According to BtoB's study, "Defining the Modern Marketer: From Ideal to Real," sponsored by Eloqua, marketers give themselves an average score of 7 out of 10 on their current abilities to target customers properly.

BtoB Study: 96% Use Social Marketing, Only 41% Measure

http://www.btobonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130304/ADVERTISING13/303049945/btob-study-social-marketing-reaches-critical-mass&template=printart

Social media marketing has reached a stage of maturity that places it firmly in the mainstream of marketing channel activity, with fully 96% of marketers engaging with social media in some fashion, according to a new report by BtoB.

However, only 41% of marketers reported that they make any attempt to measure social's return on investment. Further, respondents rate the performance of social media as a marketing tool at just 6.4 on a 10-point scale.

Marketers' Key Concern: Accountability

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/194868/accountability-is-to-marketer-concern.html#axzz2Mb5S4NlY

A survey of top marketers says "accountability" is again their top concern.
The Association of National Advertisers says it's the third time this has happened since the industry group began taking the survey seven years ago (2010 and 2006). "Integrated marketing communication" comes next on the list of top concerns, followed by "aligning the marketing organization with innovation" and "building strong brands."
The group says these four issues have been at the top of its survey list since the group began its survey, in 2006. "Integrated marketing communications" was the most important issue to marketers in 2007 and 2008.

2012: Slow Growth Year For Ad Companies

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/194885/2012-proves-slow-growth-year-for-ad-companies.html#axzz2Mb5S4NlY

Not only was 2012 a “tepid” year growth-wise for the major advertising holding companies, it also got progressively worse with each succeeding quarter.
Collective organic revenue growth for the holding companies (Omnicom, Interpublic, Publicis Groupe, WPP and Havas) amounted to just 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to a new report from Pivotal Research Group’s Brian Wieser. That was down from 4.2%, 3.1% and 2% in the first, second and third quarters, respectively.
For the year, the holding companies had collective growth of between 2.5% and 3%, Wieser reported.

50 Revenue Ideas for Niche Magazine Publishers

http://blog.nichemediahq.com/ad-sales/50-revenue-ideas-for-niche-magazine-publishers/

We asked the 2013 Niche Magazine Conference attendees to share the best revenue strategies for niche magazine publishers that they learned at the event. Here are 50 of the best.

Ask your printer to do a co-mailing study for you – If the study looks good you can cut between 5% and 10% from your costs and still mail on your target dates...

Create new content for your website, not just regurgitated material from your print magazine. ..  

Use PPC (pay per click) online ads to give marketers their money’s worth in ROI. Charging a flat rate for each lead will give marketers peace of mind when deciding to advertise...And more...

Industry Effort to Improve Web Ad Metrics Stalled

http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/industry-effort-improve-web-ad-metrics-goes-nowhere-147661

Is the viewable impression going nowhere fast? A full two years after IAB, the ANA and the 4A's launched Making Measurement Make Sense (3MS), a cross-industry effort to improve Web ad metrics, and a year after viewability took center stage at the IAB’s annual meeting, the movement seems to be running in place. Instead of rallying around a new ad currency, questions continue to arise over the most practical of issues, such as how to measure, implement and enforce viewable impressions—and whether the whole conversation is even worthwhile.

What If Publishers Could Start From Scratch?

http://www.digiday.com/publishers/publishers-from-scratch/

Most publishers don’t get the luxury of starting from scratch. Instead, their task is to modernize organizations built for the Industrial Age, not the Digital Age.
Digiday reached out to publishers with this question: If you could start from scratch, what would you do as a publisher?
Jason Pontin, publisher and editor-in-chief, MIT Technology Review 
I suppose the answer, considered purely economically, is that I couldn’t afford to launch a print publication if I was starting from scratch. On the other hand, the print publication, now that the business has stabilized, brings in a tidy set of revenue streams in subscriptions, print advertising, and licensing fees, and it supports the online CPM, too. I’m glad we still have a printed publication.
And more...

Kodak and Lenders Finalize Terms

Kodak and Lenders Finalize Terms of Interim and Exit Financing: Kodak today announced that it has reached an agreement with the Steering Committee of the Second Lien Noteholders to amend the terms for the previously-announced interim and exit financing package. The amendments provide Kodak with additional flexibility to successfully execute its reorganization objectives and emerge from Chapter 11 in mid-2013.

NewPage Names SVP, General Counsel, Secretary

http://www.newpagecorp.com/wps/portal/corporate/home/!ut/p/c5/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3ifAG8jD28TI3cLY0djA08zPx8T_5BQYwN3Q_1wkA6zeFd3Mz9fH1NDA_dQHzMDz2CDUNNA3zBDC2MTiLwBDuBooO_nkZ-bql-QnZ3m6KioCAAzqV6s/dl3/d3/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/

NewPage Corporation (NewPage) today announced that David L. Santez, age 58, has been named senior vice president, general counsel and secretary for NewPage, effective March 1, 2013. Mr. Santez succeeds Douglas K. Cooper who will retire from NewPage on March 1, 2013.

In this position, Mr. Santez is responsible for leading corporate strategic and tactical legal initiatives, advising senior leaders on operational issues, managing the legal function and overseeing outside counsel relationships. He is also responsible for leading the corporate compliance program, participating in business transactions and negotiating critical contracts.

Port Hawkesbury Suing Customer

http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/811671-point-tupper-paper-mill-sues-us-customer

The Point Tupper paper mill is suing a U.S. customer for $453,643.

Port Hawkesbury Paper Limited Partnership alleged in a Nova Scotia Supreme Court notice of action

Wednesday that Bengal Paper & Converting, Inc. of Linfield, Pa., owes it $298,003 for paper sold and delivered in 2012.
The mill is also claiming $155,640 for paper the defendant allegedly ordered in 2013.

Resolute Announces Pulp Hike

http://www.resolutefp.com/en/?langtype=4105

A day after announcing flat softwood kraft prices for March 1, Resolute Forest Products (Resolute) informed North American customers that it will increase northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) pulp list prices by $30/tonne in April.

Montreal-headquartered Resolute's flat NBSK announcement for March essentially led to two camps among North American producers this month:
Domtar and Tembec announced $30/tonne increases on NBSK to $930/tonne, effective Mar. 1. Canfor Pulp set a flat Mar. 1 price on NBSK in the USA but announced a $30/tonne increase that's effective on April 1. The firm has March hikes in China and Europe.
Now, one day after slating flat NBSK levels, Resolute has informed North American customers that it will increase prices by $30/tonne, effective April 1.
That would raise its domestic list price on NBSK to $930/tonne, the same level Canfor Pulp and others slated but with different effective dates.
In addition, Resolute told customers it will increase domestic southern bleached softwood kraft (SBSK) pulp prices to $890/tonne, up $30/tonne. As with NBSK, the firm's SBSK is set to increase one month after Domtar's.
Resoulte has a $30/tonne price increase on two key grades of bleached hardwood kraft (BHK) market pulp effective Mar. 1.
Resolute has an estimated 1.86 million tonnes/yr of market pulp capacity at its US and Canadian mills. It makes NBSK, SBSK, NBHK, SBHK, fluff pulp, and and recycled bleached kraft, or market deinked pulp (MDIP).

AF&PA Reports January P&W Paper Report

American Forest & Paper Association Releases January 2013 Printing-Writing Paper Report: The American Forest & Paper Association has released its January 2013 Printing-Writing Paper Report.
According to the report, total printing-writing paper shipments were down 3 percent from January 2012.
Additional key findings:
January shipments of coated mechanical (CM) decreased 9 percent compared to January 2012 to 255,900 tons.
January shipments of coated free sheet (CFS) papers increased in 5 percent compared to January 2012, the third year-over-year increase in the past four months.
Uncoated free sheet (UFS) papers shipments of 766,300 tons in January were 3 percent below the same period last year.
January uncoated mechanical (UM) paper shipments decreased 10 percent when compared to January 2012.

IP Ranks No. 1 on Fortune's Most Admired List

International Paper Ranks No. 1 in Forest and Paper Products Sector on FORTUNE's List of America's Most Admired Companies:  International Paper today announced that it has once again been named by FORTUNE magazine as the No. 1 company in the Forest and Paper Products sector according to FORTUNE's annual report of "America's Most Admired Companies."

Take a New Look at China’s Printing Industry

http://whattheythink.com/articles/62405-take-new-look-chinas-printing-industry/?printmode

I recently returned from Beijing where I attended the International Media Week at which more than 20 overseas media representatives from the U.S., UK, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Russia, India, Korea, UAE, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau spent their time learning about the great strides of the China printing industry and the upcoming CHINAPRINT. 

Also attending were over 150 individuals from the printing industry, government officials, leaders of printing and packaging associations, as well as leading exhibitors, some of whom commented on their participation in Asia’s largest printing exhibition.

MediaPost Mag Bag

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/194585/mag-bag-more-launches-wine-club.html#axzz2MKA0J3iC

More Launches Wine Club 
Bloomberg Doubles Frequency for Pursuits
M2 Media Groups Taps Girl Scouts For Magazine Sales
Southern Living Partners with Regional Social Network, The Southern Coterir
Meredith Names Pavlovsky SVP, Prez of Allrecipes.com
Brown To Wired NY Editor 

Another Impact of Mobile Phones: Impulse Magazine Buys

http://www.businessinsider.com/magazines-are-dying-because-youre-looking-at-your-phone-at-the-supermarket-checkout-not-the-impulse-buy-rack-2013-2

Magazine circulation dropped 9.5 percent in the U.S. last year, according to the Alliance for Audited Media (formerly ABC), and much of the reason for that can be blamed on mobile phones. 
When people stand in line at the supermarket checkout, they're so engrossed in their phones that they no longer look at the impulse-buy rack — the favored home of the National Enquirer, Cosmopolitan, Vogue and Vanity Fair — according to WARC, the market research group.

Do Not Track Legislation Back

http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/rockefeller-reintroduces-do-not-track-act-147610

Privacy is about to heat up again in Congress. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Commerce Committee, reintroduced his Do Not Track Online Act, which will give consumers the ability to prevent online companies from tracking them on the Web and using that information for profit.

First introduced in May 2011, the bill never made it out of Rockefeller's own committee even though the powerful chairman held plenty of hearings on privacy issues.

NYT Debits on Flipboard, Kindle

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2416085,00.asp

Flipping through the pages of The New York Times just became a lot easier for Android users.

The newspaper today announced an extended partnership with news aggregator Flipboard, adding an option to consume its content via the app on Android and Kindle Fire devices.
Now, Times readers will be able to scour the top stories for free, while subscribers will get access to the full content menu via Flipboard.

Hearst Boosts Social Interaction On-Site

Hearst Looking to Boost Social Interaction On-Site:  Hearst is beginning to look to its own brands as destinations for more social activity. Through a partnership with Merkle subsidiary Social Amp, Cosmo, Elle and Marie Claire are experimenting with functionality and personalization features designed to enhance social interaction on-site, in addition to what's been going on inside the boundaries of Facebook or Twitter.

Beyond Display Advertising

Beyond Display Advertising: Legacy publishers have historically been beaten to the punch by the more disruptive online-only competition. That competition, as we all know, has fractured into disruptions of all shapes and sizes—from well-funded, venture-backed startups to smaller players, like Andrew Sullivan’s The Dish, which split from The Daily Beast to give a shot at a model that’s solely supported by reader subscriptions—no ads.

CEO French Rebuilds Cygnus Media

Forget Digital-First, How About Technology-First?: Cygnus Business Media CEO John French, who was brought on three years ago just as the b-to-b media company came out of bankruptcy protection, has spent that time making some dramatic moves in an effort to turn the company around. 
Magazines still represent a good portion of revenues—at about 50 percent, down from 60 when he took over— but both events and digital have been growing at double-digit percentages year over year.

Association Magazines Expanding Platforms

Association Publishing Market Puts Digital in Focus:

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In the United States and elsewhere, there is an association for everything—from toilets to tech organizations, these groups stand to protect and promote the goals of their own industry sectors in a variety of ways, and many do so with magazines.
But association magazines, while maintaining their importance as member benefits, are quickly expanding their missions across platforms, and their parent organizations are making cross-platform information services a high priority.

Five Ways to Cut Cost

Five Ways to Cut Cost Through Production Efficiencies: Today more than ever publishers are looking for ways to save time and money in production. There are several obvious measures that can reduce cost and increase margins, however some solutions can be so sweeping that they jeopardize the integrity of the title, which in turn could tarnish your brand’s identity.

90% of Advertisers Use Social Marketing

Integrating Social Marketing Into Brand Campaigns: Social marketing isn’t close to peaking yet, but it’s already a part of almost every conversation between brands and marketers.
Close to 90 percent of advertisers are using some form of it, according to a recent Nielsen study.

Defining a Strategic Path for B-to-Bs

Defining the Strategic Path for B-to-B Media: For most b-to-b publishers, print has receded into a broader array of information services and marketing initiatives for brand partners, including events, digital and data. This is not news, but grappling with how this media mix impacts strategic focus going forward is still new.

The M&A Outlook For 2013

The M&A Outlook For 2013: There were notable deals in 2012—Hanley Wood, Ziff Davis and The New Republic, were among the big-name brands moved—but no blockbusters. Mergers and acquisitions activity in the consumer and business-to-business publishing markets increased some, but held close to recent averages for the most part.
A fourth quarter flurry was expected to give way to a slower first half of 2013, with sales rising as the year went on. Things haven’t played out that way though.

Opportunity is in the Mail

Opportunity is in the Mail:
When Kitty Kolding decided to enter the discovery commerce business, she knew she had to try something different. “We had to find a way to get to the consumer to try the product that she had walked by a hundred times in the store,” says Kolding, former CEO of the home sampling event company House Party. Oh, and she also had a goal of creating a minimum of a million earned impressions for brand participants at low cost.

USPS Introduces Simple Samples

A Sample in Every Mailbox: The United States Postal Service introduces a flat-rate service aimed at luring product samplers back to home delivery. Postmaster General Patrick Donohoe says that the biggest blow to the USPS's bottom line (besides having to fund healthcare for government workers) is a significant falloff in First Class mail. To pick up the slack, USPS has been introducing value-added mailing services of interest to direct marketers, the latest of which is a new flat-rate sampling
program called Simple Samples.

Yahoo's Work-From-Home Ban Questioned

The Media Weighs In On Yahoo's Work-From-Home Ban:
Bureaus, correspondents, freelancers--journalists and media-types have always worked remotely. Reporting on location is glamorized, exotic datelines accentuated. More than the flash that comes with it, remote work is a necessary part of journalism.
That's part of the reason Yahoo's pronouncement that it would end work-from-home arrangements drew skepticism from the journalism community in particular this week.

Scientific American Sees Digital Boom

Scientific American Sees Digital Boom:
Founded in 1845, Scientific American is one of the oldest continuously published magazines in the United States and the brand has been working to extend its authority online through a variety of digital channels.
In January 2013 the magazine set a new personal record for monthly unique visitors, reaching an average of 5.4 million last month. According to the title, changes in its digital editorial strategy, including more mobile and blog network offerings, are behind the 127 percent increase in traffic over the past two years.

Federated Media CEO Steps Down

Federated Media CEO Deanna Brown Steps Down:
Federated Media Publishing, a network of blogs across a variety of markets, announced today that CEO Deanna Brown is stepping down after almost four years at the helm. Founder and executive chairman John Battelle is taking over the CEO role.

Verso Increases Coated Freesheet Price

Verso Paper has announced an increase in coated freesheet paper on all orders shipping on or after April 1.  The change applies to all coated freesheet grades, base weights, bulks and finsihes, including Influence and Velocity, the price of which will rise $2.50 per cwt.

Two More Mills Announce Pulp Hikes

Domtar announced to North American customers that its northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) market pulp prices would increase $30/tonne, effective March 1 until further notice.

Montreal-headquartered Domtar told domestic customers its NBSK list price would increase to $930/tonne on Mar. 1.

NewPage informed North American customers today that it is increasing market pulp prices on two key grades of bleached hardwood kraft (BHK) by $30/tonne, effective with all new orders entered March 1.

Miamisburg, Ohio-headquartered NewPage told customers its northern bleached hardwood kraft (NBHK) pulp price would increase to $815/tonne.

B.C. Releases Forest Inventory Plan

http://www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca/2013/02/bc-releases-10-year-forest-inventory-plan.html

A 10-year forest inventory plan was released today with an average annual investment of $8 million over the life of the plan, Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Minister Steve Thomson announced today.

Over the next decade, the annual funding increase to $8 million will ensure 35 million hectares are inventoried in mountain pine beetle affected and other priority areas. The plan outlines nine goals, each with five- and 10-year targets, ensuring no forest cover data is older than 30 years, while integrating 100 per cent of harvest, reforestation and fire information updates into the inventory.

RR Donnelley Announces Debt Offering

RR Donnelley Announces $350 Million Debt Offering: R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company announced today that it plans to offer $350 million of senior notes due 2021 in an underwritten public offering. RR Donnelley intends to use the net proceeds from this offering, along with borrowings under its revolving credit facility, (1) to fund tender offers for up to $400 million aggregate principal amount of the company's 6.125 percent Notes due 2017, 8.600 percent Notes due 2016 and 7.25 percent Notes due 2018 based on prices to be determined and (2) to pay premiums in connection with those tender offers. If there are any remaining proceeds from the notes, RR Donnelley intends to use those proceeds to repay borrowings under its revolving credit facility and for general corporate purposes. Amounts repaid under its revolving credit facility may be reborrowed for general corporate purposes, including the repayment or redemption of other indebtedness. RR Donnelley expects to announce that it is commencing these tender offers in a separate press release issued upon commencing the tender offers. The completion of each tender offer will be subject to customary closing conditions.

Cenveo Reports 2012, Q4 Results

Cenveo Reports Decrease in Net Sales for Q4: Cenveo Inc. announced results for the three months and full year ended December 29, 2012. The company generated net sales of $451.8 million for the three months ended December 29, 2012, compared to $486.5 million for the same period last year. The company generated net sales of $1.8 billion for the year ended December 29, 2012, compared to $1.9 billion for the prior year.

Southern Living Partners With Southern Coterie

Southern Living Partners With Southern-Focused Social Network:
From Augusta to Austin, the south has its own distinct traditions and regional culture—both online and offline—which is why Time Inc.’s Southern Living magazine is partnering with The Southern Coterie, a southern-focused online social network.

Wells Media Launches New Website

Wells Media Launches New Website:
In a particularly digital-first way, Wells Media, a San Diego-based b-to-b publisher serving the property/casualty insurance market, has launched CarrierManagement.com, which, for now, does not have a print counterpart and focuses on management issues for property/casualty insurance executives.
The site is intended to be a sister site to Wells' Insurance Journal brand, relying less on a news-focus and more on the trends in corporate management issues specific to insurance companies. 

This Old House Leverages Its Content

How This Old House Leverages Its Video Content:
For a magazine brand like Time Inc.'s This Old House, video is clearly a valuable asset, especially since it started out as a television show.
The magazine has ported a bunch of its video content to YouTube, which had about 93,000 views from mid-January through mid-February. Video on the site itself—which attracts about 2.9 million monthly uniques—notched close to 450,000 views last December. About 54,000 videos were watched on a mobile device during that same month. 
Here, FOLIO: checks in with This Old House magazine editor Scott Omelianuk to trace the brand's video content evolution.