UPM Sells SC PM to Shandong Tralin

http://www.upm.com/en/Pages/default.aspx

UPM has sold the 220,000 tonne/yr supercalendered (SC) paper unit PM 7 at its shuttered Myllykoski mill in southern Finland to Shandong Tralin Paper Company in China. The sales price was not revealed.

Dismantling of the machine started in early March and should be done by the end of June, Timo
Suutarla, general manager of the Myllykoski mill.
The PM will be relocated to Gaotang County in the province of Shandong in China, according to a Tralin spokesperson. The machine will be converted to make food wrapper from straw pulp.
The Tralin spokesperson declined to comment on what kind of alterations the PM needs, what capacity it will have after the rebuild or when production should start.

Three US Mills Raise Carbonless Price

Appleton said it will raise prices 6% on its NCR Paper carbonless sheets, Fluorescents sheets, and non-paper products effective with shipments April 1 in the US and Canada.

Glatfelter also set a 6% price increase for its carbonless sheets grades sold in all global markets effective April 1.
Nekoosa Coated Products will also raise carbonless sheet prices, industry sources said.

More European Mills Raise Prices

The number of German paper traders seeking to hike prices for graphic paper in April keeps rising.
Since Deutsche Papier got the ball rolling by announcing a 7% hike for all graphic paper grades from April 1, several other market players have revealed similar plans.

Papier Union, which is part of the Inapa group, said it is aiming at 7% increases for all graphic papers from April 2. The firm ascribed the move to price hike announcements from papermakers and said it was unable to compensate for rising purchasing prices.
Igepa announced 6-7% hikes for all deliveries of sheeted graphic products from April. "Due to cost increases for energy and raw materials, especially pulp, the price adjustment is inevitable," the firm said in a statement.

Two Sides: Misleading Claims About Print/Paper

Two Sides Urges Leading U.S. Companies to End Misleading Claims About Print and Paper: Two Sides has announced the next stage of its nationwide initiative to urge major U.S. banks, utilities and telecommunication companies to end the use of misleading marketing claims about the sustainability of print and paper. Phase Two will include a second round of communication intended to initiate productive discussion with senior management in the target industries, reminding them of their responsibility to adhere to best practices for environmental marketing as outlined in the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s recently revised Green Guides.

Hearst Magazines Installs DALIM ES, DALIM TWIST

Hearst Magazines Installs DALIM ES and DALIM TWIST for Print and E-Media Workflow: Kehl, Germany – Hearst Magazines is implementing the DALIM ES system across its magazine brands, simplifying production workflow, especially for electronic editions, the emerging channel in which Hearst leads the industry with a circulation of 886,000. Blanchard Systems, North American Distributor of Dalim Software, worked closely with Hearst through the testing and evaluation.

US Caustic Soda Supply Tight

http://www.icis.com/Articles/2013/03/11/9648684/us-caustic-soda-supply-snug-on-demand-from-non-traditional-buyers.html

Demand from non-traditional export destinations is straining US caustic soda availability, a market source said on Monday. 
Growing demand for US caustic soda from Africa, Australia and Europe, regions not considered conventional targets for US caustic, is placing upward pressure on prices, the source said on the sidelines of the 18th annual Plastimagen international plastics exposition and conference. --> 
Price increases of $30-50/dry short ton (dst) (€23-39/dst) announced by US producers remain under discussion. Suppliers have said the proposed hikes are driven by snug availability and steady demand.

Print vs. Digital Debate Continues

http://www.pubexec.com/blog/magazine-publishing-jumping-into-print-vs-digital-debate

Industry gurus (and Publishing Executive columnists) Bob Sacks and Samir "Mr. Magazine" Husni engaged in a lively, spontaneous Twitter debate yesterday on the future of print vs. digital. 
Both agree reading on paper will not disappear, but beyond that the two diverge. Husni thinks paper will remain a vital magazine medium, encapsulating an experience not replicable on tablets, while Sacks believes paper will become a pricey niche format. 
So, who's right? After an experience I had last night, while all this tweeting was going on, I find myself leaning toward the Husni camp. 

The Fall - And Rise - of Magazines

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media-network/media-network-blog/2013/mar/07/fall-rise-magazines-print-digital

Challenging times lie ahead for magazines. The Audit Bureau of Circulations figures published last month made grim reading.

But these figures are only a partial reflection of what is really going on. The industry trade body, the Professional Publishers Association, released its first combined digital and print circulation chart alongside the traditional ABC figures and its CEO Barry McIlheney says that for many titles, such as Conde Nast's GQ and Future's technology magazine, T3, a combined figures is a truer reflection of how the industry is faring.
Indeed, some sectors are doing quite nicely and all magazines are built around the twin pillars that have always eluded newspapers – passion and community. The most successful ones are returning to their roots.

Ricochet Adds Condé Nast Titles, Forbes & More

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/195731/nytco-adds-conde-nast-people-to-ricochet.html#axzz2NS0KgpmV

Ricochet, the content marketing platform launched by The New York Times Co. in April of last year, is adding a number of publications to its list of partners, including the entire Condé Nast magazine portfolio, People, Forbes and Advertising Age.

RDA: Gains in Readers & Advertisers

http://www.rda.com/news/readers-digest-associations-core-brands-show-big-gains-among-readers-and-advertisers-in-cy2012-and-q1-2013

The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc., the global multi-brand and multi-platform media and direct marketing company, today released CY2012 and first quarter 2013 figures which demonstrated a strong, growing demand for its North American media brands from print and digital readers and advertisers alike.

Advertising revenue across all U.S. digital properties increased 35% over 2011 led by the Reader’s Digest flagship, which grew its digital advertising revenue by 94%.

CEOs Expect Sales, Capital Spending Growth

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ceos-expect-increased-sales-capital-133800604.html

The results of Business Roundtable’s (BRT) first quarter 2013 CEO Economic Outlook Survey show CEOs’ expectations for the economy over the next six months have improved due to expected higher sales and capital spending.

CEO economic expectations increased for the first time in four quarters. BRT CEOs also expect 2.1 percent growth for 2013, a slight increase from last quarter’s estimate of 2.0 percent.

Did Time Lag in Offering Paid Content?

http://www.adweek.com/news/press/did-time-inc-miss-paid-content-boat-147870

Time Inc. was a pioneer at the dawn of the Internet revolution, creating in the '90s the prescient if ultimately ill-fated online portal Pathfinder to host its magazines. But today, it isn't even keeping pace with its smaller print brethren, and one area in which it has particularly lagged is paid content. 

While other major magazine publishers as well as newspapers have made advances reversing what the Internet has wrought and getting consumers to pay for digital content, Time Inc. still lags. In the spring of 2011, the company's biggest rivals, Condé Nast and Hearst, made deals to sell subscriptions to their magazines' tablet editions in Apple’s iTunes store. It took Time Inc. more than a year to follow suit.

Asset International Expands to Europe

Asset International Segmenting aiCIO Brand Across Europe: New York-based b-to-b media publisher Asset International, which serves the the finance market, is continuing its growth into the European market by further segmenting its aiCIO (chief investment officer) brand into more regionally-focused editions. Since launching in 2009, the brand has averaged 50 percent revenue growth each year—spread across digital, events and print.

ePublishing Acquires Next-Tech Markets

ePublishing Acquires B2B Audience Network:
Cloud-based CMS, ecommerce and CRM services provider ePublishing has acquired Next-Tech Markets and its advertising network of business publishers.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Next-Tech's B2B Audience Network is primarily made up of industrial, energy, defense, greentech, medical, IT and emerging technologies publishers, and includes more than 300 online publications for clients including UBM, Cygnus and GIE Media. The acquisition brings ePublishing's client total to about 800, says Thomas Chaffee, the firm's CEO.

NAPA Report: Reforming the USPS

NAPA Panel Releases Report on Reforming the U.S. Postal Service: An independent Panel of the National Academy of Public Administration today issues its findings and conclusions from its evaluation of a new hybrid public-private partnership concept for U.S. Postal Service (USPS) operations put forward by four nationally-recognized postal experts. David Walker, former Comptroller General of the United States, chaired the Academy’s Panel that conducted the ten-week review of the "Thought-Leader White Paper." The Paper advocated that mail processing, collection, and transportation be performed by private-sector companies and that the delivery function—“the last mile”—be reserved for the USPS.

USPS Technical Credit Matched Dollar for Dollar

USPS Full-Service Technical Credit Matched Dollar for Dollar by AccuZIP: AccuZIP has announced a bold offer for its professional direct mail and QR code tracking service, and other products, to match dollar for dollar the amount of any mailer’s proposed USPS Tech Credit.  This would give each mailer that qualified for the proposed Tech Credit the ability to track and report 100% of their direct mail and QR Codes by simply uploading every IMb to the AccuZIP secure server.  The USPS notified all mailers that qualified for a proposed Tech Credit amount in a February 2013 letter. The letters they sent out included information on the exact dollar amount, the qualifying CRID(s) and the associated mailer information.

Domtar Installs Lignin Separation Plant

http://www.domtar.com/

Domtar Corporation today announced that it has successfully installed a commercial-scale lignin separation plant at its Plymouth, North Carolina mill, the first U.S. facility of its type in over 25 years. The production of BioChoice lignin began in February, with a targeted rate of 75 tons a day, destined for a wide range of industrial applications as a bio-based alternative to the use of petroleum and other fossil fuels.
The successful installation of commercial-scale lignin removal capacity at the Plymouth Mill is the culmination of a research and engineering project launched by Domtar in 2010. This project was further boosted when the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Energy awarded the company a grant through the Biomass Research and Development Initiative. Domtar's lignin operation sets a new path for the industry and also marks the latest sustainability milestone for a company that has long been recognized as an industry leader in forest certification and environmental stewardship.

Glatfelter Buys Dresden Papier

http://www.glatfelter.com/default.aspx

Glatfelter (GLT), a global manufacturer of specialty papers and fiber-based engineered materials, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase Dresden Papier GmbH from Fortress Paper Ltd. (FTP.TO) for €160 million (approximately U.S.$209 million). Glatfelter expects the acquisition to be immediately accretive to earnings per share by approximately $0.25 on an annualized basis. 

Dresden Papier, based in Heidenau (near Dresden), Germany, is the leading global supplier of nonwoven wallpaper base materials, and is a major supplier to most of the world's largest wallpaper manufacturers.

Kondopoga Restarting Newsprint PMs

Russia's largest newsprint maker Kondopoga is resuming production on its 110,000 tonne/yr PM 9.
The PM is set to restart tomorrow.

"By April, Kondopoga will be running three of the six existing newsprint machines. Most of the output on PM's 8 and 9 is meant for the export market," the spokesperson said. He added that it is unclear at the moment whether the management intends to restart the mill's three remaining paper machines.

The 750,000 tonne/yr Kondopoga mill halted production on five paper machines over November/December 2012 following financial difficulties due to tough market conditions and low profitability. By early 2013, the firm had accumulated over Rouble 10 billion ($330 million) in debts.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Hachette Sign Agreement

http://www.hmhco.com/
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) Trade Publishing today announced a new partnership with Hachette Book Group (HBG) in key international markets including Latin America, South America, Asia and Europe. Hachette Book Group will be responsible for sales, billing, returns, credit processing and collections services for HMH general interest titles and books for young readers. HMH will handle order fulfillment.

Mental Floss Has Robust eCommerce Business

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/mental-floss-not-just-magazine-anymore-14777
Mental Floss is known for its engaging Wikipedia-like articles ("How Many Languages Is It Possible to Learn?") that nourish the mind. Few realize the Dennis Publishing bimonthly has a robust e-commerce arm with 1,300 products from T-shirts to beer-tasting kits. Here's how it all began: After Pluto lost its planetary status, a reader wrote in: "You guys should make a shirt that mourns the loss of Pluto. It should say RIP, but instead of Rest in Peace, it should say 'Revolve in Peace: 1930-2006.’" The title took the advice to heart, and its business has become a shooting star, with sales projected to hit $2.5 million this year.

ABM Awards Announced

http://www.foliomag.com/2013/innovation-display-abm-neal-awards#.UUDO3BmNqKw

Innovation was on display as the b-to-b publishing industry gathered for the 59th annual Neal Awards of the Association of Business Media (ABM) Tuesday afternoon. 
However, despite the association's addition of several new mobile, social and video categories—a formal recognition of the value of these emerging technologies--Clark Pettit, president and CEO of ABM, urged editors to remember what has worked for them over the long history of business media. IEEE, McGraw-Hill, Farm Journal Media go home big winners.

Condé Nast Adds to Wintour's Title to Keep Her

http://www.adweek.com/news/press/anna-wintour-named-artistic-director-cond-nast-14789

Powerful Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour is expanding her role at Condé Nast. Today, the publisher announced that Wintour—who is also the editorial director of Teen Vogue—was named artistic director of Condé Nast. In the newly created role, Wintour will be responsible for "curating and cultivating the creative vision" for the company, according to a statement.
Townsend added that the role of artistic director had been created, in part, to keep Wintour at Condé Nast, telling the Times that he "would go to great distances to avoid losing Anna, particularly in the prime of her career." 

DMA to Lobby Congress

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/direct-marketers-crank-lobbying-campaign-14787

The direct marketing business, which is just about every company these days that uses data to more precisely target customers and prospects, could be in for the fight of its life. 
"I hope you'll let people know we are responsible for 8.7 percent of the GDP, $168 billion in spending, $2.05 trillion in sales, 9.2 million jobs," said Rachel Thomas, vp of government affairs for the DMA.

Transcontinental Reports Q1 Results

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/13/transcontinental-results-idUSL3N0C520K2013031
Transcontinental Inc, Canada's largest commercial printer, reported a 5 percent rise in first-quarter adjusted profit as the acquisition of Quad/Graphics Canada helped reduce the impact of the loss of a contract with retailer Zellers
First-quarter adj EPS C$0.37 vs C$0.33 year earlier.
Revenue rises 8 percent.

Conde Nast's GQ & Glamour on Video Cross-Platform

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/195638/glamour-gq-share-video-cross-platform-forgo.html#axzz2NS0Kgpm
Conde Nast will try to do for two of its iconic magazines what Hearst recently announced for Esquire -- but without the still valuable traditional TV distribution, where original series will be widely distributed on new areas of respective magazine Web sites, as well as IPTV, mobile, tablet and other video platforms. 
Procter & Gamble and Microsoft have come on as traditional sponsors.
The move is being headed by Dawn Ostroff, who came aboard a year and a half ago as president of Conde Nast Entertainment. Ostroff has held senior programming executive positions at CW, and before that, Lifetime.

TC Media Launches VÉRO

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/tc-media-launches-magazine-collaboration-100000614.html

TC Media is once again breaking new ground by partnering with the talented Véronique Cloutier to launch a new women's magazine called VÉRO. This quarterly magazine will be on newsstands throughout Quebec starting next fall, and will target passionate, active women who want to feel good about themselves, who treasure time with their families and have a zest for life.

McGraw-Hill Education Names President

http://www.heraldonline.com/2013/03/12/4686943/mcgraw-hill-education-announces.html

McGraw-Hill Education today announced that Peter Cohen, most recently CEO of Pearson School, will be president of McGraw-Hill School Education Group, a division of the company that serves both the PreK-12 and assessment markets. Mr. Cohen will replace McGraw-Hill School Education President Dan Caton, who recently announced his retirement after 43 years in the education industry.

Retailers' Top Goal: Expansion

http://www.bdo.com/news/pr/2480

Despite recent headlines trumpeting retailers' entry into Canadian and overseas markets, U.S. expansion remains a key growth strategy. According to a new survey of 100 retail chief financial officers by BDO USA, LLP, 30 percent of CFOs say U.S. expansion will be their priority growth tactic in 2013.

WSJ to Launch Risk & Compliance Journal

WSJ to launch Risk & Compliance Journal: The Wall Street Journal announced it will launch Risk & Compliance Journal, a news service covering governance, risk and compliance issues.
The service, scheduled to debut in the spring, will target C-level executives and board directors. It is the latest in a series of dedicated content services from Dow Jones that also includes CFO Journal, CIO Journal, DJ FX Trader and Wall Street Journal Wealth Management. It will be available to WSJ subscribers and complements Dow Jones Risk & Compliance, a suite of enterprise screening and diligence tools, the company said.

Telegraph to Cut Jobs as Newspapers Merge

Telegraph to cut 80 jobs as newspapers merge:
In a letter addressed to all staff today (12 March), TMG chief executive Murdoch MacLennan also announced that The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, printed at Newsprinters' Broxbourne site, would move to a 24/7 publishing model.
He said: "We are going to have to restructure our editorial operation to produce a root and branch change in the way we function. To this end, it will be merged into one unfied operation, serving digital and print products on a 24/7 basis.

Higher Postal Rates Coming?

Are Higher Postal Rates in Your Future?:
Marketers should not be surprised at being hit with sharp increases in postal rates if Congress, postal unions, and regulators cannot agree on a self-sustaining survival plan for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). The heads-up was delivered to Direct Marketing Association (DMA) members yesterday by Postal Regulatory Commission general counsel Steven Sharfman.
“It could be coming within the next 12 to 18 months,” Sharfman warned. “It's just that no one talks about it.”
The USPS finds itself in troubled waters, attempting to cut costs and right itself in the middle of a government breakdown.

NY Times Plans Site Redesign

NY Times plans site redesign: The New York Times announced plans to introduce a prototype version of NYTimes.com in advance of major site changes to be implemented later this year.
The prototype will include a cleaner design; richer integration of photography, video and interactive story elements; responsive design optimized for both desktop and tablet computers; higher-impact advertising; and updated user-comment and share tools, the company said.

PIA Supports Program to Promote Paper Communications, Packaging

Printing Industries of America Supports Creation of New Program to Market and Promote Paper-Based Communications and Packaging: Printing Industries of America recently filed public comments on the proposed national Paper and Paper-Based Packaging Promotion, Research and Information Order. This program, advocated by the paper industry and its national trade association, American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), would be a new government-approved commodities "check-off" program funded by requiring a small assessment on the nation’s largest paper producers and importers. The goal of the program would be to market and promote segments of the paper industry by spotlighting both the economic importance of paper-based materials as well as the industry’s ever-improving sustainability record. If it is approved and as successful as advocates predict it could be, the Paper and Paper-Based Packaging Promotion, Research and Information Order would be welcomed as an effort to spur continued growth in certain areas of print while at the same time stemming decline in demand for other areas of print.

Resolute Closes Calhoun Newsprint PM

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

Resolute Forest Products Inc. (RFP) (RFP) announced today the indefinite idling of a newsprint machine at its Calhoun mill in Tennessee. The idling comes as a result of a decrease in demand for newsprint, coupled with high operating costs for the machine, which produced 215,000 metric tons per year. The decision follows Resolute's March 11 acquisition of the 49% interest in Calhoun Newsprint Company ("CNC") owned by The Herald Publishing Company, LLC, its joint-venture partner.

The Calhoun mill, which presently employs 610 workers, will continue to operate the two specialty paper machines and the pulp dryer. The announcement will affect approximately 150 positions at the mill.

Great Northern Paper Converts to Gas

http://www.mpbn.net/Home/tabid/36/ctl/ViewItem/mid/5347/ItemId/26793/Default.aspx

After more than a decade of decline, manufacturing in the U.S. is going through a small, but significant renaissance. A big reason: new sources of energy, like natural gas, that are helping companies cut costs, produce more products and hire more people. Here in Maine, one of the state's best-known paper mills in East Millinocket is betting on this formula for resurgence and growth. Jay Field begins his report at Great Northern Paper inside the boiler house.

Iceland/Maine in Shipping Partnership

http://www.risiinfo.com/content-gateway/pulpandpaper/news/Iceland-shipping-line-partners-with-railroad-at-Portland-Maine-port-will-connect-pulp-and-paper-exports-to-Europe-From-the-web.html?industryId=21

Iceland shipping line partners with railroad at Portland, Maine, port; will connect pulp and paper exports to Europe. A strategic partnership between Iceland's largest steamship line and New England's largest railroad is poised to transform the quiet port of Portland into a hub for freight crossing the North Atlantic. Starting later this month, container ships from Icelandic Steamship Co., also called Eimskip, will be connecting Portland directly with cities as far north as Murmansk, Russia, 125 miles above the Arctic Circle, and as far south as Rotterdam, Netherlands, Europe's largest port.

Direct Response Ads Drive Growth for AARP's Bulletin

Direct Response Ads Drive Growth for AARP's Bulletin: AARP's print publication Bulletin has seen direct response advertising rates grow despite the downturn.

There a bright spots in in magazine publishing, most of which revolve around niche publications with a very specific—and interested—readership. Shelagh Miller, VP of AARP's has seen advertising rates from AARP's various publications grow steadily amid the downturn. The AARP Bulletin, published 10 times a year, covering key issues relevant to AARP's demographic: news about Federal policies that might affect, say, social security or healthcare, and scam alerts. Revenue growth in AARP Bulletin has increased more than 22% since 2011.

Politico Plans Print Magazine

Politico Plans Print Magazine Launch as It Passes 1,000 Pro Subscriber Mark:
Politico, the politics and policy journalism site, says it has broken the 1,000 subscription mark to its Pro news service. Like other content-based sites, Politico has supplemented its revenues through paid subscription service that includes original content, but in this case offers robust personalization features to add value for subscribers.
Going forward, Politico is launching a new afternoon newsletter as a follow-on to its crack-of-dawn version, called the Pro Report, along with a quarterly policy magazine. Politico already has a newspaper distributed around the Washington, D.C. area and plans to have the magazine follow a similar distribution strategy. 

Printed Books Making a Comeback

Printed Books Making a Comeback Over E-Books:
According to a recent Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article, the death of the printed book has been greatly exaggerated. The article points to the results of a Pew Research Center survey that showed that the percentage of adults who have read an e-book rose modestly over the last year from 16% to 23%. It also showed that 89% of print book readers say they have read at least one printed book during the last year while only 30% report reading a single e-book during the same period.
The article goes on to suggest that e-book popularity might have been an anomaly. Author Nicholas
Not only is there evidence to support the growth of printed books, there is also evidence of a shift in printing technologies used for books, from offset and toner to inkjet technologies. In the InfoTrends study, “US Digital Production Printing Forecast 2011 to 2016″ InfoTrend predicts an increase of 52 billion pages printed on digital devices and that a transfer will occur from toner-based devices to inkjet presses.

New York Magazine's Perspective on News Feed

A Publisher’s Perspective on Facebook's Revamped News Feed:  
It’s been more than six years since Facebook rolled out its News Feed feature, which has ever since enabled brands to get their content in front of the site’s social users. Last week, the company announced it would be introducing a new design and functionality to the News Feed to include less clutter, more visuals and increased options for user preferences.
To help get a sense of how this change might impact content brands, FOLIO: checked in with New York magazine, which claims more than 307,000 Facebook fans across three brand pages that includes The Cut, Vulture and, of course, New York.

Traditional Women's Magazines Change Focus

http://www.adweek.com/news/press/womens-service-mags-trade-housekeeping-style-147815

Traditionally the purveyor of recipes and cleaning tips, women's service magazines have come a long way, but apparently not far enough. More than a decade ago, Real Simple and O, The Oprah Magazine packaged service as lifestyle, forcing the category to pivot en masse.

So, in the past year, Good Housekeeping, Redbook, Family Circle, Ladies' Home Journal and Woman’s Day—all facing long-term advertising and newsstand sales declines—further downplayed their bread-and-butter housecleaning, parenting and relationship advice in favor of fashion, beauty, shopping and entertaining.

Utne Reader Magazine Moving to KS

http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/tv/135063933.html?refer=y

The Utne Reader, a landmark magazine based in the Twin Cities, will shut down its local editorial offices and relocate in Topeka, Kan.
The literate-minded magazine, envisioned as a sort of Reader's Digest that compiled "the best of the alternative press," was purchased by Topeka-based Ogden Publications six years ago. The company hopes to save money by consolidating operations at its national headquarters, where it oversees such titles as Mother Earth News and Motorcycle Classics.

Minnesota Gov. Rethinking Ad Tax

http://adage.com/article/news/coalition-pushing-back-proposed-ad-taxes/240228/

Doug Spong, president of Minneapolis ad agency Carmichael Lynch, isn't sugarcoating the effect a tax on advertising would have. It "would absolutely devastate our industry," Mr. Spong told the Minnesota House of Representatives' Taxes Committee on Feb. 28. "It would handicap all Minnesota agencies," he said, because they would have to raise their fees to cover the tax. 
Mr. Spong is part of a broad coalition that is wasting no time trying to derail budget proposals by Minnesota and Ohio that would tax advertising sales. And it looks like his efforts may have already paid off. Gov. Mark Dayton said he's rethinking his business-to-business tax and it won't be part of the budget he releases this week.

2012 Coupon Use Declines

http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/03/09/2735590/coupon-use-plummets-and-some-wonder.html

The number of coupons used by Americans to stock their pantries plummeted in 2012 – down 17 percent.
After surging during the Great Recession, the old-fashioned savings tool seems to have lost favor among consumers. Or has it? 
Coupon industry insiders disagree on whether the drop is an aberration caused by a poor mix of coupon offers in 2012 or whether it signals the beginning of the end of the paper coupon era... --> 
In 2012, manufacturers put the brakes on coupons. The coupon values became skimpier, the expiration dates shorter and oftentimes, the coupons were requiring that you buy two or even three of an item before you get your 55 cents off.