New Time CEO Names CFO

http://www.adweek.com/news/press/new-time-inc-ceo-joe-ripp-taps-outsider-first-hire-151682

Newly named Time Inc. CEO Joe Ripp won’t start until September, but he’s already made his first hire. It's Jeff Bairstow, who will be evp and CFO of the publishing giant as it prepares to spin off from Time Warner.

Bairstow and Ripp have a long history of working together, first at Dendrite International, a drug software company where Ripp was president and COO after leaving Time Warner and where Bairstow was CFO. In 2010, Ripp hired Bairstow as CFO at regional newspaper chain Journal Register Co. where Ripp was chairman.
For the past two years, Bairstow has served as president of Digital First Media, a two-year-old company that was formed to manage Journal Register Co. and MediaNews Group.

http://ipdahome.org/newsstand/?cat=296

Other New Hires:

Time Inc. and Time.com have hired three editorial staff. Ryan Sager hired from WSJ as editorial director, Time Ideas; Callie Schweitzer hired from Vox Media as director of digital innovation; Chris Wilson hired from Yahoo as interactive graphics designer. Also, Sam Mansour hired from Say Media, to be director of digital ad product experience (will “work across Time Inc.’s sales, creative, product, technology, and operations teams to accelerate our drive to be a premier provider of innovative and compelling display and video ad product solutions across desktop, tablet and mobile platforms”).

Preliminary H1 Newsstand Sales

http://ipdahome.org/newsstand/?cat=296

Final figures won’t be out for about two weeks, but this week’s New Single Copy reports MagNet-supplied preliminary estimates for first half. Estimates show 1H unit sales about -12%; retail sales about -9.7%. Q2 unit sales about -10%; dollar sales about -8%. Separately, NSC also reports that the delisting of 891 magazine titles from the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) has actually been going on for several years, and that many of the titles listed for deletion were actually no longer published. (No direct content links; NSC site is www.nscopy.com.)

Hearst, Estee Lauder Join in Project

http://ipdahome.org/newsstand/?cat=296

Hearst Magazines Digital Media and integrated communications agency OMD have teamed with Estee Lauder for what they describe as the first Flipboard magazine created for a product launch. Set to launch today, the Estée Lauder Beauty Book highlights the science behind the Lauder brand’s newly updated Advanced Night Repair, and also offers fashion, beauty, health and lifestyle content from the editorial teams of Harper’s Bazaar, Elle and Marie Claire. Hearst also will create custom-developed content for the project.

Marketers Say Data is Most Underused Asset

http://www.btobonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130805/DIRECT0101/308059999/report-marketers-say-data-is-most-underused-asset

Almost half of marketers said data is the most underused asset in their organization, according to a survey from Teradata Corp.

The study, “Teradata Data-driven Marketing Survey 2013,” was based on an online survey of more than 2,200 global marketers, conducted in May.

It found that less than 10% of respondents currently used the data they have in a systematic way to improve the customer experience.

Also, 75% that try to calculate ROI on marketing investment said they encounter problems, mostly in the lack of system integration.

According to the survey, 71% of respondents said they plan to implement a Big Data analytics solution in the next two years.

'Boston Globe,' 'Newsweek' Sales Follow Years Of Declines

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/206110/boston-globe-newsweek-sales-follow-years-of-d.html#axzz2b7goLyIC

The separate sales of The Boston Globe and Newsweek, announced over the weekend by The New York Times Co. and IAC, respectively, offer benchmarks for charting print’s dramatic decline over the last decade, as both audiences and advertising revenues have dwindled to a fraction of their former size.
  NYTCO announced Saturday that it was selling The Boston Globe and other properties in its New England Media Group, including the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, to Boston Red Sox owner John W. Henry for a total $70 million. Henry beat out other bidders, including Robert Loring, owner of The Tampa Tribune, and Ben and Steve Taylor, members of the family which owned the Globe before NYTCO.
That price represents a 93.6% discount over the $1.1 billion paid for the newspaper in 1993, although the new price tag doesn’t include expenses in the form of liabilities like future employee benefits and debt.

New York Times Co. Sells Boston Globe

http://www.adweek.com/news/press/new-york-times-co-sells-boston-globe-151671

The New York Times Co. has sold The Boston Globe to Boston Red Sox owner John W. Henry for $70 million. The deal marks a big step in the Times Co.’s sale of its noncore assets to focus on its eponymous New York Times brand. It also underscores the deep drop in value that newspapers have seen since the Times Co. bought the Globe for $1.1 billion in 1993, a high water mark for newspaper prices.

Along with the rest of the U.S. newspaper industry, the Globe has suffered declining advertising and circulation in recent years. Nonetheless, the Globe is still considered a plum newspaper property, having had some success getting paying online subscribers, and its sale attracted widespread interest from other would-be buyers, including a group led by ex-Time Inc. CEO Jack Griffin that included the Globe’s former owners and the owner of the U-T San Diego.

Wired and Bon Appétit Collaborate

http://www.adweek.com/news/press/wired-and-bon-app-tit-collaborate-food-issue-151652

Bon Appétit and Wired might seem like strange bedfellows. But when you consider the ever-growing intersection of food and science (think molecular gastronomy, hotly debated GMOs), the magazines’ plans to team up on food editorial content starts to make sense.

The idea was hatched, fittingly, over lunch. Wired editor in chief Scott Dadich was planning a feature about MSG and umami and had been toying with the idea of building a food-themed issue around it.The magazine had done food issues before but from a strictly scientific viewpoint; this time, Dadich wanted to add a service component to help readers “enjoy the process of cooking and eating.

Newsweek Sold to IBT Media

http://www.foliomag.com/2013/newsweek-sold-ibt-media#.Uf_qpFOYyKw 

It was announced this weekend that IBT Media has agreed to purchase Newsweek from IAC.
IBT Media is the New York-based, digital-only publisher of flagship brand International Business Times, as well as ten other online news sites.
The deal splits Newsweek from The Daily Beast, which will remain with IAC. IBT will relaunch the brand under its former Newsweek.com URL.
IBT launched in 2006 and its platform reaches a combined 30 million unique visitors.
Terms of the deal were not released, but it's expected to close within a week.

RRD Closing Missouri Plant

http://www.newstribune.com/news/2013/aug/02/community-employees-react-rr-donnelleys-decision-c/#.Uf8JV2RASjo
RR Donnelley, Jefferson City’s 12th largest employer, told its employees Thursday that the Jefferson City operations will be shut down later this year.
In notices to state and city officials, required by federal law, the company said 475 people will lose their jobs “during a 14-day period commencing on Oct. 1, 2013.” 
The facility was established in Jefferson City in 1964, as a part of the Von Hoffmann Press company. RR Donnelley acquired the plant, 321 Wilson Drive, just south of Industrial Drive, in 2007 for $400 million.

H1 Commercial Print Shipments Down

http://blogs.whattheythink.com/economics/2013/08/june-2013-us-commercial-printing-shipments-down-1-6-first-half-of-2103-down-1-5/

The US Commerce Department released commercial printing shipments data for June 2013. In current dollars, shipments were $6.33 billion, down -$100 million (-1.6%) compared to 2012. After adjusting for inflation, shipments were down -$213 million after inflation adjustment (-3.3%).
For the first half of the year, shipments were $39.3 billion in current dollars, down -$579 million (-1.5%), or -$1.19 billion (-2.9%) after inflation.

Graphic Arts Association Names President

http://whattheythink.com/news/64745-melissa-jones-named-graphic-arts-association-president/

The Board of Directors of the Graphic Arts Association has appointed Melissa Jones President of the GAA upon retirement of Marge Baumhauer.  

Jones is a resident of Swedesboro, NJ and has served as the Vice President of Membership and Marketing for the past year as well as Director of Membership from 2001 to 2005. This has given her wide contact with the GAA members and the opportunity to visit numerous plants in the Tri-State region. The Graphic Arts Association is a not-for-profit regional print trade association and manages PA, DE and NJ for the Printing Industries of America. It currently serves over 240 member companies. 

Sappi Reports Q3 Results

http://www.paperage.com/2013news/08_02_2013sappi_earnings.html

Successful start-up of both dissolving wood pulp projects
Operating profit excluding special items US$8 million (Q3 2012 US$60 million)
Loss for the period US$42 million (Q3 2012 US$106 million loss)
Loss per share 8 US cents (Q3 2012 loss of 20 US cents)
Net finance costs US$42 million (Q3 2012 US$141 million)
Net debt US$2,297 million (Q3 2012 US$2,213 million)

The past quarter saw a further deterioration in European paper industry conditions, exacerbating an already weak market, and demand is expected to remain subdued. Input costs, particularly pulp, remain high and we do not expect to see any price increases in our major paper grades in the coming quarter.

THE QUARTER UNDER REVIEW

This seasonally slow quarter saw a significant decline in demand for our major paper grades, with total European industry deliveries of coated woodfree and coated mechanical paper down 8% year-on-year for the quarter. Our total sales volumes were 6% below that of the equivalent quarter last year despite good growth in specialities volumes. Average prices realised were slightly higher than in the previous quarter, as a result of marginal price increases for coated woodfree paper, but remain on average below those of the equivalent quarter in the prior year.

In the North American business, operating profit for the current quarter was negatively impacted by an estimated US$12 million due to 22 days of incremental downtime taken for the Cloquet pulp mill conversion project and related ramp-up of operations. Coated paper sales volumes were essentially flat year-on-year; however the average net sales price per ton was 4% lower than in the prior year due to a competitive local market and increased import pressure. Prices appeared to have stabilised during the quarter and we expect to realise some price increases on economy sheets and web products over the coming months.

Boise Reports Q2 Results

http://news.paperindex.com/Finance_StockMarket/Boise_Inc-_Reports_Financial_Results_for_Second_Quarter_2013/

Boise Inc. (NYSE: BZ) today reported a net loss of $(2.2) million, or $(0.02) per diluted share, for second quarter 2013, compared with net income of $13.7 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, for the same period in 2012. Excluding special items, net income was $10.5 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, for second quarter 2013. EBITDA, excluding special items,(1) was $71.2 million for second quarter 2013, compared with $75.1 million for second quarter 2012.
Special items during the quarter included $15.3 million of pretax costs, of which $9.0 million will be cash expenditures related primarily to our plan to shut down two uncoated freesheet paper machines and an off-machine coater at our mill in International Falls, Minnesota. Additionally, we recorded $5.5 million of incremental depreciation expense related to shortening the useful lives of some of our assets, primarily at our mill in International Falls.

Media Post Mag Bag

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/205928/mag-bag-army-air-force-px-stores-drop-nude-mags.html#axzz2aqLKcFcc

U.S. Army soldiers and Air Force airmen will no longer be able to read Playboy, Penthouse, and other such magazines without leaving the base, following a decision by the Army & Air Force Exchange Service to stop selling them at PX stores. Navy and Marine Corps exchanges will continue selling nudie mags, at least for the time being. 
Welker To Publisher, CRO for New Dr. Oz Title
Hearst Magazines has named Kristine Welker to the position of vice president, publisher and chief revenue officer for the publisher’s planned magazine collaboration with Dr. Mehmet Oz. The magazine -- which has yet to be named -- is scheduled to debut in the first quarter of 2014, with newsstand distribution of 350,000 and another 450,000 copies delivered directly to certain Hearst subscribers. Welker previously served as vice president and chief revenue officer of Hearst Magazines Digital Media since 2010. Prior to that, she was the founding publisher of CosmoGIRL! Her previous position of vice president and CRO of Hearst Magazines Digital Media will be filled by Todd R. Haskell, effective September 3. Haskell comes to Hearst from the New York Times, where he served as group vice president for advertising at NYTimes.com.Meredith Promotes Execs
Meredith Corp. has promoted a number of executives to new spots in the company. Christine Guilfoyle has been promoted to vice  president and group publisher, with additional responsibility for Allrecipes magazine, set to launch this fall. She will continue to lead Every Day With Rachael Ray and EatingWell magazines. Linda Fears has been named vice president and editor in chief of Family Circle, following eight years as EIC; she will also continue as editorial director of Meredith’s Food Content Center of Excellence. Cheryl Brown has been named editor in chief of Allrecipes magazine, having previously served as editorial director of Recipe.com. 

Surveys: If You’re Going to Be Best, Personalize

http://thedigitalnirvana.com/2013/08/surveys-say-if-youre-going-to-be-best-in-class-youll-personalize/

If you’re going to be a best-in-class marketer, you’re going to personalize your content. Surveys of best-in-class companies show this over and over.
A 2012 InfoTrends survey of 1,000+ large businesses, across 10 different vertical industries, found that more than 60% of respondents’ campaigns were personalized or segmented.[1]  A 2011 Aberdeen Group study found that, of “best in class” marketers (defined as being in the top 20% of sales and profitability), 39% were actively “targeting offers to optimize marketing ROI” and “optimizing marketing activities at each touchpoint along the customer lifecycle.”

Online Publishers Raising Subscription Prices

http://www.btobonline.com/article/20130802/MEDIABUSINESS10/308029996/online-publishers-raising-subscription-prices-tightening-free-access

Newspapers and other online media with metered subscription models are raising subscription prices and applying stricter limits on free access, according to an analysis of data aggregated from publishers using RR Donnelley's Press+ content revenue platform.
Press+ shared the research at a quarterly meeting of its affiliate publishers this week.
The data show that the average price paid for monthly digital subscriptions to publications using the Press+ system rose from $8.83 in July 2012 to $9.09 last month. The monthly average in July 2011 was $6.66.
Publishers have rapidly adopted the metered-access subscription model, which allows website visitors to access a set number of free content pieces before being required to subscribe. They are increasingly tightening that number as they gain confidence in converting visitors to paid subscribers.

Verily: The Future of Women's Magazines?

http://blogs.forward.com/sisterhood-blog/181369/is-verily-the-future-of-womens-magazines/
If you’re a woman who loves reading about fashion, culture and relationships — a woman who finds that Cosmopolitan and Glamour don’t speak to you — you should know about Verily magazine. It’s not your typical women’s magazine, and it’s motto proves that fact: “Less of who you should be, more of who you are.” Launched in June, Verily speaks candidly and respectfully to women, just like a good friend. Co-founders Kara Eschbach (Editor-in-Chief and Publisher) and Janet Sahm (Style Editor) recently spoke with The Sisterhood by phone about their new venture.