Domtar Closes Kamloops Pulp Line

http://www.kamloopsnews.ca/article/20130322/KAMLOOPS0101/303229990/-1/KAMLOOPS/domtars-a-line-closes-monday

After months of waiting, Domtar's A-line pulp machine will shut down at the end of the work day Monday, union and corporate officials have confirmed.
By the time the dust completely settles later this spring, the number of layoffs will be the biggest in the Kamloops operation's history, said Doug Cumming.

http://www.kamloopsnews.ca/article/20130325/KAMLOOPS0101/130329958/-1/kamloops01/domtar-hoping-for-tax-break

Domtar to seek property tax break as Kamloops, BC, pulp mill shuts down line.

Domtar is taking stock of its reduced Kamloops operation to have its taxable property reassessed.

With Monday's shutdown of the A-line, Domtar's operation is shrinking and so, too, should its tax bill, said spokeswoman Bonnie Skene.

Sustainability Top Purchase Criterion For Packaging

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100593005

An independent research study commissioned by the Steel Market Development Institute (SMDI), a business unit of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), revealed 65 percent of decision makers at Fortune 500 consumer product companies view packaging sustainability as a high priority. The survey was conducted by MindClick in January and February and included packaging decision makers from major consumer packaged goods companies.

Gartner: Companies Increasing Digital Maketing 9%

http://www.dmnews.com/digital-commands-25-of-marketing-budgets/article/286160/

Companies will be increasing their digital marketing budgets by 9% on average in 2013, fueled by increased investments in corporate websites and digital advertising, according to a new report from Gartner. A survey of 250 marketers working in financial services, retail, technology, media, and healthcare revealed that companies devote an average of 25% of their marketing budgets to digital pursuits. Gartner predicts the percentage will continue to rise because companies find digital more cost-effective than traditional techniques. Asked what digital disciplines were most essential to their current success, marketers named company websites, social media, and digital advertising.

RDA Gets Approval for Bankruptcy Financing Agreement

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/196692/rda-gets-approval-for-bankruptcy-financing-agreeme.html#axzz2Om2dYzT

RDA Holding Co., which owns The Reader’s Digest Association, has received approval for a key part of its bankruptcy reorganization: the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York has approved a plan that will raise $105 million to fund ongoing operations as part of a “debtor-in-possession” financing agreement.

Along with the financing agreement, the court also granted approval to measures to help RDA continue its business operations, including authority to pay employees and freelancers on normal schedules. 
The company filed its reorganization plan and disclosure statement on Thursday, March 21, and is due back in court April 25 for a hearing to consider approval of the disclosure statement.

Glassdoor Names Top Ten Retail CEOs

http://risnews.edgl.com/retail-insight-blog/Top-6-Highest-Rated-Retail-CEOs85493?rssid=Article85493

Jeff Bezos, Amazon: Coming in at 16 with a 93% approval rating is Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.  

Blake Nordstrom, Nordstrom: Next on the list is Blake Nordstrom at 29 with a 90% approval rating. Glenn Murphy, The Gap: At 39 on the list is Glenn Murphy of the Gap with an 83% approval rating and a big year-over-year jump of 13 points. Top company characteristics include being diversity and a fair and fun work environment with a passion for fashion. Employee discounts are a huge plus and so is scheduling flexibility.

Frank Blake, The Home Depot: Frank Blake is 40 on the list with an approval rating of 82%. Teamwork, camaraderie and profit sharing are strong company traits.  

Sharon Turney, Victoria’s Secret: Next on the list is Sharon Turney of Victoria’s Secret at 42 with an 82% approval rating.
Ed Crenshaw, Publix: Last on the list is Ed Crenshaw of Publix at 48 with an 82% approval rating.

Hearst's SF Chronicle Adds Paywall

http://www.sfgate.com/business/prweb/article/The-San-Francisco-Chronicle-Introduces-4381952.php

The San Francisco Chronicle, the Bay Area’s most-read source of local and national news, has launched the all-new SFChronicle.com, a premium news website available by subscription.
SFChronicle.com is an extension of the newspaper’s award-winning, in-depth coverage that readers have come to expect from the Bay Area’s leading news source..
SFChronicle.com is available as part of a digital package for only $12.00 a month. Most Chronicle print subscribers will have access to SFChronicle.com as part of their subscriptions.

Bertelsmann Reports 2012 Results

http://www.bertelsmann.com/Press.html

Bertelsmann has made good progress in reshaping the Group, and for the ongoing process can rely on strong financials for 2012: growth in revenues, a stable operating EBIT, and a slight increase in Group profit. In the years ahead, Bertelsmann is targeting for continued organic and acquisition growth. First steps are the planned combination of Random House and Penguin as one of the world's leading book publishers; the complete ownership of the music rights company BMG; and the establishment and expansion of new, mainly digital, businesses in sectors and regions with high-growth potential.

Associated Press Wins Copyright Suit

Associated Press Wins Suit in Internet Copyright, Fair Use Case:
Publishers can rest easy knowing that their content online will be protected—for now. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has ruled in favor of the Associated Press in its copyright infringement suit against San Francisco-based Meltwater News, a self-described commercial media-monitoring service.
At the heart of the case was the assertion by Meltwater News that content published and freely available on the Internet can be scraped, compiled and commercially resold under fair-use laws. 

Tembec Selling Pulp Mill to Paper Excellence

http://tembec.com/en

Tembec Inc. ("Tembec") announced today that it has reached an agreement to sell its NBSK pulp mill and related assets and liabilities located in Skookumchuck, British Columbia to Paper Excellence Canada Holdings Corporation ("Paper Excellence") for a purchase price of $89 million , which includes working capital. Closing of the transaction is expected to occur in the second calendar quarter of 2013 and remains subject to certain conditions and regulatory approvals.

Resolute Releases 2012 Annual Report

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

Resolute Forest Products today issued its 2012 Annual Report, which includes an overview of the Company's 2012 sustainability performance. While Resolute will continue to produce its Annual Sustainability Report using Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines, the Company is now also integrating sustainability performance information into its annual financial disclosure.

Russia Lowers Duty on Coated Paper

Russia has once again decided to reduce its import duty on coated paper from 15% to 5%.

The decision, which was taken on March 19 by the customs union which Russia formed with Belarus and Kazakhstan, will come into force 30 days from that date. It will be valid for nine months, until January 19, 2014.
The measure is aimed at stimulating the development of the domestic publishing industry.
The Kama mill in the Perm region launched its 86,000 tonne/yr LWC PM in 2012, but had to stop production shortly after the start-up due to the financial difficulties of its then managing company Investlesprom.
Ilim Group, which is rebuilding a second-hand PM at its Koryazhma mill in the Arkhangelsk region, is expected to start production on the 70,000 tonne/yr woodfree (CWF) paper PM in June 2013.
The changes in the import duty level have been been a source of continual controversy among Russian market players over the past few years. Certain paper producers have argued that the government should promote domestic production of coated publication paper grades through increased import duties. Representatives of the publishing industry, however, say that the government's decision to decline a permanent 5% import tariff is due to a strong lobby by the large Russian pulp and paper player Ilim Group.
In 2011, Russia imported around 420,000 tonnes of coated publication paper, according to RISI estimates.

Workers End Strike at Nippon WA Mill

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20130325/NEWS/303259992/first-paper-production-expected-tonight-after-nippon-workers-return

When union workers return to their jobs at Nippon Paper Industries USA today, they will spend several hours warming up the machines before any paper is produced.

Social Media Ads Least Trusted

Consumers Not Trusting Of Social Media Ads: A Forrester Research survey finds consumers place the least amount of trust in social media marketing, SMS messaging, and internet ad content.  The survey of over 62,000 online Americans and 20,000 online Europeans finds consumers on both sides of the pond place the least amount of trust in social media marketing, mobile messaging, and internet ad content.
Highlights: U.S. trust in social media ads (15%), text messages from companies or brands (9%), and ads received via mobile apps (12%)  are ranked at the bottom, along with push-marketing banner ads (10%) and email promotions (18%).

The Art of Making Magazines

http://www.bookforum.com/review/11264

If you're reading this, it's a safe bet you read magazines. Technically, you may even be reading one now—though I'm not sure if bookforum.com really qualifies. The ".com" might denote precisely what isn't Bookforum. I'm typing onto a computer screen; you're reading from one. No trees have been killed. Are we in a magazine? I'm asking because I don't honestly know.
For now, let's say we aren't. If a magazine still is what it's been for almost three centuries—an ink-on-paper "storehouse" of writing, published on a regular schedule—then the "media industrial revolution" (to use Tina Brown's awkward phrase) is surely in the process of rendering many of our magazines obsolete. Seen historically, The Art of Making Magazines—a collection of twelve lectures by esteemed editors, proofreaders, designers, and writers delivered over the last decade to graduate students at the Columbia School of Journalism—may have barely made its deadline.

Bloomberg Businessweek Expands Delivery Model

http://www.btobonline.com/article/20130326/MEDIABUSINESS05/303269992/bloomberg-businessweek-expands-alternate-delivery-to-15-new-markets

Bloomberg Businessweek, which since December 2010 has been partnering with various newspaper publishers and other delivery services to hand deliver the weekly magazine, is partnering with Gannett Inc. to make alternate delivery available in 15 additional U.S. markets. 
An alternative to U.S. Postal Service delivery, the Expedited Morning Delivery service is designed to put Bloomberg Businessweek in the hands of subscribers on the earliest day at the earliest delivery time possible, often one or two days earlier than the U.S. mail.

Lucky Grows Online Community

Lucky Mag Grows Online Community With Eye on Sponsorship Ops:  hrough a user-generated platform, Lucky magazine’s online community now has over 44,000 posts and more than 4,700 contributors that not only helps it to draw readers in, but advertisers as well. “When we think about the Lucky Community, we think of it as a 360-degree program,” says Maura Randall, the brand’s digital managing director. “These women also appear in our print magazine, which is our core piece and their content appears across LuckyMag.com."

26% Own Laptop, Smartphone & Tablet

26% of Americans Own a Laptop, a Smartphone AND a Tablet: Deloitte’s annual "State of the Media Democracy" survey reveals a 160% growth in the number of U.S. consumers who own the trio of tablets, smartphones and laptops, among other findings.

North American P&W Paper Demand Reported

The Pulp & Paper Products Council reported North American demand for coated mechanical paper fell -9.8% in February. Imports rose +3.7% and the operating rate was 87%.  Coated woodfree demand declined -5.6%, imports were down -2.4% and the operating rate was 85%.  SC-A/SC-A+ demand for the month was up +11.2% and imports rose +23.7%.  SC-B/SNC+ demand decreased -6% and imports fell -3.4%. The operating rate for Supercalendered paper was 84%.  Uncoated woodfree demand declined -9.4%, imports were down -0.3% and the operating rate was 93%.

AF&PA Reports February P&W Numbers

http://www.afandpa.org/

The American Forest & Paper Association has released its February 2013 Printing-Writing Paper Report.

According to the report, total printing-writing paper shipments were down 12 percent from February 2012.

Additional key findings:

February shipments of coated mechanical (CM) decreased 20 percent compared to February 2012 to 218,900 tons, the lowest total since before 1995.
February shipments of coated free sheet (CFS) papers decreased 5 percent compared to February 2012, with year-to-date CFS shipments up less than 1 percent relative to 2012.
Uncoated free sheet (UFS) papers shipments of 701,700 tons in February were 10 percent below the same period last year, with imports increasing 14 percent year-over-year in January.
February uncoated mechanical (UM) paper shipments decreased 22 percent when compared to February 2012.

EURO-GRAPH Reports Coated, SC Demand

http://www.euro-graph.org/publicms/index/view/

EURO-GRAPH has reported February coated mechanical paper demand fell -8.7%. Exports declined -13.2%. Coated woodfree demand for the month was down -8.1% and exports decreased -0.3%. Supercalendered paper demand fell -5.5%. Exports were up slightly by +0.1%. Uncoated woodfree demand declined -5.9% and exports were down -13.2%.