Norske Skog Temporarily Shuts News PM

http://www.norskeskog.com/Default.aspx

Norske Skog has provisionally halted the 150,000 tonne/yr newsprint PM 2 at its Skogn mill near Trondheim in Norway, in line with its plan initially announced in March. The machine was stopped on June 23.

From this week, Norske Skog will start the summer holiday schedule at the Skogn mill and will not have enough personnel to run the site's three machines.
PM 2 will be ready for restart from the beginning of week 35, or August 26, but the timing for the startup will depend on the market development, a company spokesperson said.

NA Newsprint Shipments Up

Newsprint exports by North American mills in May spiked 19.5% from a year ago, thanks to a 39.9% surge in deliveries to non-Japan Asia - primarily India - and a 7.2% increase in volumes to Latin America, according to Pulp and Paper Products Council data.

Domestic shipments were down 8.8% from May last year and showed an average 9.8% decline for the year-to-date.
North American newspapers' demand for newsprint fell 11% last month, but demand by commercial printers was effectively flat with last year,
reducing the overall demand drop to 8.9% in May and 10.0% so far this year.

Producers Raise Prices on Coated Board

June 21, 2013: 
The leading North American producers of coated recycled paperboard (CRB) jumped the market with a new $45/ton price increase set for mid-July, on the heels of a mostly-successful increase in April-May, contacts confirmed this week.

Graphic Packaging set the hike for July 17 and RockTenn for July 19.
Also, leading uncoated recycled paperboard (URB) producer Sonoco set a $40/ton increase effective July 8 for all grades. 

June 24: 
PaperWorks Industries, Inc. today announced that effective on shipments as of July 22, 2013, it will increase prices on all MasterWorks coated recycled boxboard grades by $45 per ton.   Caraustar Industries, Inc. announced a price increase of $40 per ton on all grades of uncoated recycled paperboard products. The increase will be effective starting with shipments on July 15, 2013. The increase is in response to the continuing increase in costs, including raw materials.

FSC to Withdraw Certificates from APRIL

https://us.fsc.org/

On 23 May 2013, Greenpeace, WWF Indonesia and the Rainforest Action Network filed a formal complaint with the Forest Stewardship Council about association with the APRIL Group. In accordance with the FSC International Dispute Resolution System, FSC set in motion the process of dealing with the complaint.

However, on 14 June 2013, the FSC International received from our Asia-Pacific and China offices written requests by APRIL subsidiaries to withdraw their FSC certificates, which were all for chain-of-custody.
No reason for the withdrawal was offered.
To officially withdraw from FSC, certificate holders must work with their certifying bodies, in this case, Bureau Veritas, SGS Hong Kong and QMI Sai Global. While FSC International acknowledged receipt of the withdrawal letters from APRIL subsidiaries, the actual process to terminate the contractual relationship may take some time.
When the withdrawal of the FSC certificates by APRIL becomes legally effective, there will no longer be any association between FSC and APRIL. Due to this new situation, the complaint process is being put on temporary hold, pending an internal discussion about the appropriate path forward.
FSC International will provide additional information once we decide about next steps.

Sustainable Forestry Initiative Shows Gains

http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/20/5512410/new-report-sustainable-forestry.html
Since 2007, forests certified to the SFI Standard® have grown by 100 million acres to 240 million acres today. Total chain-of-custody certified locations grew from 500 in 2007 to more than 2,500. Also, SFI received on-product label requests for more than 6,000 wood, paper and packaging products in 2012, up from only 50 for the entire year in 2007.

Hearst Partners Launches Magazine with Dr. Oz

Hearst to Launch Dr. Oz-Themed Pilot Magazine:  
Hearst is set to launch a pilot issue of a new women's lifestyle magazine in partnership with Dr. Mehmet Oz, host of the syndicated Dr. Oz Show. The magazine is expected to follow the same model Hearst Magazines has honed through partnerships with Scripps Networks' HGTV and Food Network.
The first issue will debut in first-quarter 2014, with 800,000 copies to be distributed—350,000 to newsstands and 450,000 to select subscribers of other Hearst titles.

Publisher of Rolling Stone Out

http://www.adweek.com/news/press/rolling-stone-publisher-fired-150562

Jann Wenner has dismissed the publisher of his flagship Rolling Stone, Matt Mastrangelo. Mastrangelo had been in the position for three years (12 years in all at Wenner Media), and first-quarter ad pages were up 17 percent year over year to 190.

But Wenner is known to shuffle the publishing decks every few years at the magazine he co-founded. Mastrangelo got the word this morning, but apparently was told simply, "They are making a change." 

Biggest Advertisers 2012 Spending Up 2.8%

http://adage.com/article/news/big-u-s-advertisers-boost-2012-spending-slim-2-8/242761/

Spending by the nation's biggest advertisers looks a lot like the U.S. economy as a whole: good, but far from great, and getting a nice lift from the technology sector and a resurgent auto industry. 
The 100 Leading National Advertisers spent an estimated $104.5 billion on U.S. advertising last year, up just 2.8% from 2011, according to Ad Age DataCenter's analysis. That represented the lowest growth rate since the ad recovery began in 2010 and left total spending still shy of prerecession levels.

California Expected to Meet Carbon Targets

http://www.ceres.org/press/press-releases/rapid-developments-in-alternative-fuels-surpassing-expectation
Industry leaders and investors are heartened by faster-than-expected developments in alternative fuels, according to an industry report released today. 
The alternative fuels market has evolved much faster than anticipated, reveals the report, produced by a coalition of investors, utilities, and makers of alternative fuels and vehicles. For example, sales of electric vehicles are beating early projections, the surge in natural gas supply is helping decrease the carbon intensity in the transportation of merchandise, and biodiesel and renewable diesel are being consumed in much higher quantities than ever before. Although the cellulosic ethanol industry has struggled to produce projected volumes, other alternatives have emerged in unforeseen ways

Another Newspaper Cuts Delivery Schedule

http://www.columbian.com/news/2013/jun/20/oregonian-newspaper-reduces-home-delivery-schedule/
The Oregonian, the biggest newspaper in Oregon, will expand its digital news service while reducing the frequency of residential deliveries of print products, starting Oct. 1. Home deliveries will be made Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The Oregonian will be sold at newsstands seven days a week in the Portland area, including Southwest Washington. Home delivery subscribers will be able to read a digital edition of the paper online seven days a week. 
The transition also comes with a name change, to Oregonian Media Group. It will come with staff cuts as well, said N. Christian Anderson III, president and publisher of The Oregonian.

Flint Group Names CFO

Flint Group Appoints Dryden to CFO Post: Luxembourg - Flint Group is pleased to announce the appointment of Steve Dryden to the role of Chief Financial Officer, Flint Group, effective July 1st 2013.
Steve will also join Flint Group’s Executive Management Team (EMT) reporting directly to Antoine Fady, Chief Executive Officer.

North American Paper Shipments Reported

The Pulp and Products Council has reported North American coated mechanical paper shipments fell -11.2% in May, as compared to the same month last year. Demand declined -5.8% for the month. Imports rose +19.4% and the operating rate was 84%. Coated woodfree shipments were down -1.8% in May, demand grew +1% and imports rose 8.2%. The operating rate was 83%. SC-A/SC-A+ paper shipments were up +32.5% and demand increased +15.7%. Imports fell -22.8%. SC-B/SNC+ paper shipments rose +8.8% and demand was up +13.9%. The operating rate for Supercalendered paper was 90%. Uncoated woodfree paper shipments declined -5.1% and demand was down -5.2%. Imports rose +7.6%. The operating rate was 89%.

Lecta Installs PM, Closes Mill

http://www.lecta.com/home.htm# 
Lecta has decided to install a new second-hand machine for production of base paper for specialty paper grades at its Zaragoza mill in northeastern Spain in a Euro 30 million ($39 million) investment.

The company made the decision at the end of last year and started the preliminary installation stages in the first quarter this year. The machine, which will be named PM 7, is supposed to come online in summer next year, a company spokesperson said. It will have a capacity of around 80,000 tonnes/yr, depending on product mix.
The new PM will help Lecta improve the integration at the Zaragoza mill, which already houses the firm's only pulp mill as well as two paper machines. PM 4 has a capacity of 160,000 tonnes/yr of coated woodfree paper and PM 6 can make some 30,000 tonnes/yr of base paper for specialty grades.
Uranga mill to be closed: As part of this project, Lecta has decided to shut down its Uranga mill outside of Tolosa in northern Spain and concentrate production at the Zaragoza mill.

NYT Introduces Meter for Mobile Apps

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/06/20/the-new-york-times-announces-plans-to-meter-its-mo

The New York Times (NYTimes.com) today announced plans to meter its mobile applications, granting mobile app users access to up to three articles a day across any section in the apps.

With this change, planned for June 27, non-subscribers will have access to three stories per day from across all 25+ sections, blogs and slideshows. Non-subscribers may also browse section fronts and article summaries. Video remains free in the apps. Content beyond three articles per day will be available only to subscribers. This is a departure from The Times's current model, in which non-subscribers may only access the Top News section on mobile news apps.

The Economist Names CEO

http://www.btobonline.com/article/20130621/MEDIABUSINESS06/306219995/the-economist-group-appoints-stibbs-ce

The Economist Group has named Chris Stibbs CEO effective July 18, when Andrew Rashbass, the current chief executive, steps down. 

Last month, Rashbass was named to the newly created position of chief executive of the Reuters news and media business at Thomson Reuters.
Stibbs is currently the Economist Group's finance director and the managing director of the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Time's Cooking Light Rolls Out Food Line

http://www.adweek.com/news/press/cooking-light-rolls-out-food-line-150538

Time Inc.'s Cooking Light, which has long shown readers how to make nutritious meals, is now providing the dinners themselves. This month, Cooking Light is rolling out a new line of prepared foods at BJ's Wholesale Clubs.

Mowbray said the magazine was partly inspired to develop the products after seeing the success that sister Time Inc. title Real Simple has had with its own brand extensions. The growing interest in healthy living also opened up opportunities for the Cooking Light brand: "Health is no longer niche; it's become mainstream," said group publisher Diane Oshin.

Southern Living Launches Hotel Collection

http://www.adweek.com/news/press/southern-living-launches-hotel-collection-150552

Southern Living, already a behemoth in the brand extension department (you can buy Southern Living furniture, bedroom linens, tableware, and even house plans), is giving "living" the brand experience a whole new meaning with a Southern Living Hotel Collection.

"We'd really been looking at brand extensions that allow for deeper immersion into the lifestyle," said publisher Greg Schumann. "We always say that our reader doesn’t just read Southern Living—she lives it. As we began to focus on the travel facet of the brand, we realized that our readers are always looking for Southern Living vetted and endorsed experiences."

It's Hard Out There for a Publisher

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/column-its-hard-out-there-publisher-150530

Conventional wisdom says that entrepreneurs who start a Web-based business will do so with VC money. Read enough stories of Internet ventures that enjoy lucrative exits in the millions (in some cases billions) of dollars, and it's easy to assume that the only path to success is to begin by securing deals with investors who are far less interested in helping a startup build a substantial brand as they are in realizing a return as quickly as possible. 

Bootstrapping simply isn't sexy anymore.
But for many startup publishers, bootstrapping is a way of life, and VC money isn't an option. According to angel investor David S. Rose, the success rate of entrepreneurs who chase down VC or angel funding is about 1 in 500.  Of the rest, some will give up, leaving a persistent majority to build their businesses from behind the financial eight ball.

Commercial Print Ships Reported

http://blogs.whattheythink.com/economics/2013/06/printing-profits-still-struggling-but-rebound-from-q4-2012/

US commercial printing profits rebounded from their tough fourth quarter of 2012, where the industry showed a loss of -$400 million.  Profits for the first quarter of 2013 were +$850 million. Excluding the losses in Q4-2011 and Q4-2012, Q1 profits were the lowest positive quarter since Q1-2010. These data have been inflation-adjusted.

We prefer to look at inflation-adjusted shipments as a 4-quarter moving total since profits can fluctuate significantly. The chart below shows that profits have had trouble getting above the lows of 2005. The black line indicates the lows of 2005.

Economist Warns Printers of Complacency

Economist Warns Printers of Complacency: Wisconsin's stable of printing press operators, collectively the fifth-largest industry in the state, has been blindsided by the Internet, e-books and a wicked recession.
Yet the biggest challenge is not technology, but complacency, according to the chief economist for the National Association for Printing Leadership, a trade group.
"Our biggest threat is complacency, the status quo, and assuming that what worked yesterday will work tomorrow," Andrew Paparozzi told a gathering of commercial printers from Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana on Thursday.
The industry that prints the nation's books, magazines and catalogs has shrunk, to be sure, Paparozzi said. Despite all the technological change, which diminishes demand for bound-paper publishing, Paparozzi said he continues to tour the nation's printers only to find that most are stuck in a mind-set of the last century — the belief that if a commercial printer hangs on long enough, other printers give up and open up opportunities and eventually things might return to what they were once like in the predigital age.