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Friday, April 20, 2001 Publishing Industry Soundbytes · Napster announced that it has signed a licensing deal for Relatable's new commercial release of its acoustic fingerprinting technology, TRM. TRM uniquely identifies audio recordings based on the recording itself. TRM analyzes the acoustical properties of a recording's waveform to identify it precisely, regardless of its audio format, bit rate or minor signal distortion. · Line56, an ebusiness media company, announced that it has closed its second-round funding of $5 million. An investor group of business-to-business media professionals leads the funding round and will assume active participation in the company. Previously, Line56 announced a $2 million commitment from Francois Bitz, a former Carnegie Mellon professor and founder of Fore Systems, as the initial stage of its second round. Noting that Line56's corporate management will remain in place, Higgins said the company will name Lester Craft, formerly editor-in-chief of eCommerce Business magazine (Cahners), as its new editor-in-chief. Craft will succeed Adrian Mello as editor in chief of Line56. · DV.com, an online resource for creative professionals working with digital video and dynamic media, announced that the website is undergoing a new design and reorganization. The revamped site debuts on April 20, 2001. DV.com will provide industry news before it is released in print, Web-exclusive articles, objective product reviews and case studies, an interactive community section, and weekly Newsletters from the contributing Web editors and editors of DV magazine. In addition DV.com will offer the DV Product Information Guide, which allows users to comparatively research products. · GEM Communications announced that the company has brought gaming columnist and reporter Dave Palermo to their offices in Las Vegas. Palermo will assume the position of senior editor for Casino Journal and the new Casino Executive Reports, effective immediately. In addition to his duties as senior editor, Palermo will also play a key role in the upcoming gaming trade shows Southern Gaming Summit and the World Gaming Congress and Expo. Palermo's background in gaming journalism, includes terms as editor, columnist and reporter for International Gaming and Wagering Business and Indian Gaming Business. · Julie Murphree has been named Editor-in-Chief of iSource Business magazine, a publication covering the Web-enabled supply chain. Murphree has served as the magazine's editor since its inception in September of 2000. Doug Moore, CEO of Vulcan Media, the parent company of iSource, said Murphree's promotion signifies Vulcan's commitment to the future of iSource Business. Before coming to Vulcan, Muphree served as the editor of Purchasing Today, the official publication of the National Association of Purchasing Managers. · Katrillion Media, a news and information provider for Gen Y, announced that it has appointed former SonicNet.com managing editor Matthew Melucci to Vice President, Editor in Chief. Melucci brings 17 years of experience as a writer and editor for daily newspapers and periodicals, including the San Francisco Examiner and San Francisco Magazine. · UniquelyMe.com, an interactive web portal for the plus size community, has announced the addition of Catherine Schuller, Retail Editor of Mode Magazine, a successful model, image consultant, author and motivational speaker. Schuller's goal via UniquelyMe.com is to connect personally with women giving them a voice as well as support, guidance and advice. · Nickelodeon, a kids' entertainment network, and THQ, a kids' videogame publisher announced that they will develop videogames based upon original characters and storylines with the potential to become television, film, online and consumer product franchises. Under the new agreement, THQ will publish and distribute the videogames while Stephen Youngwood, Vice President of Nickelodeon Interactive and Book Publishing, will manage the relationship from the Nickelodeon side. Both companies are presently accepting and evaluating game submissions. · Mary Jo Romeo, Publisher of G+J USA's Parents magazine, announced the acquisition of Dads magazine's subscriber list and domain name from Dads Media, Inc. Effective with the May 2001 issue of Parents, current Dads subscribers will receive Parents magazine. · SQL Server Magazine, a division of Penton Technology Media, recently relaunched its website, SQL Server Magazine Online, on April 2, 2001, in order to integrate a new channel strategy. The new site presents increased content offerings and advertising sponsorship opportunities, showcasing an integrated media experience by accessing content from the entire Windows 2000 Magazine Network. · MSNBC.com, a news website, has announced an exclusive weekly column by home improvement experts Tom Kraeutler and Mary Barretta, hosts of the nationally syndicated radio show The Money Pit. · The Hair Loss Advisor Website has launched. The site will provide consumers and media with a resource for information about hair loss prevention and treatment. The site features content from tleading medical professionals, articles, an FAQ section, and features a library of streaming media webcasts. · The Arena Football League (AFL) has entered into a partnership with Ignite Sports Media for the re-launch of the AFL's and arenafootball2's website just prior to the kick-off of the AFL's 15th season. AFL Commissioner David Baker and Ignite Sports Media CEO Hank Adams jointly made the announcement. The promotion of arenafootball.com will include all available media, including cable and broadcast television, radio, print media, posters, publications and direct mail, jumbotron, dasher boards, bill boards, and PR material as well as links from NFL.com, the National Football League's official website. · Forestweb, Inc., an internet-based solutions provider for the forest products industry and Reel Time, a Chicago-based news and forecast service for publication papers, announced that they have formed an editorial partnership. Reel Time's editors, Verle Sutton and Ross Hay-Roe, will be providing Forestweb's PriceBeat delivered prices for coated, and uncoated free-sheet, groundwood, and supercalendered (SCA) papers. Publication paper prices are of particular interest to magazine, catalog, and insert publishers, printers, and direct mail marketers. In addition to prices, Reel Time will be providing PriceBeat four written reports a month. Forestweb is providing Reel Time exposure through its online marketplace and access to its marketing expertise. · GameCom, Inc., an Internet gaming company, announced that it has executed a letter of intent to acquire Ferris Productions, Inc., a virtual reality company. · Deerbrook Publishing Group Inc. announced that effective April 6, 2001 it changed its name to VOLT Inc., and it has filed an 8-K with details of the transaction. The Company previously announced a change in control and direction to seek opportunities in the renewable energy business. · Interwoven, Inc., a provider of content management software, announced the release of Interwoven TeamSite 5.0 and TeamSite Templating 5.0 software. · Toronto-based Stewart House Publishing Inc. announced the opening of their American office location in Indianapolis, Indiana. Stewart House Publishing, initially formed as a division of the nearly 100-year-old Canadian publishing company, McClelland & Stewart, is now a separately incorporated entity. Additionally, Stewart House named publishing veteran, Kenneth T. Proctor, as Executive Vice President and Publisher. Among Stewart House's bestselling brands are Time Passages Commemorative Yearbooks, My Art and the Visual Bible. · Half.com, an Ebay company, has introduced new categories for consumers and businesses to buy and sell new, overstocked, remaindered and used products in four areas: consumer electronics, computer equipment, sporting goods and trading cards. This move expands Half.com's popular marketplace in books, music, movies and video games, and is a step forward in eBay's plans to add fixed-price offerings to its trading community. With the addition of these new categories, Half.com's current item listings increased to more than 15 million, up from 10 million items three months ago. The company will continue to add more categories throughout the year. · 4Kids Entertainment, Inc., a global licensing and children's entertainment company, announced that it has acquired the merchandising and television rights to the Japanese property YU-GI-OH! for the world outside of Asia. YU-GI-OH!, which incorporates an animated television series, video game, comic book series and card game has become very popular in Japan. · Micky Hyman President and Chief Operating Officer of Kaleidoscope Media Group, Inc. announced that David Saperstein, bestselling author (Cocoon, Fatal Reunion, and Red Devil) as well as a noted screenwriter with over 25 scripts to his credit, has become a creative advisor to the Company. Saperstein will assist KMG in identifying and developing projects for distribution. KMG will also have a ``first-look'' at new Saperstein projects. The first Saperstein project the Company will be developing is a four-hour mini-series based on the book Fighting Back by Harold Werner. This is a true story of innocent, young people caught up in the maelstrom of W.W.II, and how they grew to become leaders of Polish resistance forces. · MediaBay, Inc., a seller of spoken audio and nostalgia products, announced it has selected Akamai Technologies, Inc., a content delivery service provider, to enhance performance of the MediaBay.com and Audiobookclub.com websites. Click here to return to the homepage of The Write NewsTM Click here to subscribe to our free weekly email newsletter.  www.writenews.com Copyright © 1997-2011 by Writers Write, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
