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Wednesday, August 29, 2001 Publishing Industry Soundbytes Launches and Redesigns | Miscellaneous | Movie Business People · LearningStar Corp., a developer, manufacturer, and retailer of educational products, announced the appointment of Richard Delaney to the position of Chief Financial Officer. In this role, Mr. Delaney will be responsible for all financial and administrative functions, including investor relations. Mr. Delaney, a CPA and former partner with Grant Thornton LLP. · Primedia Inc., a targeted media company, announced that Christine Oldenbrook has been named vice president of audience marketing for Primedia Business Magazines & Media. In her new role, Ms. Oldenbrook will have responsibility for all elements of circulation and audience development efforts. · TheStreet.com, Inc., a provider of financial news, announced that Ben Stein has joined TheStreet.com. Stein's career as a syndicated financial and political writer spans some twenty years and includes positions at The Wall Street Journal and Barron's. He is the latest high-profile editorial appointment for TheStreet.com in recent months, following the hiring of fellow outside contributors Brett Messing and Martha Smilgis. · Forrester Research, Inc., a provider of research and analysis on emerging technologies, announced that it has appointed CarolAnn Shindelar to the position of vice president, marketing. In this role, she will be responsible for directing the company's overall marketing strategy. Shindelar succeeds Mary Modahl, who has left the company and plans to spend more time with her family. Digital Publishing · IDEV, a content solutions company located in metro Washington, DC, announced the availability of a free interactive Content Management Health Check for companies to measure how effectively they are managing their website content. Participants complete a 3-minute, 15-question survey, and results are tallied immediately. Possible diagnoses include," good health," "a little creaky," "need to see a specialist," and "can't act too soon!" Users can employ this recommendation as they determine their next steps regarding the management of their online content. · E Ink Corporation, a developer of electronic ink technology for paper-like displays, announced commercial availability of Ink-In-Motion, the company's new electronic display component for integration into retail Point-of-Purchase (POP) and other signage applications. Ink-In-Motion is the result of more than two years of in-store research in a variety of retail formats, and incorporates the features most requested by retailers and brand marketers: custom fonts and graphics, a thin flexible form factor, and long battery life. Ink-In-Motion is currently available in the U.S. exclusively through select POP industry leaders, including Consumer Promotions International, Frank Mayer and Associates, Gage Marketing Group LLC, New Dimensions Research Corporation, PRISM Group and Rand Display. These POP designers and manufacturers are actively working with retailers and marketers to incorporate Ink-In-Motion into POP that will appear in stores in the first quarter of 2002. Content Deals · TIME For Kids (TFK), the classroom publication of TIME magazine, has co-published its almanac with Information Please, an electronic publisher of reference materials. The almanac includes facts, dates, people, maps, and general information for kids. Targeted to kids in grades 3-7, the 360-page almanac (priced at $11.99) will be available in bookstores at the end of August. Timeforkids.com features the Fact Monster, a kid-friendly reference icon who makes its home at FactMonster.com. · DevX, a provider IT development information, recently launched a free code library through a deal that adds 27,000 code samples from Sourcebank, a developer-focused search engine, to DevX's existing library. Visitors to DevX's resource site devx.com now have access to more than 38,000 free code samples to speed the completion of development projects. Under the terms of the agreement, Sourcebank's site was incorporated into the DevX network of sites as part of the DevX Code Library. As a whole, the library now contains over 38,000 downloadable code sequences and features more than 3,500 pieces of Java code and thousands of other source code files for C++ and Web scripting languages, such as Perl and JavaScript. · Classroom Connect, Inc., a provider of professional and classroom learning resources, announced that it has agreed to be acquired by Harcourt Education Inc., of Orlando, FL, a K-12 educational publisher. Harcourt is a subsidiary of Reed Elsevier plc. The transaction enables Classroom Connect to strengthen its position in K-12 professional development, and accelerating the growth in depth and reach of its standards-based curriculum content. Classroom Connect will continue to operate as an autonomous business unit within the Harcourt Education group. Launches and Redesigns · Inc, a magazine for business executives, unveiled a comprehensive redesign with its September issue. A bold new logo, larger trim size and heavier paper stock spearhead its new look. The design team is led by creative director Patrick Mitchell, known for creating the clook of Fast Company magazine. The debut cover of the redesigned issue features Catherine Muther, founder of the Women's Technology Network. Founded in 1979, Boston-based Inc magazine was acquired last year by G+J USA, one of America's largest magazine publishers. · Summit Publishing Company announced plans to makeover their leading business publication, Packaging World. Summit's monthly packaging tabloid will be redesigned and trimmed down to a more contemporary 9``x11'' size as of January 2002. A desire for increased portability and a shift in the way today's readers utilize business-to-business magazines were cited as motivating factors in the decision to remodel. · The Newspaper Association of America has relaunched its Internet site, www.naa.org. The new site is designed to be easier to navigate and provide more and better services to NAA members and other visitors. The site's thousands of files of content have been reorganized to streamline navigation and make it easier for users to find what they are looking for. The site is based on an Oracle database. Among the site's new features are daily links to significant industry news items; indexes of information of particular interest to advertisers, educators, financial analysts, legislators, marketers, researchers, and students; information on industry careers; a press information section; links to the newest information posted on the site, by subject; and a site map providing direct access to content in 182 categories and subcategories. NAA's Web presence debuted in 1995. · Scholastic, a children's publishing and media company, announced the launch of Scholastic.com's newest tool for teachers Authors and Books -- a combination of a database of over 2000 pre-K through 8th grade children's titles with grade-appropriate teaching materials. The Authors and Books area of Scholastic.com will also provide live interviews with authors such as an upcoming chat with Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen on September 20th at 12 p.m. · Yahoo! Inc. announced that Yahoo! GeoCities, an online Web hosting services, is adding new premium packages -- GeoCities Pro and GeoCities Webmaster. Yahoo! GeoCities will still offer a free service, but will try and bring in revenues with the new premium hosting services. The GeoCities Pro and Webmaster packages give consumers access to advanced page-building tools and features including personal domain names that offer greater storage capacity, further personalization, and more flexibility with their individual websites. The services are also free of advertisements from GeoCities and its sponsors. The GeoCities Pro package is priced at $8.95 per month with a one-time $15 set-up fee. GeoCities Webmaster, costs $11.95 per month plus the one-time $15 set-up fee. · ElbitVflash, Inc. a developer of digital marketing applications and a division of Elbit Ltd., and Booksonline.com, operated by Bookspan, a partnership between Doubleday Direct, Inc. (DDI) and Book of the Month Club Holdings LLC (BOMC), announced the launch of the Mystery Guild Insider, a desktop communications channel. The Mystery Guild Insider gives members access to exclusive, up-to-the minute mystery news and editorial information from the Mystery Guild Book Club editors, advanced alerts for upcoming book releases, and mystery trivia and member polls. Members will also enjoy private sales and special member discounts; the ability to reserve new titles prior to their release; sneak previews of excerpts before the books hit the site and reminders for their Featured Selection ``reply-by'' dates. · On September 1, AmericanFalls.net, a Niagara Falls, New York based news and lifestyle website, will launch Story Magic -- a free email newsletter featuring interviews with celebrity authors, journalists, and syndicated columnists from around the country. Among the authors scheduled for upcoming issues will be bestselling author Salle Merrill Redfield on creating joy in life; nationally syndicated business columnist and author Azriela Jaffe on entrepreneurial couples; and syndicated Family Daze humor columnist and author Debbie Farmer on parenting and family. · iClass Sites! is new portal focused on listing sites based on respective content so visitors can determine how to proceed according to interest and age level. Miscellaneous · AssignmentEditor.com, a news media resource and broker of news videos, announced that it will become a subscription only site beginning Monday, September 3rd. The site has been free to users since it was launched in July of 1999. Limited site access will be $4.99 per month and full site access will be $9.99 per month. · Archaeology magazine announced that it has relocated its offices and departments from 135 William Street, New York, New York, to 36-36 33rd Street, Long Island City, New York, 11106-2327. Archaeology's new telephone number is 718-472-3050 and its new FAX number is 718-472-3051. Published by the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA), Archaeology has 600,000 readers. Movie Business · Miramax Films has acquired the film adaptation rights to Andy McNab's novel Crisis Four, along with the rights to the novel's main character ``Nick Stone,'' it was announced by Miramax evp of development Colin Vaines. The film will be produced by Emmy-nominated producer Bonnie Timmermann (An American Rhapsody) and co-produced by McNab. David Magee is in final negotiations to adapt the screenplay. Crisis Four is one of McNab's four novels about the international adventures of an intelligence officer named Nick Stone. Miramax has also acquired the rights to eventually develop McNab's other Nick Stone novels, Remote Control, Firewall, and Last Light. McNab is a special operations officer who became Britain's most highly decorated soldier after the Gulf War. 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. |
