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Friday, April 12, 2002 Media Cynic | Forum | Advertising | Classifieds | Jobs Publishing Industry Soundbytes Launches and Redesigns | Miscellaneous People · David A. Wan, currently President of the Penguin Group, the global trade book division of Pearson plc, has been named President and Chief Executive Officer of Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation (HBSP). Mr. Wan will succeed Linda Doyle, 52, who has been HBSP's President and CEO since 1994. Early last year she announced her plans to depart in 2002 to assume a faculty teaching position at Harvard Business School. The transition will begin in May, with Wan assuming the CEO position on July 1, 2002. · AOL Time Warner announced that Barry Schuler, Chairman and CEO of America Online, will lead a new division that will develop digital services for AOL Time Warner platforms. Mr. Schuler, who will relinquish his responsibilities as head of America Online, will continue to report to AOL Time Warner COO-elect Bob Pittman. Mr. Pittman, who ran America Online's operations before the AOL Time Warner merger, will take over Mr. Schuler's operating responsibilities at AOL. Mr. Pittman will also continue to fulfill his responsibilities as COO-elect of AOL Time Warner. · Josh Quittner has been named Editor of Business 2.0 magazine. The announcement was made by Ned Desmond, President of the title. Desmond, who had served as both Editor and President of the publication, will now have the sole title of President and remain responsible for editorial and business oversight of the magazine. Quittner will report to Desmond and be based in San Francisco. Quittner most recently served as Technology Editor of Time and Managing Editor of time.com. · Source Interlink Companies, a provider of magazine information and sales data, announced it has appointed Jerry Reinhart, Executive Vice President of Business Development for International Periodical Distributors (IPD), Source's direct magazine distribution division. In the new position, Reinhart is responsible for business development at IPD, a direct-to-retail magazine distributor to major book chains and independent retailers, including Barnes & Noble and Borders, in North America. He will focus on creating additional opportunities through existing retail customers and target specialty retailers as new customers. Reinhart will report to Dave Buescher, president of IPD. · PennWell announced the appointment of Christopher M. Barton as vice president and group publisher for Offshore publications and conferences. Barton replaces Jack Schirra, retiring from the role after 23 years with PennWell. Barton comes to PennWell from ABB Offshore Systems in Houston, where he was vice president for sales and marketing. · Directors Guild of America (DGA) National Executive Director Jay Roth announced that Keith H. Karpe has been named DGA National Executive for Communications. He will begin his new position on Monday April 8, 2002. Karpe has served as executive in charge of public relations and communications for various corporations and associations, most recently with the Orange County-based Fortune 500 company, Fluor Corporation. · Yahoo! Inc. announced the appointment of Daniel J. Finnigan as senior vice president of Yahoo! and executive vice president and general manager of HotJobs.com, Ltd, a recruitment solutions company acquired by Yahoo! in February 2002. Finnigan will be responsible for all HotJobs operations, including ongoing integration with Yahoo! and the development and expansion of HotJobs' position in the online recruitment space. Finnigan will be based in New York City, and as a key member of Yahoo!'s management team, will report to Greg Coleman, executive vice president of North American operations. · The New York Times announced that Patrick Tyler, Moscow bureau chief, has been named chief correspondent effective immediately. In his new role, Mr. Tyler will write about a wide range of issues concerning domestic and foreign policy and the world of Washington. Mr. Tyler, 50, became The New York Times Moscow bureau chief in 2000, after having been assigned to the Moscow bureau as a correspondent the prior year. He had returned to The New York Times in 1999 after completing a history of U.S.-China relations as a Visiting Scholar Fellow at Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation. Previously, he served as Beijing bureau chief from 1993 to 1997. · R.R. Bowker has promoted Andrew Grabois to the newly created position of senior director of publisher relations and content development. Grabois will be responsible for working closely with publishers throughout North America in order to ensure that publisher bibliographic data is accurate, rich and timely. Specifically, he will be meeting with publishers to re-engineer, rationalize and simplify the communication of title information that is sent to Bowker and, in turn, to all of the company's retail and library customers. At the retail level, Grabois will be working with major booksellers such as Barnes & Noble and Borders Group. · Mark Wright has been elevated to Executive Vice President of A&R for MCA Nashville, according to MCA Nashville Chairman Bruce Hinton. Wright was previously Senior VP of A&R. Wright has been a part of the MCA Nashville family since 1994, when he was Senior Vice President of label affiliate Decca Records. When Decca closed in 1999, Wright was added to the MCA Nashville family by Hinton, joining the label as Senior Vice President of A&R. When longtime A&R head and former MCA Nashville President Tony Brown exited the label in 2001, Wright assumed the lead in the A&R department, and second in command of the label overall. Digital Publishing · Liquid Audio, Inc. announced that it has finalized a non-exclusive agreement with Universal Music Group (UMG) to act as a digital music service provider. Liquid Audio will provide UMG with secure digital distribution services including encoding, hosting, clearinghouse and delivery. As part of its strategy to distribute and market its music catalog online, UMG will use Liquid Audio's technology to distribute digital music through a broad network of affiliates including record retailers. Music fans will have secure digital downloads available for purchase from a wide variety of artists. UMG is the fourth major record label to use Liquid Audio's software and services to promote and sell digital music to consumers. Content Deals · Hemmings Motor News will be acquired by American City Business Journals Inc., Charlotte, NC, from the family of Hemmings' late publisher and editor, Terry Ehrich. Mr. Ehrich died in January after serving as publisher and editor of the monthly publication for 33 years. Also included in the sale, which is expected to close by May 1, are affiliated publishing assets of Hemmings including two smaller magazines and a unit that publishes books, calendars, and other publishing products featuring old cars. Hemmings, which has a circulation of 223,000, is a monthly publication for hobbyists and collectors of antique, vintage and special interest cars. · Dow Jones Newswires announced Wednesday that it has completed the acquisition of MoneyView On-Line BV, a Dutch financial news service. Dow Jones Newswires bought MoneyView On-Line from MoneyView Nederland NV and PCM Uitgevers NV, each of which held 50%. The Dutch language service MoneyView On-Line will be renamed Dow Jones Nieuwsdienst. MoneyView On-Line delivers its news service to customers in some 50 dealing rooms in the Netherlands as well as to users of leading Dutch financial web sites and mobile services. · Lighthouse Publishing Group, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Wade Cook Financial Corporation announced a major book distribution contract with Midpoint Trade Books, Inc. of New York. The contract reunites Lighthouse Publishing Group with their former distributor. Midpoint Trade Books was actively involved in the success of Cook's bestselling business books, Wall Street Money Machine, Stock Market Miracles (now entitled Wall Street Money Machine, Volume 2), and Business Buy the Bible. · Scholastic Corporation, a children's publishing and media company, announced that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Klutz, a publisher and creator of "books plus" products for children, from Corus Entertainment, Inc., one of Canada's leading media and entertainment companies. · FullAudio and Warner Music Group (WMG) announced that the companies have entered into a non-exclusive licensing agreement. Under the agreement, subscribers to FullAudio's unique cache download music subscription service will be able to download and stream tracks from WMG's catalog. The agreement also allows FullAudio subscribers to transfer WMG-controlled tracks from their PCs to secure portable devices and set-top boxes, as soon as these devices become commercially available. WMG is the third major label to grant FullAudio a license for sound recordings. Previously, FullAudio secured sound recording rights from EMI Recorded Music and Universal Music Group. FullAudio also has obtained publishing rights from Universal Music Publishing, EMI Music Publishing, and BMG Music Publishing as part of its continuing effort to secure legal content from all music publishers and five major record labels. · THQ Inc. and Marvel Enterprises, Inc. has announced a worldwide agreement naming THQ exclusive interactive game licensee of some of Marvel's comic and entertainment properties including Captain America, The Punisher, and Nick Fury. The all-inclusive relationship grants THQ rights to all classic, TV and film versions of each of the properties for every viable game system including those manufactured by Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft, as well as PC through 2007. The two companies also announced they will collaborate on the upcoming comic series, The Call. Based on the adventures of real-life heroes in New York City, The Call may feature many of the most popular characters in the Marvel Universe such as Spider-Man and the X-Men. The Call is scheduled to make its comic debut in fall of 2003 followed by an interactive debut in spring of 2004. · TheStreet.com, a provider of financial commentary, analysis and news, announced a promotion agreement with The Motley Fool, Inc. to offer selected premium headlines and content via Fool.com. Under the agreement, The Motley Fool will incorporate select headlines from TheStreet.com into its news stream. The headlines contain direct links to a free-trial subscription offer for TheStreet.com's RealMoney and its suite of subscription products. · CityXpress Corp, a developer of revenue-generating solutions for media companies, has announced an agreement with Purple Mountain Media Company to produce a new joint print/online section specifically designed for young readers, branded as Purple Mountain Press Weekly and Purple Mountain Xpress. Under the terms of the agreement, Purple Mountain will produce a weekly one-page print insert, Purple Mountain Press Weekly, The Real Newspaper For Kids, that focuses on news about the world, issues that impact children's lives, and games and puzzles. CityXpress will produce an online counterpart, Purple Mountain Xpress, which publishes daily content updated in "zones" that reflect a newspaper's traditional newspaper sections. Targeted towards young readers between ages 9 to 12 years old, the complementary print and online sections are designed to help newspapers attract young people to read the newspapers and to use their websites. · Heinle, a global provider of English Language Teaching (ELT) materials and the specialized language part of The Thomson Corporation, announced the purchase of Language Teaching Publications (LTP) based in Hove, England. LTP, known for distinctive materials that feature the "lexical approach," publishes a wide array of materials in ELT, including business English, with primary concentration of sales in Europe and the UK. This acquisition marks a continued commitment on the part of Thomson to invest in the development of new global ELT products and to expand their ELT sales and marketing operations. Launches and Redesigns · The first international edition of O, The Oprah Magazine, which is the April/May issue of O, The Oprah Magazine South Africa, debuts on newsstands across South Africa on Wednesday, April 10, 2002. O, The Oprah Magazine South Africa is a joint venture between Hearst Magazines, Harpo Print, LLC and Associated Magazines South Africa. The issue will be unveiled at a celebration in Johannesburg on Tuesday, April 9, 2002. The announcement was made by Cathleen P. Black, president of Hearst Magazines, and Jane Raphaely, managing director of Associated Magazines South Africa. · International Data Group (IDG), a technology media company, announced that IDG.net, a network of technology-specific sites, has partnered with Newmediary, Inc., a provider of online Solution Centers, to launch a comprehensive Internet-based White Paper library. With this partnership, visitors to IDG.net and other IDG sites will now have access to more than 27,000 technical documents from industry vendors and analyst firms as well as nearly 100 vendor-sponsored White Papers direct from IDG. White Papers on topics such as Web services, Internet infrastructure, outsourcing, IP telephony and network security are currently featured in the IDG White Paper Library. · Solocareer.com is a new website for individuals who want the freedom of working on their own and who are thinking about starting their own solo businesses, according to John Bugay, owner of the site. SoloCareer.com features content in the form of "how-to" articles, as well as motivational information, focusing on the first-hand stories of individuals who have been working "on their own" for years. In compiling information for the site, Bugay draws on his own experience as a "solocareerist," and he takes a long-term view of working alone. "There is a tremendous amount of freedom in working alone. On the other hand, there are many responsibilities that a solocareerist must attend to in order to be successful," he said. "The people I write about have experienced both; my goal is to present those kinds of things in a way that will be helpful to people who want to make the break." Bugay has operated his own solo business, "Bugay Communications," since 1996, providing freelance copywriting, news writing, and desktop publishing solutions. · Yahoo! Inc. announced the re-launch of Yahoo! Small Business, a centralized resource for online small business services and solutions. Small business customers can access tools and solutions to establish their business online, sell online, and market and promote their business and products online. · The Law Offices of Lloyd J. Jassin, announced publication of Copylaw News, an email newsletter, providing solutions to questions about publishing and entertainment law. Copylaw News is a supplement to Copylaw Online, the firm's informational website that was launched in 1996. · Hart Publications has launched Pipeline and Gas Technology, a new monthly magazine for the worldwide pipeline, construction, and maintenance industry. The magazine reaches more than 26,000 decision-makers in the global pipeline marketplace. Pipeline and Gas Technology adds to Hart's business-to- business information continuum spanning the petroleum business from capital formation, to exploration and production, to pipeline and transportation, to refining and marketing. · Southeast Tech Wire launched a free email newsletter on Monday that summarizes the top technology, venture capital, and Internet stories in North Carolina, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina. Southeast Tech Wire is part of the southern expansion of CapWire Inc., which also publishes Potomac Tech Wire -- an email newsletter for the Washington DC area with over 30,000 subscribers. Last year, CapWire Inc. launched New England Tech Wire, which currently has 10,000 subscribers. · Michigan Technology News has launched a weekly electronic newsletters. The Michigan Technology News Weekly Report is a compilation of the headlines and webcasts from Michigan Technology News, a tech portal site, and a preview of what subscribers can expect to read, listen to or view next. Michigan Technology News Weekly Report is delivered each Monday at no cost to subscribers. Volume I, No. 1 was emailed to 4,000 subscribers on April 8. Miscellaneous · Ziff Davis Media Inc. announced that it has entered into an agreement with Zinio Systems, a developer of digital magazine technology and services, to create digital versions of PC Magazine. PC Magazine was among the first group of major publications to beta test the format. Ziff Davis Media will now offer readers the digital version of PC Magazine for the same price as a print subscription. · Earful of Books, Inc., an audiobook-only retailer, announced that it has entered into an exclusive agreement to distribute the successful Hank the Cowdog series of audiobooks to retail outlets around the world. With nearly 40 Hank the Cowdog titles currently available, the series has sold 375,000 audiobooks to date. The series, published by Maverick Books, Inc., has sold approximately 40,000 audiobooks annually during the last five years. According to Billboard magazine, Hank the Cowdog is the industry's longest running audiobook series, beginning with the publication of the first Hank the Cowdog title in 1983. 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 © 1997-2007 by Writers Write, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
