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Friday, December 13, 2002 Media Cynic | Forum | Advertising | Classifieds | Jobs Publishing Industry Soundbytes Launches and Redesigns | Miscellaneous People · The New York Times Company and The Washington Post Company, co-owners of The International Herald Tribune (IHT), announced a change in the top editorial position at the IHT. The Post announced that the current IHT executive editor, David Ignatius, who has been on loan from The Post, will return to The Post as an associate editor writing a twice-weekly column for its Op-Ed Page. The Times announced that Walter Wells, a former managing editor of the IHT, will return to the newspaper to take on the leadership of the newsroom from Mr. Ignatius, following the sale of The Washington Post Company's fifty percent interest to the Times Company. In October, The New York Times Company and The Washington Post Company signed a letter of intent for the Times Company, a fifty percent owner of the IHT, to purchase The Washington Post Company's fifty percent share. The transaction is expected to close in late 2002 or early 2003. · The New York Times Company announced the promotion of Neal Roberts, executive director of organizational development, to the position of vice president, organization development. The appointment is effective immediately. The announcement was made by Cynthia Augustine, senior vice president, human resources, to whom Mr. Roberts will continue to report. Mr. Roberts joined the Times Company in 2000. Previously, he was vice president of global organization effectiveness with Hoechst Marion Roussel, the fifth largest global pharmaceutical company. The New York Times Company also announced the promotion of Kenneth A. Richieri, deputy general counsel, to the position of vice president. The appointment is effective immediately. The announcement was made by Solomon B. Watson IV, senior vice president and general counsel, to whom he will continue to report. Mr. Richieri, 51, will retain his responsibilities as deputy general counsel. He will also retain his current title and responsibilities as vice president and general counsel of New York Times Digital, reporting to Martin Nisenholtz, chief executive officer of New York Times Digital, and will retain operational responsibility for NYTD's archive distribution business. · Entertainment journalist Alex Ben Block has been appointed editor of Electronic Media, a television industry weekly. Mr. Block, who has served as editor of The Hollywood Reporter and associate editor of Forbes Magazine, will join the team at EM on Jan. 6. He will report to Chuck Ross, EM's publisher and editorial director. For the past two years Mr. Block has been executive director of the Los Angeles Press Club as well as editor in chief of Hollywood Star News. He is also a regular contributor to Call Sheet, a weekly independent look at the entertainment business on KPCC-FM, a major National Public Radio outlet in Los Angeles. He will continue with that program. · David Droga has been appointed Worldwide Creative Director of Publicis Worldwide. David Droga, 34, was recently recognized by Ad Age Magazine as the World's Top Creative Director 2002. · Gracia Martore will become chief financial officer of Gannett Co., Inc. on Jan. 1, 2003, Chairman, President and CEO Douglas H. McCorkindale said today. Martore will assume the CFO duties from Larry Miller, who will remain Gannett's executive vice president for operations. Martore will remain a senior vice president and will continue to handle the company's Investor Relations duties. She becomes a member of the Gannett Management Committee. She is the first woman at Gannett to hold the CFO title. · HSN, a division of USA Interactive, announced that Mark Bozek, president and chief executive officer, has decided to leave the electronic retailer to create his own New York-based television and film production company -- Halo Entertainment. Mr. Bozek joined HSN in March 1997 as executive vice president of broadcasting and was named president of HSN in December 1998. In March 1999, he became president and CEO of HSN. IFor the past 14 years, Mr. Bozek has worked under USA Interactive chairman & CEO Barry Diller in a number of key roles at HSN, QVC and 20th Century Fox. · Marvel Enterprises, Inc. announced the appointment of Richard L. Solar, 63, to its Board of Directors. The appointment, effective immediately, increases the size of Marvel's Board to eight members, including four independent directors. Mr. Solar was Senior Vice President, Director and Chief Financial Officer of Gerber Childrenswear, Inc., a marketer of popular licensed brand apparel including Gerber, Baby Looney Tunes, Wilson, Converse and Coca-Cola. · Caleb Solomon, currently assistant managing editor of The Wall Street Journal/Europe, will become an assistant managing editor of The Boston Globe with responsibility for the paper's Business section. He also will oversee the Globe's Real Estate, Autos and BostonWorks sections. Solomon, 43, will join the Globe in early February, 2003. · MediaBay, Inc., a spoken audio content provider, announced that it has named Joseph R. Rosetti to its Board of Directors and Audit Committee. Mr. Rosetti is President of SafirRosetti, an investigative and security firm owned by Omnicom Group, Inc. Prior to forming SafirRosetti, Joseph R. Rosetti was the Vice Chairman of Kroll Associates. · Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., the music and print music publishing arm of Warner Music Group (WMG), announced that Nick Thomas has been named CFO, reporting to Warner/Chappell chairman and CEO Les Bider. Thomas, who will be based at the company's Los Angeles headquarters, joins Warner/Chappell from sister WMG company, Warner Music International (WMI). As CFO of Warner/Chappell, Thomas will be responsible for all global financial operations at the company. Thomas joined WMI in 2000 as vice president controller reporting to senior vice president CFO Brian Porritt. Before joining WMI, he held various positions at PolyGram. · Macrovision Corporation, a developer and vendor of digital rights management ("DRM") and copy protection technologies, announced that it has formed a Music Technology Division and has appointed Macrovision executive Mark Belinsky as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the new business unit. Belinsky brings over 20 years of management experience in the fields of digital rights management, copy protection, software licencing, operating systems, and network computing technologies to this new position. Macrovision also announced that it has closed the previously announced acquisition of the assets of Midbar Technologies, Ltd. Digital Publishing · Entertainment Tonight, an entertainment newsmagazine, has launched instantET, a computer desktop application that delivers entertainment news whenever viewers are online, it was announced by Michael Mischler, executive vice president of marketing for Paramount Domestic Television. instantET delivers entertainment news headlines and breaking news alerts, Hollywood inside information, video and entertainment trivia. The Video channel will offer streaming video previews of Hollywood's biggest awards shows such as the Academy Awards, the Emmys and the Grammys, plus behind-the-scenes interviews, live webcasts, red carpet arrivals and after-party happenings. To access the free service, users log on to ETonline.com to download and install the application. Content Deals · IGN Entertainment announced that Jim Tolonen, IGN's Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, will resign at the end of the year to pursue an opportunity with Business Objects, a business intelligence software company. Mr. Tolonen will continue to serve as a member of IGN's board of directors following his departure. Sean Deorsey, IGN's Director of Finance and Administration/Corporate Controller, will head the company's finance team while the company completes its search for a new CFO. Mr. Tolonen will continue in his duties until year-end and will assist IGN in recruiting his successor. · MTS, Incorporated, dba Tower Records, announced the appointment of Russ Eisenman to Vice President of Advertising. He will replace Tower's current Vice President of Advertising, Terri Williams, who has resigned her position and will depart December 19, 2002. Eisenman will lead an advertising staff of thirty-one. Prior to joining Tower Records, Eisenman, 30, worked at Belo for KXTV, News 10, developing an interactive strategy for sales and marketing for all Belo stations. · Primedia Inc., a targeted media company, announced an agreement with Comcast Cable, a cable and broadband communications provider, to offer specialty magazine style programming for Comcast's video on demand (VOD) initiative in the Philadelphia area, Comcast's home market. Primedia will provide Comcast subscribers with branded video programming in specialty genres, based on the company's well-known print and video franchises. The Primedia Video Magazine Rack, marketed as "Video Mags," will launch with eight video magazines consisting of 40 hours of content. The initial video magazines will include Motor Trend, Specialty Cars, Parenting Basics, On The Job, TeenNews, In-Fisherman, Adventure Sports and Arts & Crafts, extending Primedia's magazine brand franchises, and leveraging the value of the company's editorial content and expertise, database of enthusiasts and robust video resources. Primedia will promote and market the new branded VOD magazines to Comcast consumers through print publications, television shows, web sites and live events. · Bitpipe, Inc., a syndicator of technology and communications vendor content, announced it has partnered with Advanstar Communications, a provider of information and communications products to targeted business and professional markets. Bitpipe and Advanstar have launched White Paper Libraries for America's Network magazine, The Euronet, and TelecomAsia magazine. The White Paper Libraries provide senior and medium managers in the telecoms, cellular and Internet industries with guidance on all aspects of their jobs. · Wolters Kluwer North America announced that it has acquired GainsKeeper, Inc. GainsKeeper will become part of CCH, a provider of tax and business law information and software and a Wolters Kluwer company. As a part of CCH's Business and Finance Group (BFG), GainsKeeper's software products will contribute functionality to CCH's Capital Changes corporate action content. Wolters Kluwer also intends the GainsKeeper functionality to be integrated into products offered by CCH Tax Compliance, another Wolters Kluwer company. · Dow Jones Newswires announced that a test feed for Dow Jones NewsPlus, a new XML feed that will provide an interactive interface for Newswires' news, commentary and analysis, is now available to market-data vendors to integrate into their products for financial professionals. Thomson Financial, a leading provider of information and technology solutions, will be the first distributor to integrate Dow Jones NewsPlus into Thomson ONE, its open framework desktop application. The full Dow Jones NewsPlus XML feed is scheduled to be released by the end of the first quarter of 2003. · RuffNation Films LLC, a subsidiary of TriMedia Entertainment Group has entered into agreement involving its music and film operations with Sony Music, a Group of Sony Music Entertainment. Under the terms of the agreement, TriMedia will fund production and marketing of two films and Sony Music will have the exclusive worldwide rights to manufacture, market and distribute soundtrack albums from, and home videos/DVD's of the films. The motion picture entitled Snipes starring Nelly is the first film under the arrangement, and will be marketed by Columbia Records and distributed by (Columbia Tri-Star Home Video). TriMedia will sign recording artist to its music division, and Sony Music will have the exclusive rights, to manufacture, market and distribute recordings by such artists worldwide. · Fox Licensing and Merchandising (FOX L&M) and Sorrent have announced a publishing agreement to develop games and entertainment content for cell phones and other connected handheld devices based on the X-Files property. The games and entertainment downloads, will include single and multiplayer adventure games, SMS games, downloadable ring tones and wallpaper, and are expected to be released beginning Q1 2003. Launches and Redesigns · Robbins-Gioia LLC, a provider of project management consulting services and founder of PM Boulevard, has released the first issue of its project management journal, The Project Management Review. The Project Management Review is an outgrowth of the expertise and conversation about project management sparked by Robbins-Gioia's online project management community, PM Boulevard. The inaugural issue of The Project Management Review features selected articles that have been published on PM Boulevard from practitioners working in many areas of the industry. The peer-reviewed journal will continue to publish articles focused on practical application of project management concepts, generated both by the online community and by its own call for papers. · Educational publishers Sunburst Technology and QuickMind have announced QuickMind.net, a new Internet-based resource that connects teachers, parents and students at both school and home. QuickMind.net facilitates communication between educators, parents and students for lesson-planning, homework and progress report purposes. Original content was developed for the site by the publishers' team of education doctorates. Existing content was also drawn from educational materials developed by Forest Technologies and QuickMind. · Torstar Corporation announced that it has completed its investment of $20.6 million to acquire a 19.35% share of Black Press Ltd. Black Press Ltd. is a privately-owned and operated company with its head office in Victoria, British Columbia. Black Press publishes 88 newspapers and has 11 printing plants in Western Canada, Washington State and Hawaii. Annual revenues are approximately $240 million. Torstar Corporation is a media company with daily newspapers led by the Toronto Star, Canada's largest daily newspaper, The Hamilton Spectator, The Record in Kitchener-Waterloo and Cambridge, the Guelph Mercury, and their internet-related businesses; Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing, publishers of 69 community newspapers in Southern Ontario; and Harlequin Enterprises, a publisher of women's fiction. Miscellaneous · Sabot Publishing and Living West magazine announced the opening of Living West's new editorial office at 128 Grant Avenue near the historic Plaza in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The announcement was made by James D. Causey, president and CEO of Sabot Publishing, and Sarah M. Hill, publisher of Living West. Living West, devoted to covering the western lifestyle from the Texas plains to the Pacific coast, has an active, affluent readership of 110,000. The magazine launched as a quarterly in 2001, and will increase frequency to five issues in 2003. · Three of the leading service providers in performance advertising and affiliate marketing issued a Web publishers' Code of Conduct to guide practices and adherence to ethical standards for online advertising. The code is the result of several months of work by the group -- made up of Be Free, Commission Junction and Performics -- and seeks to address the concerns expressed at an industry summit held in New York City on Nov. 7, 2002 on the subject of fair practices. The service providers, who are committed to enforcing the code consistent with their own business operations, developed principles designed to ensure proper attribution of commission to independent publishers when end-users are referred to an advertiser's site. 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 © 1997-2010 by Writers Write, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
