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Friday, July 11, 2003 Publishing Industry Soundbytes Launches and Redesigns | Miscellaneous People · Houghton Mifflin announced that Hans Gieskes has resigned as President and CEO of the Company. Houghton Mifflin's current Chief Operating Officer Sylvia Metayer will serve as interim CEO while the Company's Board of Directors concludes a search for Gieskes' replacement, the Company said. Metayer joined Houghton Mifflin in 2001 as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. · Publishing Group of America (PGA), a Franklin, Tenn.-based media company that publishes American Profile magazine, has named music journalist Beverly Keel entertainment editor of American Profile, announced Charlie Cox, executive editor. American Profile, the weekly magazine that celebrates hometown life, is carried in more than 1,000 newspapers across the nation and has a circulation of more than 5 million. Keel, an associate professor in the Department of Recording Industry at Middle Tennessee State University, has been a freelance music journalist for more than a decade. She's served as the Nashville correspondent for People magazine and a music columnist for the Nashville Scene. · MediaBay, Inc., a company specializing in spoken audio content, announced that it has named Richard Berman to its Board of Directors. Mr. Berman's business career spans 35 years of venture capital, management and mergers and acquisitions experience. In the last five years, Mr. Berman was Chairman and CEO of Internet Commerce Corporation. He is Chairman of KnowledgeCube and Candidate Resources, Inc, the leading manager of human resource websites. He is also a Director of IMSI, NexMed and Stonehedge Partners. Mr. Berman will be an addition to the Board, bringing the total number of Board members to eight. Mr. Berman is an independent director. · Libby Averyt, an award-winning newspaper journalist and a 17-year veteran of the Caller-Times in Corpus Christi, Texas, has been named editor of the newspaper, effective July 1. Averyt, 39, has been managing editor of the Caller-Times since 2000. She succeeds Deborah Fisher, who left as the newspaper's editor to become an assistant managing editor at The Tennessean in Nashville. The Caller-Times is owned and operated by The E. W. Scripps Company. · Adelphia Communications Corporation announced that Paul E. Jacobson, deputy communications director for U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), has been named Vice President of Communications for Adelphia, effective July 7. The announcement was made by Ron Cooper, President and Chief Operating Officer of Adelphia, to whom he will report. In his new role, Mr. Jacobson will be responsible for Adelphia's corporate communications activities ranging from media relations and employee communications to community relations and corporate affairs. Before joining Senator Frist's staff, Mr. Jacobson was Vice President of Corporate Communications at Starz Encore Group of Englewood, Colorado. · Genre Magazine, a gay men's lifestyle magazine, has announced the appointment of its new President and Publisher, Scott Brunelle. Brunelle has a strong background in executive media roles, most recently as Publisher and Advertising Director of Grace Woman Magazine. Brunelle also brings experience in custom publishing companies having been Founder and President of the SB Group, and prior to that was with Profile Pursuit Publishing. · Andrew Leckey, a business journalist whose career has included syndicated newspaper columns, television appearances, Internet publications, books and teaching, will join the American Press Institute on July 28 as the first director of the new Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism. Leckey’s "Successful Investing" column for the Chicago Tribune Company has appeared in newspapers across the U.S. for more than two decades. Digital Publishing · Microsoft Corp. has made 60 bestselling ebooks available for free download by users of Microsoft Reader. These books represent a wide cross-section of authors and books from a variety of publishers, such as A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson; The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan; Fear Itself by Walter Mosley; and Beach Music by Pat Conroy. The 20-week promotion will feature three new titles each week on the Microsoft Reader website. Once downloaded, each ebook can be read on a user's desktop or laptop PC, Pocket PC or Tablet PC. For both new and current users of Microsoft Reader, the initial download process will include an upgraded version of the software with a simpler installation and activation process, as well as enhanced security features. Content Deals · Lillian Vernon Corporation announced that it successfully completed the merger transaction approved by its stockholders on June 23rd, whereby the Company was acquired by a private equity fund managed by Ripplewood Holdings L.L.C. Lillian Vernon Corporation is a 52-year old catalog and online retailer that markets gifts, housewares, gardening, Christmas, and children's products. Ripplewood's partner in this acquisition, ZelnickMedia, is a partnership of experienced media executives which owns interests in, advises, and manages an array of media enterprises in recorded music, magazine publishing, CD manufacturing, online games, and media-related software, both in the U.S. and Asia. · Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc. (PNI), a subsidiary of Pulitzer Inc. and the owner of Northern Lakes Publishing, which publishes The Daily News in Rhinelander, WI, has announced the purchase of the assets of The Forest Republican, a weekly newspaper, from Forest Republican Publishers, Inc., of Crandon, WI. The Forest Republican, with weekly circulation of 3,500, will continue to be a separate publication with its own identity and will be printed at The Daily News plant, where it has been printed for the past 35 years. Russ and Arlet Steel have been publishers of The Forest Republican for 36 years. · Emmis Communications Corporation announced that the company has purchased 50.1% of a six-station radio cluster in Austin, Texas in a cash transaction for approximately $105 million. Sinclair Telecable, Inc. owns the remaining 49.9% interest in the cluster. The radio stations involved are KLBJ-AM (590 News-Talk), KLBJ-FM (93.7 Rock), KGSR-FM (107.1, Adult Alternative), KROX-FM (101.5 Alternative), KEYI- FM (103.5 Oldies), and KXMG-FM (93.3, CHR). Emmis also owns Texas Monthly in the market. Sinclair had operated the radio stations in a partnership with LBJ Broadcasting Company, L.P. since 1997. As part of this transaction, Emmis bought LBJ's stake in the partnership. · Educators Publishing Service (EPS) announced that it has acquired the S.P.I.R.E. (Specialized Program Individualizing Reading Excellence) program. S.P.I.R.E. was developed by Sheila Clark-Edmands, M.S.Ed., as an early intervention/prevention program for all children. S.P.I.R.E. is used in schools nationwide with children with specific language-based disabilities such as dyslexia, with ESL students, in resource rooms and other specialized settings, and in the general classroom. With the acquisition, Clark-Edmands joins EPS as Director of Professional Development. · Educate, Inc., a new company focused exclusively on the K-12 education market, has taken ownership via a management-led buy-out of the Sylvan Learning Systems, Inc. K-12 businesses, with funding from Apollo Management, L.P. These businesses, which include Sylvan Learning Center, Sylvan Education Solutions, eSylvan, Connections Academy and Schulerhilfe, will continue serving customers using their existing brand names and providing the same services. Chris Hoehn-Saric, who co-founded Sylvan Learning Systems, Inc., will be the chairman and chief executive officer of Educate, Inc. Launches and Redesigns · Andy Bourland, one of the founders of the ClickZ network (which was sold to Internet.com) has launched Up2Speed. Up2Speed.com was founded after acquiring the assets in June 2003 of Adventive, a series of email discussion lists focused on Internet marketing founded in 1995 by John Audette, and MarketingFix, a site dedicated to e-marketing news analysis founded in late 2002 by Rick E. Bruner, John Engler, Steve Hall, Robert Loch and Olivier Travers. Up2Speed.com aims to provide Internet marketing news, advice and consulting. · The International Trademark Association (INTA) has officially launched the redesign of its website, www.inta.org. Some of the enhancements to the site include an easy-to-read navigation bar, a search engine, a section on the homepage that alerts visitors about new information on the site, more relevant and practical online content, frequently asked questions and a glossary. Miscellaneous · Penguin Books announced East of Eden by John Steinbeck, the book that Oprah selected to relaunch Oprah's Book Club, will be #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list for July 6, 2003. East of Eden has gone back to press five times since June 18, when Oprah Winfrey announced it was the book she chose to relaunch her Book Club. To date there are 1,175,000 copies in print. · Dice Inc. has emerged from bankruptcy, after the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York confirmed the Company's pre-arranged Joint Plan of Reorganization (the "Plan") on June 24, 2003, and all conditions necessary for the Plan to become effective were satisfied or waived. The Plan eliminated all of the Company's outstanding Convertible Subordinated Notes (the "Notes") in exchange for the issuance to the noteholders of 19,000 shares, or 95%, of Reorganized Dice Common Stock. As a result, Elliott Associates, L.P. and Elliott International, L.P. (together, "Elliott") will own approximately 46% of Reorganized Dice. Dice Inc. is the a provider of online recruiting services for technology professionals. · iUniverse announced that iUniverse author Ben Sherman has signed a publishing contract with Random House's Ballantine Books. Originally published by iUniverse, the book, titled Medic! -- The story of a Conscientious Objector in the Vietnam War, will be published under Ballantine's Presidio Press publishing imprint. Ben Sherman is the second iUniverse author to be picked up by Random House in a matter days. In addition to the Random House acquisitions, four other iUniverse titles were picked up by smaller traditional publishers during the month of June. 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