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Friday, September 19, 2003 Media Cynic | Forum | Advertising | Classifieds | Jobs Publishing Industry Soundbytes Launches and Redesigns | Miscellaneous People · The Ashley Group, a division of Reed Business Information, named Steven C. McDonald as national sales director for Luxury Homes magazine, which will launch later this year. Mr. McDonald will be responsible for developing national sales and advertising programs, and marketing partnerships for the new magazine. Mr. McDonald has more than 20 years of experience in advertising and publishing sales. Prior to joining Luxury Homes, he served as account manager for SmartMoney magazine. · Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. has hired journalist David Bloom as Vice President Corporate Communications, it was announced by Chris McGurk, Vice-Chairman and C.O.O. of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. Bloom will help coordinate company-wide publicity and media relations, work on political and technological issues with the MPAA, and assist in all internal and external corporate communications initiatives throughout the company. Bloom will report to Janet Janjigian, Senior Vice President Corporate Communications. Bloom comes to MGM after more than 20 years as a journalist. He most recently was a staff reporter at Variety, writing about the film business, entertainment technology, the video game industry, politics and other issues. · CurtCo Robb Media LLC, owner of Robb Report magazine, has named James N. Dimonekas to the newly created position of Vice President, Associate Publisher for the monthly luxury lifestyle publication. Reporting to Vice President, Publisher Ernest J. Renzulli, Mr. Dimonekas will direct all of the magazine's advertising sales. Mr. Dimonekas 15 years in publishing includes over 11 years in various senior management positions at Playboy magazine, where he most recently served as vice president and publisher of the renowned men's interest title. During that time, Mr. Dimonekas oversaw the publication's daily operations, managing advertising sales, marketing, research and events functions. Earlier in his career, Mr. Dimonekas held sales management positions at The National Sports Daily, Military Lifestyle Magazine and PC Week. · Automotive News Editor Edward Lapham is moving to a new senior post in which he will manage the newspaper's editorial page and other major columns of opinion and analysis. Lapham also will become a regular columnist. Projects Editor David Sedgwick will become editor on Sept. 1. He will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the newspaper's 40 editors and reporters worldwide. Lapham, 55, has been with Automotive News for 26 years and has led the newsroom since 1993. · Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc., a subsidiary of Pulitzer, Inc. has announced that Randy Rickman has been named president and publisher of The Sentinel in Hanford, Calif., as well as the head of the Pulitzer Central California Newspapers (PCCN) group of PNI. In his new position, Rickman, 42, will oversee editorial, production, and advertising efforts for Pulitzer's seven media outlets in central California. The appointment is effective October 6. Rickman most recently served as general manager of Nickel Publications in Seattle, Wash., where he was responsible for all of the company's operations in Seattle, Wash. and Portland, Ore., which produce and distribute more than 550,000 newspapers to 7,000 locations. Rickman and his family will relocate to Hanford, Calif. · Pulitzer Inc. announced that Mark G. Contreras has been promoted to senior vice president of Pulitzer Inc. Contreras, 41, has been vice president of Pulitzer Inc. and senior vice president of its wholly owned subsidiary, Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc. (PNI), since 1999. In his new position, Contreras will retain responsibility for PNI and will assume oversight responsibilities for the Arizona Daily Star and Pulitzer's interest in TNI Partners, the Company's newspaper agency partnership in Tucson, Ariz. · Susan Deans, a veteran editor who spent the first 10 years of her newspaper career at the Daily Camera in Boulder, Colo., is returning to the newspaper as editor, effective Sept. 1. Deans, 55, comes to the Daily Camera from the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, where she has been an assistant managing editor since 1999. Deans succeeds Colleen C. Conant, who on Wednesday announced her intention to retire as editor and publisher. A publisher will be named later. The Daily Camera and the Rocky Mountain News are owned and operated by The E. W. Scripps Company. As editor of the Daily Camera, Deans will lead an editorial staff of 63 reporters, editors and photographers. · Activision, Inc. announced that the company has retained legendary comic book writer Stan Lee as a consultant for the development of future video games based on Marvel characters. Lee will work closely with Activision's studio divisions during the production process and consult on game design, as well as story and character development. Mary Ellen Holden, 46, has been named Senior Vice President of Marketing and Jerry Fragetti, 54, has been named Senior Vice President of Media and Operations for the Newspaper National Network, LP, Jason E. Klein, NNN President and CEO announced today. Mary Ellen Holden is a cable industry veteran whose experience included positions as Senior Vice President of Marketing at USA Network, Vice President of Marketing at MSNBC, and Vice President, Consumer Products/New Business Promotions at Nickelodeon. Most recently, Mary Ellen has been consulting for Discovery Networks on strategic media partnerships. Jerry Fragetti has 25 years of experience at News Corporation where his roles included Executive Vice President of New America's FSI Division, CFO of the New York Post, and CFO and General Manager positions with Murdoch Magazines and News America's In-Store Division. He was also COO/CFO at Talk Magazine and COO at Internet Tradeline. Fragetti's responsibilities include NNN's newspaper relations, media operations, and strategic alliances. · Bauer Publishing has named Peggy Mansfield Publisher of In Touch Weekly. Reporting directly to Bauer President, Hubert Boehle, Mansfield will oversee the overall growth and direction of In Touch Weekly, including advertising sales, marketing and promotions. Most recently with Time, Inc., Mansfield served as General Manager of TeenPeople.com and the Teen People Brand Development Group. Previously, Mansfield was the SVP of Advertising Sales at MTV Networks' online division, and Publisher of Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. magazines. Mansfield has also held senior magazine ad sales positions at The Walt Disney Company and Child Magazine. · The New York Times announced that Gerald Marzorati has been named editor of The New York Times Magazine, effective immediately. Mr. Marzorati, who had been the editorial director of The Times Magazine, succeeds Adam Moss, who was recently named assistant managing editor for features, The New York Times. Mr. Marzorati will report to Mr. Moss. Gerald Marzorati, 50, was named editorial director of The New York Times Magazine in April 1998 and has been a full partner in the editing and managing of The Times Magazine. He also frequently wrote articles about popular music for The Times Magazine. Previously, Mr. Marzorati served as articles editor of The Times Magazine from September 1994, when he joined The Times, through March 1998. Prior to joining The Times, Mr. Marzorati was editor, non-fiction, at The New Yorker magazine; deputy editor at Harper's magazine; and senior editor at The SoHo News. · Compliance Week, a 40,000-circulation newsletter on corporate governance and compliance issues, recently announced that Harvey Pitt, former Chairman of the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission and Founder of Kalorama Partners, will become a regular contributor to the publication. Pitt, who launched Kalorama Partners earlier this year with former SEC Chief Accountant Robert K. Herdman, was the twenty-sixth Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, from 2001 until 2003. Before becoming SEC Chairman, Mr. Pitt was senior corporate partner at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, an international law firm, for nearly twenty-five years. · Houghton Mifflin announced that David Caron, senior vice president and chief financial officer, has decided to resign his position effective November 1. During the Company's search for a new chief financial officer, Sylvia Metayer, Chief Operating Officer and Interim CEO, will continue to oversee the Finance Department. · Frank Spasoff, who has been director of internal audit for Gannett Co., Inc., has been appointed assistant controller of the company. Spasoff joined Gannett in February, 2002 from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, where he was director of accounting and business advisory services. He is a certified public accountant and has a bachelor of science in accounting and finance from George Mason University. · American Lawyer Media, Inc., a legal journalism and information company, has announced the appointment of Stacey Artandi, 38, as vice president, online publishing. In her new position, Artandi will have direct responsibility for ALM's law.com division and will assist in development and implementation of Web strategies across all of ALM's businesses. Artandi will be based in the company's New York City headquarters and will report to ALM president and CEO William Pollak. Artandi joins the company from There, a start-up company focused on next-generation communications, community and ecommerce services, where she served as vice president of marketing and headed business development. Previously, she was vice president/general manager, local online services for Infoseek/Disney's Go Network and vice president, development for New Century Network, Inc. · Borders Group Inc. has named Peter T. Faricy Vice President, Multimedia Marketing. Borders Group is a specialty retailer of books, music and movies with more than 1,200 Borders Books and Music and Waldenbooks stores around the world. In his new post, Faricy will be responsible for developing strategic merchandising and marketing plans for the Multimedia product area at Borders, which includes music and DVD/video. He will report to Borders Group Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Mike Spinozzi. Before joining Borders Group, Faricy served in several strategic leadership roles with Ford Motor Co., Dearborn, Mich., most recently working in the capacity of Detroit area Regional Operations Manager, Lincoln Mercury. Digital Publishing · HarperCollins Publishers and Agatha Christie Limited, a Chorion company, announced a program for the publication in ebook format of 85 works by Agatha Christie. The program will include Agatha Christie's classic mysteries that feature Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple, and such genre-defining crime titles as And Then There Were None. The five titles available for sale now to consumers -- from ebook retailers and PerfectBound are:
Content Deals · McGraw-Hill, a provider of medical resources for both consumers and professionals, has announced that it has signed an agreement to become the exclusive publisher of Harvard Medical School health books for consumers. The books will be published under the McGraw-Hill imprint of McGraw-Hill Professional, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies. All of the books will be authored by the faculty physicians at Harvard Medical School. The program will cover a wide range of health and wellness topics that will reflect the broad expertise of the faculty. This will include women's health, best practices for specific illnesses and conditions, mental health issues, scientifically based information on how lifestyle can preserve and improve health, and more. McGraw-Hill and Harvard Medical School plan to launch the program in 2004 and will publish approximately 10 books a year. · iVillage Inc., a women's media company, and the MSN network, have announced a content publication agreement. Under the agreement, MSN will present select iVillage content on its women's channel, MSN Women. iVillage will provide editorially relevant content to MSN in the categories of Beauty, Fashion & Style, Relationships, Home & Food, and Career & Money. Content will include numerous columns, resources and expert opinions on a host of topics that are most important to women. The site is scheduled to be live on the MSN network this fall. · Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc., a subsidiary of Pulitzer Inc. and the owner of The Daily Herald and seven weekly papers in Utah County, has announced the purchase of HomeChoice Magazine, a monthly free distribution real estate magazine, from Phyllis Rice of Longview, Washington. HomeChoice Magazine, the leading real estate magazine in Utah Valley, distributes 20,000 copies throughout Utah County and south Salt Lake County. · SBS Broadcasting S.A. has announced that its Dutch subsidiary SBS Broadcasting B.V. has acquired certain media assets from Veronica Holding B.V. in The Netherlands. Under the transaction, SBS Broadcasting B.V. has obtained the right to use the "Veronica" brand for television and related uses and will relaunch and rebrand its Dutch television channel V8 as Veronica in mid-September 2003. In addition, SBS Broadcasting B.V. has acquired the company that publishes the weekly television and radio guide Veronica Magazine. Veronica Magazine is the largest weekly publication in The Netherlands with a circulation of approximately 1.1 million. As a result of this transaction, Veronica Holding B.V. was issued a 10% equity interest in SBS's Dutch subsidiary SBS Broadcasting B.V. · Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc., a subsidiary of Pulitzer Inc. and the owner of The Daily Herald and seven weekly papers in Utah County, announced the purchase of three weekly papers and a shopper in the Provo area. The three weekly papers are The Springville Herald, Springville, with a paid circulation of 2,800; The Eureka Reporter, Eureka, paid circulation 300; and The Pyramid, Mount Pleasant, Sanpete County, paid circulation 2,200. The shopper is The Pyramid Shopper, Mount Pleasant, with a circulation of 7,500. The Springville Herald and The Eureka Reporter were purchased from Martin Conover, who conducted their operations under the name of Art City Publishing Co. The Pyramid and The Pyramid Shopper were purchased from Pyramid Publishing Corporation, which is wholly owned by Martin Conover. · Audible, Inc. announced that it has signed a new marketing alliance with Amazon.com. Audible provides digital spoken word products for download or streaming to Amazon.com's customers. The new non-exclusive alliance follows the expiration of the original January 2000 marketing agreement between the two companies. · Charles Nurnberg, President and CEO of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., and Chris Leek, Chairman of Mensa International Limited announced that an agreement has been reached between the two companies to publish books for children and adults bearing the worldwide Mensa trademark. Under the terms of the partnership, Sterling and Mensa International Limited will jointly create a program of at least 12 books a year beginning in Spring 2004 to cover a broad range of subjects including crossword puzzles, chess, and word search puzzles. · WL Ross & Co. has announced the acquisition of Marquis Who's Who business and National Register Publishing titles from Reed Elsevier Inc. Marquis Who's Who, founded in 1899, is a U.S. publisher of biographical information on notable individuals for reference and consumer markets. Flagship products include Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the World. National Register Publishing produces specialty directories including The Official Catholic Directory and The Official Museum Directory. The company, which is located in New Providence, New Jersey, publishes 23 directories. Launches and Redesigns · Game Informer has launched a new, companion venture, Game Informer Online. In addition to extending content from the magazine and posting up to the minute news, movies, screenshots, codes, demos and downloads, Game Informer Online is building a community of gamers through its online forums. The site also features an archive of game reviews from the magazine and a count down release calendar for the anxious gamer. At the helm of Game Informer Online, Billy Berghammer serves as Managing Editor. · WeddingBells is launching an Atlanta edition beginning with the Spring/Summer 2004 issue that will hit newsstands in January 2004. Stories will cater to the bride's specific interests as well as the needs of her groom, friends and family. Articles will also cover modern planning, the hottest beauty news and stylish home decor. WeddingBells is a wholly owned subsidiary of WeddingChannel.com, an online resource for brides and grooms. · Hispanic PR Wire (HPRW), a Hispanic press release wire service, announced that it is spinning off its Hispanic Digital Network (HDN) brand as an independent Internet media company. HDN, which provides Hispanic publications nationwide with free news websites, will become a Latino-owned subsidiary of HPRW and will also feature new partners and private investors. HDN will be led by founder Manny Ruiz, who will be the CEO of both HDN and HPRW. Veteran media specialist Bill Gato has been appointed president and partner. He will run the company's day-to-day operations as well as manage new business development and media alliances. Latina public relations executive Claudia Phillips has been selected as the chief operations officer and partner. Among her duties, Phillips is responsible for supervising HDN's lead team of Web programmers and designers as well as training Latino publishers on how to use and market their HDN news websites. · Aspyr Media Inc. has announced the launch of their music publishing division. The first albums to be released under the label name will include two from Austin band Milton Mapes. Milton Mapes began as a duo from Dallas, Texas in 1999. Singer-songwriter Greg Vanderpool and drummer Roberto Sanchez moved to Austin, Texas in 2001 and their debut album, The State Line was released later that year. Based in Austin, Texas, Aspyr Media Inc. is an established publisher of Macintosh interactive entertainment software and recently began their venture into the PC, Game Boy Advance, home entertainment and music publishing markets. · The Los Angeles Times is launching Outdoors, a new weekly section that will be the definitive source of journalism about nature, outdoor recreation and the environment for Southern California and the West. Sipchen, an 18-year veteran of the Los Angeles Times, has worked in most of its sections, covering a wide range of subjects. Most recently, as associate editor of the Editorial Pages, he shared the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing with Alex Raksin. Sipchen contributed to The Times' Pulitzer Prize-winning team coverage of the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Miscellaneous · Universal Music Group (UMG) has announced an aggressive plan to significantly reduce the cost consumers pay for CDs by decreasing its wholesale prices and by instituting a $12.98 Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) on virtually all top line CDs in the U.S. UMG will introduce a new pricing policy with the aim of bringing music fans back into retail stores and driving music sales. The program, which will begin in the fourth quarter of 2003, will eliminate $16.98, $17.98 and $18.98 equivalent MSRPs. UMG believes retailers will begin offering the lower priced CDs to consumers as soon as October 1, 2003. As part of this new policy, UMG's labels plan to significantly increase their direct-to-consumer advertising to raise music fans' awareness of the artists and their music. UMG will also reduce its wholesale price on cassettes so its MSRP for top line releases will be $8.98. · Primedia Inc. announced it has retained Allen & Company LLC to explore strategic options for New York Magazine. Founded in 1968, New York Magazine has provided coverage of local and national news, entertainment, media, culture, fashion, real estate and personalities. New York reaches 1.8 million readers each week and is published by Primedia's Consumer Magazine Group. · PennWell, a business-to-business information company, has announced that one of its power industry publications will be changing its name to reflect an expanded focus to better serve the transmission and distribution (T&D) segment of the electric utility industry. Beginning with its November/December 2003 issue, Utility Automation magazine will become Utility Automation & Engineering T&D. Since its inception in 1996, Utility Automation magazine has been the electric utility authority on power delivery automation, control and IT systems. The publication, Utility Automation & Engineering T&D, will continue to focus on automation, control and IT, but will also expand its coverage to include the entire power T&D infrastructure. · Publisher iUniverse announced that two more of its authors have landed contracts with traditional publishing houses. The authors are: · Hispania Capital Partners has announced its investment in Rossi Publications, Inc. (RPI), the publisher of La Raza, Chicago's leading Spanish language newspaper and the largest circulated Spanish language Sunday newspaper in the nation. Under the new partnership, the name Rossi Publications, Inc., was changed to PrensAmerica Corp. The new entity will remain Hispanic owned and operated. Hispania's investment will enable the 33-year old company to accelerate its ongoing expansion in Chicago's suburban areas where the Hispanic population has grown by close to 70% over the past 10 years. Hispania will also assist the company in expanding the distribution of La Raza Paginas Amarillas; a rapidly growing Spanish-language telephone directory geared to Latino consumers in the greater Chicago area. 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. |
