Audit Bureau of Circulations - Virtual Press Room

Home > Virtual Press Room > Industry Scoop > Archives >

Virtual Press Room
Industry Scoop Archives

Past multimedia news stories.

January 2010 articles
December 2009 articles
November 2009 articles
October 2009 articles
September 2009 articles
August 2009 articles
July 2009 articles

Google Exec: We're Here to Help Newspapers (January 28, 2010)
Devices like Apple's iPad may help newspapers and traditional publishers, but only significant evolution will save them, Google's chief economist, Hal Varian, said in a talk with journalism students at UC Berkeley. Read the full story

Condé Nast and Time Inc. Cheer iPad; Others Have Doubts (January 27, 2010)
No tablet-ready magazines were unveiled at Apple’s event on Wednesday, but Sarah Chubb, president of Condé Nast Digital, said that did not concern her. Read the full story

Apple Reveals the iPad Tablet (January 27, 2010)
Steven P. Jobs has finally introduced Apple’s new tablet computer, called the iPad. The question now is whether regular consumers will buy the iPhone-like device, which is priced at $499 at the entry level and can cost as much as $829. Read the full story

Newspaper Publishers Have Faith in Apple Tablet (January 26, 2010)
With Apple planning to announce its new tablet on Wednesday, the Audit Bureau of Circulations revealed findings today from a recent survey of newspaper publishers that shows they are putting a lot of faith in the popularity of such e-readers, but not abandoning print just yet. Read the full story

With Apple Tablet, Print Media Hope for a Payday (January 25, 2010)
With the widely anticipated introduction of a tablet computer at an event here on Wednesday morning, Apple may be giving the media industry a kind of time machine — a chance to undo mistakes of the past. People who have seen the tablet say Apple will market it not just as a way to read news, books and other material, but also a way for companies to charge for all that content. Read the full story

Apple's rumored tablet may write next chapter in publishing (January 25, 2010)
Not since biblical times has the arrival of a tablet been greeted with such anticipation. Apple Inc. won't reveal the details of what is widely expected to be a new tablet computer until Wednesday, but it has already shaken up the publishing world, whose executives wonder whether the device will revolutionize the distribution of newspapers, magazines and books in the same way that the iPod transformed the music industry. Read the full story

Can the Web save newspapers? (January 23, 2010)
Ask the most pessimistic observers about the fortunes of the newspaper industry and they'll tell you the "dead-tree" medium is walking the plank, prodded by the same digital daggers that pushed compact discs, camera film and other physical media over the edge. But the outlook isn't so bleak, say some of the high-tech pirates wielding the daggers. Read the full story

A Q+A with Meredith National Media Group president Jack Griffin (January 21, 2010)
With the first half of fiscal 2010 under his belt, National Media Group president Jack Griffin spoke to FOLIO: about how the group has managed to see growth in print, how it’s dealing with the plateau in Internet display advertising and how the group is boosting profits and efficiencies beyond job cuts. Read the full story

Mags make a 2010 rebound (January 17, 2010)
Magazines aren't getting kicked around anymore—at least not as much. Nearly two years after the bottom fell out of magazine advertising, publishers are seeing signs of stability in the first quarter and are becoming cautiously optimistic about 2010. Read the full story

ABC's Mobile Survey Goes, Well, Mobile (January 11, 2010)
In a fitting move, the Audit Bureau of Circulations is making its new mobile marketing survey available at the iTunes store for download to iPhone or iPod Touch devices. Read the full story

CES2010: Hearst's Skiff Reader makes play for newspapers, magazines (January 4, 2010)
The E-reader market is about to get big, literally. Hearst Corp's subsidiary Skiff took the wraps off the Skiff Reader, a next generation e-reader that boasts an advanced e-paper screen that measures 11.5 inches. Read the full story

The future of the magazine (December 19, 2009)
Robert Downey Jr. is standing on the cover of a magazine, and he is talking to you. At least, he is if you've picked up the December issue of Esquire, thanks to a technology called “augmented reality.” The reader holds the magazine in front of a webcam. An encoded black-and-white square communicates with software, and the actor leaps from the page with a robust holler. Read the full story

72% Of Advertisers See More Digital Spending In 2010 (December 15, 2009)
A regional survey of 8,500 senior advertising, marketing and media executives by Round2 Communications found that 72% predict they will increase their spending on digital media in the coming year. Read the full story

Newspapers Beat Out Web in Coupon Market, For Now (December 11, 2009)
Coupon use in general has gone up 36 percent in the past 12 months -- aided in large part by the recession and changing attitudes toward spending -- and Sunday circulars still account for 70 percent of all coupons clipped, according to a study. Read the full story

Publishers Make Plans for Devices Yet to Come (December 8, 2009)
Five major magazine and newspaper publishers announced plans on Tuesday to build an industry-standard platform to present their work on the Web, smartphones and electronic readers in a richer, more flexible and more lucrative form than is possible today. Read the full story

Marketers Jump on E-Reader Data Bandwagon (December 4, 2009)
For now, e-readers are strictly a retail play - for $259 and up, a consumer can purchase a device - along with the content to read on it - from Sony, Amazon and Barnes & Noble. That, however, has not stopped marketers from planning for the day when these devices - which In-Stat says are poised to grow into a $2 billion market by the end of next year - will eventually provide mobile advertising opportunities. Read the full story

Magazine Publishers Team Up for Online Newsstand (November 25, 2009)
A consortium of magazine publishers including Time and Condé Nast are plan to jointly build an online newsstand for publications in multiple digital formats, The New York Times’s Brian Stelter reported, citing people with knowledge of the plans. Read the full story

Time Inc.'s Squires Assembles Team of Rivals to Harness Digital Media (November 23, 2009)
Some of the magazine industry’s biggest names are on the verge of forming a new company that would allow them to take the digital future into their own hands. Read the full story

ABC Approves New Community Newspaper Service (November 17, 2009)
Seeking to accommodate community newspaper publishers squeezed by the recession, the Audit Bureau of Circulations board has given its final approval for a new Community Newspaper Audit service with lower costs and simpler requirements. Read the full story

Mass-Market Magazines Show Improved Ad Sales (November, 8, 2009)
For magazines, it was a good year to be mass market. Monthly magazines’ ad-page numbers for 2009 are starting to trickle in, and there are a few bright spots. Despite a dismal ad climate, a handful of magazines have more ad pages in December 2009 than a year ago. Some magazines even ended the year with an overall increase in ad pages. Read the full story

E-readers: Will They Save the Publishing Industry? (October 26, 2009)
E-readers will save the publishing industry. E-readers will become the mobile equivalent to the eight track tape. The answer, of course, likely lies somewhere in between these two extremes. Read the full story

E-Reader Wars Add Ad Opportunities (October 21, 2009)
Barnes & Noble this week unveiled its widely anticipated Nook electronic reading device, which joins a handful of similar devices on or soon-to-be on the market. The Nook, which B&N said will start shipping in November, is priced at $259, similar to Amazon's Kindle - the device B&N clearly hopes to beat in this emerging space. Read the full story

Print Publishers Sense Big Opportunities From Mobile (October 13, 2009)
According to a recent study by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), roughly 70 percent of publishers are devoting more attention to the mobile market this year than last, and over 80 percent believe that their users will rely more heavily on mobile devices to access information over the next three years. Read the full story

Target makes the scene with a magazine (October 12, 2009)
Zinio will sell electronic versions of magazines on a page on Target’s website, either as single editions of current and older issues, or as annual subscriptions - usually at a discount. People can read them in a Web browser version or through an application that Zinio offers for download. This is similar to what they’ve done on other websites, like the one operated by Barnes & Noble. Read the full story

Study: Publishers pushing mobile (October 6, 2009)
When it comes to publishers, many are pushing the boundaries of mobile in the hopes of appealing to consumers who want information immediately not with the morning newspaper. According to a recent report from the Audit Bureau of Circulations nearly three-quarters (70%) of publishers are looking into mobile more this year than in 2008. Read the full story

Magazine publishers plan digital store (October 2, 2009)
Time Inc is leading an industry-wide joint venture to create a digital store for magazines as a way for publishers to avoid surrendering their digital future to the likes of Amazon.com or Apple. The new service, as yet unnamed, would serve as a digital storefront for magazines, possibly newspapers and other publications and is expected to be announced in about a month. The launch is planned for 2010, people familiar with the plan said. Read the full story

Magazine Audiences Increase 8%, 2000-2009 (September 25, 2009)
While a decline in magazine newsstand sales has hogged the spotlight, a long-term trend of possibly greater significance has gone unnoticed: over the last decade the total audience for leading consumer magazines, as measured by Mediamark Research and Intelligence, has actually increased by about 8%, according to a MediaPost analysis of 81 top titles. Read the full story

Web Boosts Newspaper Readership: NADbank (September 25, 2009)
Overall readership of newspapers is stable, thanks to growth in online audiences, according to the latest Newspaper Audience Databank study. NADbank measured a 10% increase in weekly online readership over the fall of 2008 and spring of 2009 in Canada’s six major markets: Toronto, Ottawa-Gatineau, Montréal, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. Read the full story

Print publishers ready to go mobile, says ABC (September 22, 2009)
The newspaper and magazine biz is getting ready to meet consumer demand for mobile access to their publications, according to a new survey released this week by the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC). The study, Going Mobile: How publishers are preparing for the burgeoning digital market, surveyed 372 print publications (34 of which were Canadian) about their plans for the mobile market. Read the full story

Publishing execs embracing mobile (September 21, 2009)
Almost 70% of newspaper and magazine executives surveyed by the Audit Bureau of Circulations say that publishing for mobile devices is receiving more attention at their publication this year than last. The ABC Monday released the findings of the online survey, which polled newspaper, consumer magazine and trade publication executives. Read the full story

ABC: Print Publishers Believe in the Power of Mobile Marketing (September 21, 2009)
Print publishers are looking to mobile devices, such as e-readers and smartphones, to expand their brands, reach new audiences and generate additional revenue, according to a online survey conducted by ABC. Read the full story

ABC gains five digital publishing members (September 9, 2009)
The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), an organization that checks the print circulation, readership and website activity of media outlets, has added five companies involved in digital publishing initiatives to its roster. The new members include Bite Sized Candy, the creator of a soon-to-be-launched technology that makes magazines available via iTunes and readable on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Sony Electronics, which recently created a line of e-readers, has also joined the group. Digital companies Pixel Mags, Plastic Logic and ScrollMotion are new ABC members, as well. Read the full story

e-Book Readers Learning Their ABCs (September 9, 2009)
With print circulation and ad pages falling rapidly, magazine and newspaper publishers are anxious to find and count every single reader. And they’re turning to an old stand-by, the Audit Bureau of Circulation, for help. Yesterday, the ABC announced the addition of five new members in the electronic reader space. Read the full story

ABC Expands Membership into Mobile and E-Reader Markets (September 8, 2009)
The Audit Bureau of Circulations has just expanded its membership with five companies that serve the mobile and e-reader content markets. Joining the firm's membership are Bite Sized Candy (digital magazines for iPhone and iPod Touch platforms); Pixel Mags (magazine and newspaper developer for iPhone and iPod Touch); Plastic Logic (e-reader developer); ScrollMotion (iPhone e-reader and app developer); and Sony Electronics (Sony Reader creator). Read the full story

Magazines see hope in latest circulation data (August 31, 2009)
The circulation woes of Canadian magazines continue to mount, but new data released Monday suggest that, if things aren't improving for the industry, at least they're getting worse less quickly. Among 63 top Canadian magazines tracked by the Audit Bureau of Circulations, total sales — including paid subscriptions and newsstand purchases — were down 1.6 per cent for the six months ending in June compared with the same period last year. Read the full story

Magazine FAS-FAX: Newsstand Decline Continues, Subs Flat (August 31, 2009)
ABC's FAS-FAX report was released today and preliminary numbers show circulation and newsstand performance for the first half of 2009 did not do well. While overall paid subscriptions for 521 reporting titles remained flat, up about half a percentage point, single-copy sales are down 12 percent versus the same period last year. Read the full story

Slide in overall magazine circ slows (August 31, 2009)
The health of Canadian magazines was not nearly as dreary in the first half of this year as it looked earlier this year, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations' latest report. Overall paid and verified circulation was down 1.58% over the same reporting period last year (paid subscriptions were down just 0.3%). Total single-copy sales dropped the most over 2008 figures, down 8.43%. Read the full story

Newsstand Sales May Start Trending Up (August 28, 2009)
Significant declines in newsstand sales are expected across the board for publishers in ABC's upcoming Monday release of its Fas-Fax report. What may go overlooked, however, is a jump in unit sales and revenue late in the first half that may be signaling a shift in momentum as we enter the second half of the year. Read the full story

BIA's Kelsey Group: Local Advertisers Going Digital (August 21, 2009)
The Kelsey Group report, titled "Local Commerce Monitor," found that penetration by online and digital media among local advertisers -- meaning the proportion of local advertisers who have used digital or online, to any extent -- increased from 73% in August 2008 to 77% this year. Read the full story

Seattle Paper Is Resurgent as a Solo Act (August 9, 2009)
When The Seattle Times became this city’s only surviving daily newspaper in March, even The Times itself could not muster much optimism about its chances. But less than five months later, a nearly forgotten word has crept back into Times executives’ vocabulary: profit. "On a month-to-month basis, we are starting to operate in the black," Mr. Blethen, who is also chief executive of The Seattle Times Company, said in an interview last week. Read the full story

Measuring the Results of an Ad, Right Down to the City Block (August 5, 2009)
The people who buy media have found their jobs more complicated lately, what with all the new ways of measuring response — how many people clicked, clipped a coupon or made a purchase after seeing an ad. Buying local media adds another layer of complication. There are newspapers, billboards, Sunday circulars (those coupon-laden pages stuffed in the weekend paper), Yellow Pages and mail-based coupons. And they exist in hundreds of towns coast to coast where a marketer might have stores or products. Mediabrands, an ad-buying and planning division of the Interpublic Group, plans to introduce a unit on Thursday, Geomentum, that will focus on this problem. Read the full story

Newspaper's Plastic Future A Step Closer (August 3, 2009)
Media behemoths are fighting for survival, but the market for news mediums is thriving. Britain's Plastic Logic has confirmed it will be launching its own version of the Kindle in the U.S. at the start of next year. Read the full story

New ABC report highlights e-newsletters' importance (July 30, 2009)
The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) highlighted the growing importance of digital content this week when it released its first audit report specifically for e-newsletters. Read the full story

Boot Steps into ABC Canada Chair's Shoes (July 29, 2009)
Sunni Boot, president and CEO of ZenithOptimedia Canada, has been named chair of the Canada board for the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Boot was elected to the position at the newly formed committee’s meeting in Toronto on July 16. Dennis Skulsky, president and CEO of Canwest Publishing, will fill the position of vice-chair. Read the full story

ABC Launches New Audit for Community Newspapers (July 28, 2009)
The Audit Bureau of Circulations is planning to introduce a new auditing service targeting publishers of smaller community newspapers—circulations under 25,000—with lower fees and a simpler process than its regular audit service. Read the full story

ABC Board Accepts Guidelines for Publishers Affected By Wholesaler Shutdown (July 28, 2009)
The Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) announced today that its board has reviewed and accepted filing guidelines for magazines affected by the closure of Anderson News’ wholesale operations. Read the full story

New community newspaper service approved (July 28, 2009)
The Board of the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) has just given its initial nod to launch a new ABC Community Newspaper Audit service, one that it says will lower publisher costs and simplify the audit process. Read the full story

Journalism Online, would-be newspaper savior, gathers steam (July 17, 2009)
Hardly a day goes by without some piece of news about newspapers trying to devise fresh ways to get consumers to pay for all the free content they're currently pushing out over the web. Read the full story

Brehl to lead ABC marketing in Canada (July 17, 2009)
The Audit Bureau of Circulations has hired Joan Brehl as vice-president and general manager, brand innovation and leadership of its Canadian services, effective Aug. 4. Read the full story

New exec at ABC Canada (July 16, 2009)
Joan Brehl has been named VP/GM brand innovation and leadership of the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC)'s Canadian operations. It's the latest change tailored to meet the needs of the Canadian market, with broader Canadian representation and increased control over rules and reporting and cost-saving improvements. Read the full story

ABC Site Search