Home > Virtual Pressroom > Board Actions > March 2005 >

Virtual Pressroom
Board Actions

ABC Board Addresses Day-of-Week Newspaper Reporting, Administers Censure Provisions and Discusses Other Key Issues

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (March 9, 2005) - The board of directors of the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) approved actions on several topics at its board meeting in Tucson, Arizona, March 2-5, 2005. The board discussed and approved modifications relating to day-of-week newspaper circulation reporting, voted to censure three members and lifted its censure of Synapse Group Inc. A comprehensive overview of actions taken, including specific rule and reporting parameters, will be published in ABC’s April 2005 NewsBulletin and featured on ABC’s Web site at www.accessabc.com.

Business Publications
Unanimous Consent– Effective March 7, 2005
The board approved modifications to Bylaw 2.11 Paid Circulation Defined, Rule A 1.2 Permissions and Prohibitions, D 3.1 Initial Audit, D 3.2 Transfer Audit, D 4.1 Publisher’s Statements, D 5.1 Geographic Analysis, and D 5.2 Business Analysis, to allow all U.S. business publications the option to report Publisher’s Statement and Audit Report cycles ended in any calendar quarter; March, June, September or December. The modifications also allow members to analyze any issue within the reporting period.

The board voted to change the rule name of Rule D 12.5 Non-Continuous Qualified Non-Paid Circulation to that of Rule D 12.5 Regularly Scheduled Special Edition Circulation. ABC staff has verified that there will be no impact on the qualification of this type of circulation with regard to U.S. or Canadian postal permits and rates.

The board also approved the modification of reporting procedures relative to Web site activity. Publisher members are now able to update Publisher’s Statements with the most current available Web site activity data; report activity from Web sites that host editorial and advertising content from multiple publications on all of the Publisher’s Statements for the contributing publications; and/or report activity from related Web sites on the Publisher’s Statements for multiple titles.

Consumer Magazines
For information
ABC’s board discussed qualification parameters regarding guidelines for sponsored digital editions, the definition of download/access and the current guidelines that govern verification of download/access. The board voted to take no action in modifying current standards, but ongoing review of this subject will be discussed at the board’s November 2005 meeting.

The board planned on reviewing, at its July 2005 meeting, qualification standards for sponsored sales, considering the definition of eligible purchasers and the amount required to qualify sales as paid.

ABC’s board voted to censure EBSCO Consumer Magazine Services, a third-party sales agent, for improper record keeping.

The board also accepted corrective actions taken by Synapse Group Inc. in connection to its censure of Synapse in July 2004. These satisfied the requirements of the ABC board and ended Synapse’s censured status.

Newspapers
Unanimous Consent – Effective Apri1 1, 2005
The board approved the modification of Rule A 1.2 Permissions and Prohibitions, Rule C 2.1 Circulation Averages, and Rule C 2.5 Circulation Above or Below Other Days to reflect the reporting of average paid circulation by day-of-week as follows:

1. All publishers will be required to report a five-day (Monday through Friday) combined daily average. In addition, a ninth column (positioned at the far right-hand side of the report, after Saturday) can be used to report a six-day (Monday through Saturday) combined daily average, emphasized days, etc., at any publisher’s option.
2. When comparisons between newspapers are made, comparable data elements must be used (Monday to Monday, etc.)

The board also approved the modification of ABC reports to show third-party sales through barter agreements as a separate line item with disclosure of the details of the barter program in the explanatory paragraph.

Unanimous Consent – Effective May 1, 2005
ABC’s board approved a hybrid paid and non-paid circulation report format permitting the inclusion of paid circulation on reports generated for non-paid/Total Market Coverage (TMC) publications. Any paid circulation to be included on these reports are required to adhere to all current rules and policies applicable to the qualification of paid circulation.

The board approved modifications to Rule C 2.11 Intermittent Subscriptions to state that recipients must be notified of the specific date(s) of impending delivery at least two weeks prior to distribution.

First Passage – Effective July 22, 2005
The board voted to update Rule C 5.4 Subscription/Single Copy Sales in Combination to allow newspapers the ability to resell editorial content without invoking ABC’s combination sales rules and adopt the practice of applying the Canadian newspaper paid circulation qualification rules regarding combination sales involving non-member newspapers published outside the United States.

For information
As follow-on to its July 2004 censure of the Chicago Sun-Times, the ABC board also formally censured two other Hollinger International newspapers, the Daily Southtown (Tinley Park, Ill.) and the Star (Tinley Park, Ill.), for similarly misstating circulation figures. Hollinger publicly disclosed these circulation-inflation practices last year, following ABC’s censure of the Sun-Times.

Advertiser/Agency
Unanimous Consent – Effective March 7, 2005
The ABC board approved modifications to Bylaw 4.2 Membership Representation modifying the requirement that Canadian buyer directorships consist of having at least one advertiser and one advertising agency representative so that Canadian buyer directorships may consist of any combination of three buyers.

For All ABC Members
Unanimous Consent - Effective March 7, 2005
The board voted to modify Rule A 1.2 Permissions and Prohibitions that sets publicity guidelines for publisher members who have elected to make advance public notification of an impending ABC audit. It requires the publisher to attribute audit results to ABC.

The Board approved changes to Bylaw 2.18 Waiver of Damages and Indemnification to shield the entire membership from legal costs and expenses arising from legal matters pertaining to a single member, should ABC become a participant in litigation, discovery or other proceedings related to a particular member. The modification requires the responsible member to reimburse ABC for all costs and expenses incurred by ABC including reasonable attorney’s fees.

The Board also adopted changes to the format and language of Bylaw 7 Offenses and Punishment that surround member censure and related issues to reflect ABC policies and procedures.

Other News
ABC’s New York office announced that it is relocating to 122 East 42nd Street, Suite 807, New York, NY 10168-0899, in middle to late April.

ABC also announced its 91st Conference and Annual Meeting, “Accountability: the Rules of Engagement,” to be held November 2–4, 2005 at Sheraton Bal Harbour Beach Resort in Bal Harbour, Florida.

With more than 4,000 members, ABC is in its 91st year as the first and largest circulation-auditing organization in the world. Its members include the world's leading magazine and newspaper publishers, advertisers, and agencies. ABC maintains the world’s foremost electronic database of audited-circulation information and a growing array of verified readership, subscriber demographics and online activity data. ABC offers reports and services in a variety of flexible formats, including print, spreadsheet, CD-ROM and online at www.accessabc.com.