Virtual Press RoomBoard Actions
Summary of October 2008 Board Actions
Schaumburg, Ill. (Nov., 2008)—The following are highlights of the actions taken by the Audit Bureau of Circulations’ (ABC) board of directors at its meeting held on Oct. 29 – 31. (Note: The full update to ABC’s bylaws and rules is regularly made available on ABC’s website within weeks following each board meeting.)
BUSINESS PUBLICATIONS
Unanimous Consent – Effective with December 2008 Publisher’s Statements
The board voted to modify ABC reports for business publications so that print and digital editions are no longer reported in separate sub-paragraphs of Paragraph 3b Age of Source; rather, the circulation is presented in the same paragraph but in separate columns.
Unanimous Consent – Effective Nov. 3, 2008
The board also modified Rule D 10.3 Digital Versions and Digital Editions to eliminate the requirement that publishers of digital versions/editions send an e-mail to the paid subscriber notifying them that the latest issue is now available on the publisher’s controlled access website. For non-paid subscribers, the e-mail notification is still required.
For Information – Effective July 1, 2009
Following the adoption of a new multimedia report format at its July meeting, the board agreed to eliminate the Consolidated Media Report (CMR) next year to prevent market confusion. The board also voted to amend the multimedia report to add a Total Gross Contacts summary beginning with December 2008 statements.
CANADIAN NEWSPAPERS
Final Passage – Effective April 1, 2009
The board gave final approval to modify rules B 2.4 Time of Making Audit and C 24.1 Timing of Audit to allow Canadian newspapers with total average paid circulation between 50,000 and 75,000 to engage in every-other-year audits provided the following conditions are met:
- Less than five percent of the newspaper’s total average paid circulation may be generated from third-party sales.
- The most recently released audit does not have an adjustment of more than two percent.
- The newspaper participates monthly in the Preprint Projection Center.
Final Passage – Effective April 1, 2009
The board also granted final approval to eliminate the reciprocity element of Rule C 22.7 Days Omitted from Averages. Same-city newspapers or newspapers in overlapping markets will no longer have the option of eliminating a day solely because another newspaper eliminated that day. Newspapers are still allowed a maximum of 10 omitted days per 12-month period.
First Passage – Effective April 1, 2009
The board voted to modify Rule C 25.3 Combination Sales. The change clarifies that newspapers may offer more than one subscription for the same newspaper to a single subscriber provided the subscriber pays an incremental amount of at least one cent for the second subscription. For example, a newspaper may offer two subscriptions for $100 as long as a single subscription is offered for $99.99 or less.
Unanimous Consent – Effective Nov. 3, 2008
The board voted to eliminate the following rules because they were deemed no longer relevant to the Canadian market:
- Section (4) Market Segment Pricing of C 21.2 Prices
- C 27.9 Market Segments
- C 22.14 Renewals
- C 25.12 Insurance Policies
- C 25.19 Installment Subscriptions
U.S. NEWSPAPERS
U.S. Newspaper Qualification and Reporting Changes
Various Effective Dates
The board reviewed several outstanding rule modifications related to the U.S. newspaper qualification and reporting initiative, including:
- Final Passage – Effective November 3, 2008
The board approved revisions to C 1.2 Prices to allow U.S. newspapers to establish separate basic prices for single-copy and home-delivered electronic editions by reporting zone. - Deferred Action
The board deferred final approval to changes to B 2.4 Time of Making Audit and C 4.1 Timing of Audit to allow ABC advisory committees more time to review and comment on the proposed modifications. The proposal would allow newspapers with total average paid circulation between 50,000 and 75,000 to engage in every-other-year audits provided the following conditions are met:- Less than five percent of the newspaper’s total average paid circulation may be generated from third-party sales.
- The most recently released audit does not have an adjustment of more than two percent.
- The newspaper participates monthly in the Preprint Projection Center.
- First Passage – Effective April 1, 2009
The board voted to rescind its July 2008 ruling to require newspapers to report by total average price.Instead, the board agreed to modify C 2.9 Analysis of Individually Paid Home-Delivered Circulation by Price Category to require newspapers to report subscription circulation above and below 25 percent of basic price if more than five percent of a newspaper’s subscription circulation falls into the less than 25 percent of basic price category. This information will only be reported in a password-protected area of ABC’s website, not on ABC statements.
- First Passage – Effective April 1, 2009
The board voted to make additional modifications to the upcoming version of Rule C 5.3 Combination Sales. The change further clarifies that newspapers may offer more than one subscription for the same newspaper to a single subscriber provided the subscriber pays an incremental amount for the second subscription. Based on the upcoming flexible pricing model that is effective April 1, 2009, the incremental amount is one cent. For example, a newspaper may offer two subscriptions for $100 as long as a single subscription is offered for $99.99 or less.
A detailed summary of the U.S. newspaper rule changes is available on ABC’s website.
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
The following individuals were elected to the ABC board and will serve a two-year term unless otherwise noted:
U.S. Advertiser Division
Christopher Black, Sears Holding Corporation (one year)
Merle Davidson, J.C. Penney Co., Inc.
Irene Grieco, Unilever U.S. (one year)
Mark Kaline, Kimberly-Clark Corp.
Christina Meringolo, Schering-Plough (one year)
Donald Miceli, Kraft Foods
Bill Stabile, Siemens Corporation
U.S. Advertising Agency Division
Charles Rutman, MPG
Suzanne Silber, Optimedia
Judy Vogel, PHD USA
David Walker, NSA Media
Brenda White, Starcom Worldwide (one year)
U.S. Business Publication Division
Rob Fisher, American City Business Journals
Canadian Advertising Agency Division
Sunni Boot, Zenith Optimedia Canada Inc.
Bruce Claassen, Aegis Media Canada/Genesis-Vizeum, Inc.
Canadian Newspaper Division
Dennis Skulsky, Canwest (Class 1 – Daily newspapers published in Canada)
U.S. Magazine Division
Lorelei Calvert, Texas Monthly/Emmis Publishing, L.P.
John Q. Griffin, National Geographic Society
David Leckey, American Media Inc.
Lindsay Valk, Hearst Magazines (one year)
U.S. Daily Newspaper Division
Caroline Diamond Harrison, Staten Island Advance (Class 2 – Daily newspapers at-large published in the U.S.)
Scott Heekin-Canedy, The New York Times (Class 4 – Daily newspapers having 250,000 or more net paid circulation published in the U.S.)
Frank Whittaker, The McClatchy Company (Class 3 – Daily newspapers at-large published in the U.S.)
ABC Board Officers (one-year terms)
- Chairman – Merle Davidson, J.C. Penney Co. Inc.
- Vice-Chairs – Charles Rutman, Chief Executive Officer, MPG; David Leckey, American Media Inc.; Brian Segal, President and CEO, Rogers Publishing, Rogers Media; Craig Sinclair, Vice President, Advertising, Walgreen Co.
- Secretary – Vikki Schwartzman, VP, Corporate Media Director, L’Oreal USA
- Treasurer – Dennis Skulsky, President and CEO, Publishing, Canwest
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Corporate Communications Contacts: | ||
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Executive Vice President, Strategic Planning, Communications and General Manager, ABC Interactive t: 224-366-6363 |
Manager, Communications t: 224-366-6365 |
Assistant Manager, Communications t: 224-366-6432 |
