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ABC Board Rules on Reporting Requirements for Paragraph 4B, Non-Deductible Partnership Sales, Day-of-Week Reporting; Welcomes New Directors

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (July 12, 2004) -- The Board of Directors of the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) approved actions on a wide range of topics at its July 7-9 meeting, including non-deductible partnerships for consumer magazines, day-of-the-week reporting for newspapers and an expansion of Paragraph 4B in the ABC consumer magazine Publisher’s Statement.

In a review of the consumer magazine Publisher’s Statement, the Board voted (first passage) to amend the standard reporting requirements for Paragraph 4B to require disclosure of average paid circulation from copy one for all reportable categories, and to eliminate the reporting of single purchaser information, effective with the June 30, 2005 Publisher’s Statement.

In addition, the Board voted (first passage) to establish rules to qualify non-deductible partnership sales for consumer magazines, to be effective January 1, 2005.

For newspapers, the Board continued discussion on mandatory disclosure requirements for average paid circulation by day-of-week on ABC reports, endorsing a mandatory five-day average, with an optional six-day average. These requirements and related rules will be revisited at the November 2004 Board meeting. The Board’s final rulings regarding these requirements will be effective April 2005 for March-ending audits, and October 2005 for September-ending audits.

Two new directors were elected to the ABC Board: Linda Thomas-Brooks, executive vice president-managing director, General Motors Mediaworks, fills the advertising director vacancy left by retired ABC chairman Michael Browner; and Dennis Skulsky, president and publisher, Pacific Newspaper Group who replaces retiring Director John Honderich, former publisher of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited.

“We look forward to working with Ms. Thomas-Brooks and Mr. Skulsky. Their leadership and input will be a valuable asset to the ABC Board of Directors,” said ABC’s Michael J. Lavery, president and managing director. “We also wish a fond farewell to Mr. Honderich and thank him for his service.”

A comprehensive overview of actions taken at the July 2004 meeting, including specific rule and reporting parameters, will be published in ABC’s August 2004 NewsBulletin and featured on ABC’s Web site at www.accessabc.com. For additional information, contact ABC’s communications department at (847) 879-8442 or review ABC’s online Board Actions Media Alert.

With nearly 4,300 members, ABC is in its 90th year as the first and largest circulation-auditing organization in the world, maintaining the industry’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 http://www.accessabc.com.