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ABC Board Approves Launch of Newspaper Insert Verification Service, Creates New Magazine Circulation Category, Modifies Pink Sheet
Sets Rescheduled Annual Meeting for Dec. 12 in New York

Schaumburg, Ill. (November 7, 2005) – The board of the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) approved the launch of a new service to verify the distribution of freestanding inserts (FSIs) in newspapers.

Available Jan. 1, the optional service addresses a large market with an important auditing capability. According to the Newspaper Association of America (NAA), preprinted FSIs account for the majority of newspaper advertising expenditures. For 2003, the NAA estimated that newspapers distributed more than 87 billion inserts.

“ABC’s newspaper members can now market the accuracy of their verified FSI distribution data, while buyers of print media can have independent verification of their insert advertising investments,” said Michael J. Lavery, ABC president and managing director.

Lavery noted that the service was successfully tested this fall by the Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, St. Petersburg Times, Dayton Daily News (OH), Journal Gazette and News-Sentinel (Ft. Wayne, IN), Ft. Worth Star Telegram (TX), Rockford Register Star (IL) and the Quad City Times (IA).

At its meeting last week, the ABC board of directors also finalized important changes to the “pink sheet” Publisher’s Statement. The new format provides magazine advertising buyers with greater detail about circulation sources, such as the most-used public distribution outlets, subscription channels and sponsored copies. A prototype of the new statement, which becomes effective with June 2006 reporting, is available on ABC’s web site (PDF*).

“Trust between advertising buyers and sellers is essential and non-negotiable,” said Robert Troutbeck, president of Troutbeck-Chernoff and ABC’s chairman of the board. “It is in that spirit that the ABC board continues to examine rules and practices, and the way we report circulation information, to serve the needs of all ABC members and strengthen trust in ABC-audited information.”

Other Key Magazine Actions

The board also reviewed a request from Time Inc. to allow consumer magazine publishers to report “verified” circulation on the December 2005 Publisher’s Statement, six months earlier than required. The board recommended instead that publishers wishing to report “verified” public-place and individual-use circulation for the December period do so via ABC’s Statement Plus document.

The board also agreed to modify the application of its consumer magazine sponsored sales rules so that eligible sponsors can be any business or organization where the primary activity is to sell or provide services or products to consumers. This interpretation allows organizations such as charities, web sites, local governments and schools to be eligible sponsors.

Other Key Newspaper Actions

ABC continues to examine the rules governing barter items as payment for third-party sales programs. The board asked the NAA/ABC liaison committee to draft standards for consideration at the March 2006 ABC board meeting. Instead of the “catalog” model that was approved in July (where gift cards or certificates were required to be redeemable for an array of goods), the board has opted to revert to previous guidelines. Until April 1, 2006, new barter programs submitted to ABC for approval will be considered using this earlier guideline, with copies eligible to be served through Oct. 1, 2006.

The ABC board also agreed to establish a Canadian Newspaper Advisory Committee, following the successful model used in the U.S. The committee will consist of both publisher and advertiser members who will advise ABC’s Canadian Committee of member concerns, as well as vet new programs and rule changes under consideration.

Following cancellation of the ABC annual conference due to Hurricane Wilma, the ABC board agreed to hold its annual membership business meeting on Dec. 12, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m., at the Yale Club in New York City. The meeting will cover election of open board positions, divisional business and reports from ABC’s chairman and president. Formal conference events originally planned, such as guest speakers and breakout panels, will not be held. Details are available on ABC’s web site.

A summary of all ABC board actions taken at the November 2005 meeting is available online at www.accessabc.com/press.

With more than 4,000 members in North America, ABC is a forum of leading magazine and newspaper publishers, advertisers and ad agencies. The organization provides credible, verified information essential to the media buying and selling process. 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. To learn more, visit http://www.accessabc.com.

Editor’s Note: ABC will host a news briefing via conference call on Monday, November 7, at 2:00 p.m. ET, to discuss the actions taken by the board at its November meeting. Attendance is open to the press. To register and receive conference call details, please contact ABC's at (847) 879-8261. Please provide your name, company, title and phone number.

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