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ABC Convenes 2005 Annual Meeting, Elects Directors

New York (December 12, 2005) – The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) held its annual business meeting today at The Yale Club in New York City. The meeting, originally slated for Nov. 4 in Miami, was rescheduled when Hurricane Wilma struck south Florida in late October.

ABC board chairman Robert Troutbeck, president, Troutbeck-Chernoff, spoke to ABC members and reinforced the board of directors’ commitment to the advertising buyer-seller relationship through verified media information.

Outlining his vision for ABC in 2006, Troutbeck said, “The print media landscape is changing, and the pressure for verified accountability will only increase.” He noted that ABC rules and practices help to guard against circulation inaccuracies. “We have great faith that our publisher partners realize the importance of transparency and accountability, and that they will do everything they can to protect buyer-seller trust in ABC information.”

“If the past year has demonstrated anything, it is that the ABC brand and what it stands for – accountability, trust, integrity and independence – is more important than ever,” reflected Michael J. Lavery, ABC president and managing director. Lavery told audience members that ABC will continue to enhance its training programs and online data mining tools in 2006, two important benefits of ABC membership. He also cited the launch next month of ABC’s new Insert Verification Service for newspaper members as a testament to how buyers and sellers on ABC’s board and advisory committees work together to meet the dynamic needs of the print advertising market.

Board Elections

Elections for ABC board of director positions were also held at the meeting today. Directors are elected by ABC’s member constituencies and serve as representatives for member publishers, advertisers and advertising agencies. Directors meet three times a year to vote on ABC bylaws, rules, guidelines and policies. Their governance determines the standards to which ABC performs audit activities and issues its reports.

The following directors were re-elected to serve two-year terms on ABC’s board:

• Robert W. Althaus, vice president of circulation, Gannett Co. Inc.
• Peter A. Armour, senior vice president, consumer marketing, Condé Nast Publications
• Michael K. Brown, director, corporate media, Target Corporation
• Donna Campanella, director/team leader, media, Pfizer Inc.
• Sheila Field, senior vice president of marketing and sales promotion, Macy’s
• Alec Gerster, chief executive officer, Initiative Worldwide
• James W. Hopson, publisher, Wisconsin State Journal, vice president, Lee Enterprises
• Robert M. Jelenic, chairman and chief executive officer, Journal Register Company
• Renetta E. McCann, chief executive officer, Starcom MediaVest Group
• James H. McGraw IV, group publisher, The McGraw-Hill Companies
• Vikki Schwartzman, vice president, corporate media director, L’Oreal USA
• Brian Segal, president and chief executive officer, Rogers Publishing, Rogers Media
• Craig M. Sinclair, vice president of advertising, Walgreen Co.
• John Squires, president, Sports Illustrated, executive vice president, Time Inc.
• Howard G. Sutton, chairman of the board, publisher, president and chief executive officer, The Providence Journal Company
• Robert Troutbeck, president, Troutbeck-Chernoff
• David R. Verklin, chief executive officer, Carat Americas
• Gary L. Vorpahl, director of marketing, W.D. Hoard & Sons Company

With more than 4,000 members in North America, ABC is a forum of the world’s 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.