Group Sales Eliminated/Bulk Sales Rules Revised (Final Passage of Rule Changes - July 2003)

GROUP (Mail Subscription Special) Subscriptions

The ABC board at its July 2003 meeting granted final passage to modify rules related to the classification and reporting of Group (Mail Subscription Special) and Bulk Subscription/Single-Copy Sales.

The recommended rule changes will eliminate the classification of Group from ABC reports. Circulation previously reported under this category would be now be reported under “Individual” provided sufficient evidence is present that copies are purchased by the recipients company and are either individually addressed or if shipped in quantities for redistribution, copies are directed to identified individuals at their place of employment, where the name and title of individuals can be proven to the auditor.

This change became effective with the December 2003 Publisher’s Statements.

BULK SUBSCRIPTIONS AND SINGLE COPIES

In July 2003, final passage was given to modify Rule D 2.1 Multi-Copy Sales addressing the reporting of circulation sold in quantities of two or more.

Current reporting of bulk sales is made under the category of “Bulk” in both subscriptions and single-copy. Rule modifications provide reporting of copies sold in quantities of two or more in two categories on ABC reports.

Reporting categories will be:

Multi - Copy Same Address - Represents sales to a third-party (other than a business for its employees, subsidiaries, or branch offices) wherein the copies are shipped in bulk to the purchaser for redistribution. In this situation, the publisher is likely to have no knowledge or documentation relative to the ultimate recipient.

Sponsored Individually Addressed - Represents sales to a third-party (other than a business for its employees, subsidiaries or branch offices) wherein the copies are individually addressed and mailed to the designated recipients, or in situations where the copies are shipped in bulk to the purchaser, the publisher would need to maintain sufficient documentation which identified the designated recipients by name and title.

These modifications became effective with the December 2003 Publisher’s Statements.