Beginning in early May, members will have the opportunity to review and comment on the actual proposed rule language. The board is expected to grant the rule changes final passage at its July meeting.
Rule Modifications Aimed at Newspapers with Average Paid Circulation Less Than 50,000 Circulation
The board gave initial approval to two rule changes affecting newspapers with total average paid circulation of less than 50,000. Previously, only newspapers with paid circulation less than 25,000 had these options.
First Passage – Effective April 1, 2009
The board gave initial approval to modify Rule B 2.4 Time of Making Audit and Rule C 4.1 Timing of Audit to allow newspapers with total average paid circulation of less than 50,000 the option of shifting to an every-other-year audit cycle.
First Passage – Effective April 1, 2009
The board also agreed to modify Rule C 2.5 Circulation Above/Below Averages for Other Days. The change will eliminate the day-of-week reporting requirement for newspapers with total average paid circulation of less than 50,000. These newspapers may continue to optionally report day-of-week circulation.
Rule Changes for All U.S. Newspapers Effective April 1, 2009
The first set of newspaper qualification and reporting rule changes will take effect April 1, 2009.
First Passage – Effective April 1, 2009
The board of directors voted to modify Rule C 1.1 Paid Circulation Defined to change the qualification of paid circulation to one cent or more per subscription or single copy, net of all considerations.
The board also amended the following rules to reflect the redefinition of paid circulation: Rule 3.5 Association Subscriptions, Rule C 5.7 Subscriptions Involving Charitable Donations, Rule C 5.9 Subscriptions Purchased with Award Points, Rule C 5.10 Vacation Paks, and Rule C 5.20 In-House Credits. Copies generated through these programs will qualify as paid circulation if the reader pays at least one cent, net of all considerations, for the newspaper.
First Passage – Effective April 1, 2009 (Received first passage at April 2008 interim meeting)
The board modified Rule C 1.2 Prices to align the rule with changes made to the rules governing geographical or zone reporting. Under the new rules, geographical reporting becomes optional so publishers are no longer required to establish separate basic prices for each geographic area. If a publisher chooses to continue reporting by zone, they may optionally report a different set of basic prices for each zone.
Newspapers must continue to establish an annual basic price for each frequency of delivery available to consumers. The prices must be published at least quarterly within the publication and the newspaper must be able to demonstrate current and ongoing sales at those prices.
First Passage – Effective April 1, 2009
The board also voted to eliminate the reciprocity element of Rule C 2.7 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 in their market eliminated that day. Newspapers are still allowed a maximum of 10 omitted days in a 12-month period.
First Passage – Effective April 1, 2009 (Received first passage at April 2008 interim meeting)
The board also voted to modify Rule C 2.11 Intermittent Subscriptions to phase out all intermittent subscriptions by 2011. The current rule will remain in effect until 2011, with the following stipulations:
- Publishers are required to post all intermittent subscription details on an ABC-hosted Web site no less than 120 days prior to delivery.
- The posting must include the date of delivery and the number of copies that will be served as part of the program.
- Failure to post the information may disqualify the intermittent subscription copies from paid circulation.
- Publishers serving intermittent subscription circulation must begin notifying ABC of their plans by 12/01/08 to meet the 120 day advance notification requirement.
Intermittent subscriptions will be phased out according to the following timeline:
- 2009 – A maximum of 50 intermittent days may be claimed as paid for the 12-month period covering the September 2009 and March 2010 Publisher’s Statements.
- 2010 – A maximum of 25 intermittent days may be claimed as paid for the 12-month period covering the September 2010 and March 2011 Publisher’s Statements.
- 2011 – All intermittent days must be reported as verified circulation beginning with the September 2011 Publisher’s Statement period.
First Passage – Effective April 1, 2009
The board also voted to amend Rule C 5.13 Subscription Offer Based on Acceptance Unless Declined to allow publishers to upgrade current home subscriber to a greater frequency without prior consent provided the following requirements are met:
- Subscriber is notified of the upgrade on the first day of delivery.
- The notification advises the subscriber of the delivery and term changes and provides clear and conspicuous instructions to opt out of the upgrade.
- The upgraded delivery term is at least 12 consecutive weeks.
- If a subscriber opts out within the first 12 weeks of the delivery term, all previously served circulation must be removed from the paid circulation category.
- Advertisers must be notified at least 120 days in advance of all upgrade programs through ABC’s Web site.
- Publishers must provide full disclosure of the upgraded subscriber programs in the explanatory paragraph of ABC reports.
(This section added following April 2008 interim meeting)
A publisher may eliminate an existing frequency and convert all of those subscribers to a new delivery schedule that is available to the public. The additional service is known as a “forced” conversion and can qualify as paid circulation provided the following criteria are met:
- The frequency change must be incorporated in all promotional and sales materials no later than 30 days prior to the first delivery date of the new frequency.
- All frequency changes must be applied to a defined geographic area.
- The discontinued frequency cannot be reinstated within the affected geography for six months after its discontinuance.
- All affected households must receive clear and conspicuous notice of the change.
- No inference should be made that the change in frequency is temporary.
Advertisers must be notified of all frequency conversion programs, both “opt out” and “forced,” at least 120 days in advance via an ABC-hosted Web site.
The action to amend Rule C 5.13 at the March 2008 meeting supersedes the first passage modifications granted to this rule in March 2007.
First Passage – Effective April 1, 2009
The board altered Rule C 5.3 Combination Sales to allow two or more subscriptions to be sold in combination, provided each subscription is sold for at least one cent.
The board also modified Rule C 5.3 with respect to Joint Distribution Agreements (JDAs). The board agreed to “grandfather in” current JDAs so that circulation generated from those programs will continue to qualify as paid circulation under the new rules. New joint distribution agreements will be required to provide subscribers the opportunity to opt out of the program.
Rule Changes for All U.S. Newspapers Effective Oct. 1, 2010
The second set of rules modifications approved by the ABC board of directors will take effect Oct. 1, 2010.
First Passage – Effective Oct. 1, 2010
The board amended Rule C 5.1 Premium Defined and C 5.2 Premiums with Subscriptions/Single-Copy Sales to eliminate the requirement to report the premium and the number of subscription sales involving premiums.
First Passage – Effective Oct. 1, 2010
The board made several changes to the rules governing ABC reporting requirements to make geographical reporting optional unless the newspaper declares more than one basic price.
To accomplish this, the board eliminated Rule C 7.1 Reporting Options and Rule C 7.2 Circulation in City of Another Member.
The board also merged Rule 7.3 City Zone, Rule C 7.4 Retail Trading Zone, Rule C 7.5 Newspaper Designated Market, Rule C 7.6 MSA/CMA, Rule C 7.7 Other Reporting Areas, Rule C 7.8 All Other. These rules will collapse into a new rule—C 7.3 Optional Geographic Reporting.
First Passage – Effective Oct. 1, 2010
The board also voted to modify Rule C 7.12 List of Towns Receiving 25 or More Copies to require newspapers to report circulation by ZIP code reporting, but make reporting by town or county optional. National newspapers will not be required to report by ZIP code. The revised rule will be renumbered Rule C 7.4.
First Passage – Effective Oct. 1, 2010
The board amended Rule C 2.1 Circulation Averages to incorporate changes to ABC’s report formats. Circulation averages will be presented in three categories: “Paid for by Individual Recipient,” “Paid Business/Traveler Circulation,” and “Verified Circulation.” Averages will also be presented by distribution channel, including home-delivery, single-copy and other distribution.
First Passage – Effective Oct. 1, 2010
Modify Rule C 3.1 Employee, Correspondent and Agent Copies to eliminate payment requirement for this form of circulation. The copies generated from these programs will be reported as “verified” distribution.
First Passage – Effective Oct. 1, 2010
The board also voted to modify Rule C 3.2 School Subscriptions to eliminate the payment requirement for this form of circulation. The copies generated from school programs will be reported as “verified” distribution.
First Passage – Effective Oct. 1, 2010
The board also created Rule C 3.3 Verified Distribution. The verified circulation category is comprised of subscription copies delivered to public places or individual readers. With the exception of reoccurring delivery within a retail outlet, single-copy distribution is not eligible to be included in verified circulation.
The circulation is reported in three subcategories: home delivery—requested, home delivery—targeted, and other verified distribution. Copies classified as verified circulation are not subject to the paid circulation qualification standards.
- Home Delivery—Requested – requested copies delivered to households.
- Distribution must occur for at least 12 consecutive weeks.
- A member of the receiving household must have specifically requested the delivery.
- Requests must be renewed at least annually if the duration is equal to or greater than one year.
- Records must be maintained to confirm the request.
- Home Delivery—Targeted – copies delivered to targeted households.
- Households included in the targeted delivery must be notified on the first day of delivery.
- The notification must contain the anticipated dates of delivery.
- With the exception of one-day delivery programs, the notification must also include the opportunity for the household to opt out of the delivery.
- Route lists must be maintained for all targeted-delivery programs.
- Other Verified Distribution – includes NIE and employee copies as well as distribution to public venues for use by patrons of that establishment.
- Examples of other verified distribution locations: hospitals and nursing homes, restaurants, doctors or dentist offices and personal care salons.
- Retail outlets may also be eligible, provided the retail location makes a specific request for the number of copies and the copy counts represent reoccurring distribution to patrons. Appropriate records must be maintained for auditor review.
This rule replaces the former Rule C 3.3 Third-Party Sales. The third-party category was eliminated due to the requirement that copies classified as paid circulation be paid for by an individual reader. Third-party sales circulation will be classified in verified circulation.
First Passage – Effective Oct. 1, 2010
The board also modified Rule C 3.4 Group Subscriptions to Businesses for Designated Employees to incorporate the new paid business/traveler category. The new rule—C 3.4 Business/Traveler Copies—governs copies purchased by businesses for use by designated employees and hotel copies.
- Business Copies – copies or subscriptions purchased in quantities of two or more by a company for its employees. The newspaper must maintain records providing the names or titles of the employees.
- Traveler Copies – copies purchased by hotel guests or by hotels for guests. There are two subcategories of the “traveler” category:
- Guest Refund-Based – copies where the guest is notified upon check-in that a specified dollar amount for the newspaper is included in the price of the room. The money must be refunded if the guest elects not to receive the newspaper.
- Purchased by Hotel – copies purchased by the hotel and distributed to guests in their rooms or available for pick-up in public areas of the hotel.
