Boone Newspapers Affiliate Buying Louisiana Papers
Shearman Company has a deal to sell the assets of the American Press in Lake Charles and Southwest Daily News in Sulphur (Louisiana) to Carpenter Newsmedia, an affiliate of Boone Newspapers. The assets include its print publications, websites and commercial printing business.Media merger firm Dirks, Van Essen & April, based in New Mexico, is representing Shearman Company in the transaction. Terms were not disclosed. BNI and CNL own and/or manage 74 related papers along with websites, shopping guides and magazines in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas. Their Louisiana papers include the Bogalusa Daily News and L’Observateur in LaPlace. They publish the Orange Leader (Texas) and the Port Arthur News (Texas), which are printed in Lake Charles. The Shearman family owned the American Press since 1943.
“We are pleased and humbled to succeed the Shearman family in responsibility for the American Press and Southwest Daily News,” said Todd Carpenter, president and CEO of BNI and owner of CNL.
Facebook, Google May Face More Antitrust Suits
Facebook and Google are expected to be hit with as many as four more lawsuits from antitrust authorities, according to sources familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Federal Trade Commission and state authorities are working on new suits that may be filed by the end of January, the paper said. The suits involve the companies’ power in the online marketplace, says Business Insider, citing the WSJ.
The suits would come on the heels of a suit filed against Google by the Justice Department in October. Meanwhile, Facebook is buying New York-based Kustomer, a customer service platform. The deal would value Kustomer at over $1 billion, MarketWatch reported.
Salt Lake Tribune to Stick With Carrier Delivery
The Salt Lake Tribune will go on with Sunday carrier delivery, the paper said. The paper announced in October that it’s going from a daily to a weekly print edition in January. “When we announced the print switch, The Tribune said it would use the U.S. Postal Service to deliver the weekly edition,” said the paper. “But as we look to put your experience first, carriers will continue Sunday home delivery for subscribers who live in Salt Lake, Utah, Davis and Summit counties, as well as in St. George,” the paper said.
The paper will deliver the Thanksgiving edition as well. Salt Lake Tribune Chairman Paul Huntsman bought the paper in 2016 from Alden Global Capital. The paper got IRS approval to be a non-profit last year.
Love Magazine Moving Operations to U.S.
Love magazine is moving its operations to the U.S., publisher Condé Nast has announced. Whembley Sewell, editor-in-chief of Them, is overseeing the brand’s evolution, the company says. Launched in February 2009 as a bi-annual publication aimed at fans of style and popular culture, Love will broaden its fashion-centric perspective to highlight and celebrate new themes and editorial opportunities that champion identity and inclusion. “Whembley has built a loyal and passionate audience at Them by brilliantly telling stories that are inclusive and uplifting,” said Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue U.S., global content advisor of Condé Nast. “Love is a title that gives us the opportunity to highlight expression and identity at a time when it’s most relevant to our audience, and I’m looking forward to what Whembley has planned.”
Reuters Institute: New Podcasts Punching Above Weight
The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism has a new report focusing on the phenomenon of daily news podcasts, one of the fastest growing areas of media consumption and a format that has been a lifeline for many people during the coronavirus pandemic, says the institute. “For publishers like the New York Times (The Daily) and the Guardian (Today in Focus) these on-demand audio briefings are now attracting large daily audiences, building habit and loyalty for their brands, and driving significant revenue too,” says the institute. Elsewhere the daily podcast scene is more nascent.
Here are some items from the report:
• Daily news podcasts make up less than 1% of all those produced but account for more than 10% of the overall downloads in the U.S. and 9% in France and Australia, according to publicly available data. These shows are clearly punching well above their weight with audiences.
• The format pioneered by The Daily — a deep-dive of around 25 minutes — has proved particularly successful and has been most widely adopted by other publishers around the world. But the report identified three other types: i) an extended chat; ii) a concise news round-up; and iii) a microbulletin aimed at smart speakers and streaming apps.
• More widely, publishers see daily news podcasts as a crucial way to attract younger audiences and engage them more deeply with their brands. News organizations pursuing subscription business models say podcasts — specifically daily news podcasts — help increase loyalty and reduce churn.
Boston Globe Runs Subscribe Sunday
For the second year, The Boston Globe ran its Subscribe Sunday promotion. The campaign is a push to get people to support local newspapers. “As you plan your purchases for the big holiday shopping weekend, please consider investing in a strong democracy: Support independent journalism,” says the Globe on its Subscribe Sunday page. The Globe offered other U.S. newsrooms information and graphics so they could run the program. In 2019, Globe Business reporter Janelle Nanos had the idea to celebrate Subscribe Sunday amid days like Cyber Monday, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Giving Tuesday.
More news
- The New York Times is working with Verizon to provide high school students and teachers with a free digital subscription through Sept. 1, 2021, the paper announced.
- The Progress Review newspaper in La Porte City (Iowa) produced its last edition on Sept. 30. Mike and Jane Whittlesey, owners of La Porte Printing and Design, owned the paper, the Courier (Waterloo, Iowa) reported.
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