AGFA Raises Prices on Offset Plates
Agfa announced that it will globally increase the prices on its offset plates. “Soaring input costs, particularly relevant to aluminum, energy and packaging materials, in combination with sharply rising freight rates due to global logistic constraints make price increases unavoidable,” says a press release from Agfa. Prices of offset plates will therefore increase between 5 and 10%, taking effect from April 1 onwards. Agfa’s headquarters and parent company are in Mortsel, Belgium.
Gannett Selling Buildings in Michigan
Three buildings owned by The Daily Telegram (Adrian, Michigan) are for sale, the paper reported. https://www.lenconnect.com/story/news/local/2021/03/25/daily-telegram-buildings-downtown-adrian-sale/6986529002/
Gannett is also selling the Monroe News (Michigan) office building at 20 W. First St., the paper reported. https://www.monroenews.com/story/news/2021/03/25/gannett-sell-monroe-news-office-building/6995963002/
Gannett owns the papers and the buildings. The buildings are among numerous Gannett facilities on sale around the U.S. New York state-based real estate firm BellCornerstone is listing the properties. https://www.bellcornerstone.com/
LA Times Launches Education-Themed Newsletter for Parents
The LA Times has launched a newsletter titled 8 to 3, targeted towards parents and sent every Monday evening. It’s written by Sonja Sharp and edited by Mitchell Landsberg. “Our foremost mission is to help navigate new challenges with powerful storytelling, useful guides, vital data and personal stories — whether on campus in a classroom or in front of a laptop in the living room. The Times’ coverage of COVID-19-era schooling places considerable attention on systemic inequities, which we will continue to explore in depth,” says a story on the newsletter. Signup is available on the Times’ newsletter page. https://membership.latimes.com/newsletters/ https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-03-23/parents-school-education-newsletter-sonja-sharp
Wyss, Slaine to Put up Bid to Rival Alden’s Play for Tribune Publishing
Tribune Publishing has a new suitor: Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss, The New York Times reports. Wyss, former CEO of medical device maker Synthes, said last week that he would partner with Maryland hotel mogul Stewart W. Bainum Jr. to bid for Tribune Publishing, the Times said. Tech investor Mason Slaine informed The Wall Street Journal he’s game to add $100 million to the Bainum/Wyss bid. Slaine owns a 3.4% stake in Tribune and would add the money to buy the Orlando Sentinel and the Sun Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, said the WSJ. Their bid would compete with a bid from New York hedge find Alden Global Capital, which currently owns around 32% of Tribune shares.
Munising News Stopping Publication; Co-Owner Cites Unemployment Benefits for Lack of Employees
The Munising News (Michigan) and the Alger County Shopper will stop publishing at the end of March, the Daily Mining Gazette (Houghton, Michigan) reported. https://www.mininggazette.com/news/2021/03/end-of-an-era-munising-news-to-halt-publication-after-125-years-in-newspaper-business/
Willie and Nancy Peterson own the weekly paper. Willie Peterson pointed to “lack of employees,” on the closure, citing unemployment benefits related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the paper said. “We pay them $400 a week to stay home,” Willie Peterson said. “You look at our ‘Help Wanted’ section. It’s full.” Peterson said the paper paid competitive wages, said the Daily Mining Gazette.
News Corp Buying Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Segment and Investor’s Business Daily
News Corp announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the Books & Media segment of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The business will be operated by HarperCollins Publishers, a News Corp subsidiary. HMH Books & Media is home to one of the most extensive and successful backlists in the publishing industry, with a history of strong profitability, says a news release from News Corp. In 2020, over 60% of HMH Books & Media revenues were generated by its backlist, says the release. News Corp is also buying Investor’s Business Daily from O’Neil Capital Management for $275 million.
The financial news and research business will be operated by Dow Jones, a News Corp subsidiary. Investor’s Business Daily (IBD) was founded by William J. O’Neil in 1984 and has experienced double-digit revenue growth over the past several years, with digital representing more than 90% of IBD’s revenues and subscriptions, says News Corp.
Local Media Consortium Launches NewsNext and NewsPassID
The Local Media Consortium has announced the launch of NewsNext, an initiative to redefine local media’s standing in the digital ecosystem, improve its sustainability and create a more privacy-compliant, scalable way to connect advertisers with consumers, says LMC. https://www.localmediaconsortium.com/post/newsnext-and-the-newspassid-a-scalable-privacy-complaint-consumer-path-to-news-and-monetization.
Bringing together working groups of ad operations, tech leaders and audience data experts, the LMC partnered with digital news media and ad tech veteran Scott Cunningham to design the initiative. The working groups’ findings resulted in the launch of NewsPassID, a local news advertising network and a single-sign-on solution for consumers. The solution will help publishers create a new consumer and advertising monetization strategy, create transparency and accountability in the advertising supply chain, and address regulatory, self-regulatory and platform changes, says a news release from LMC.
Morocco’s Le Matin Works with QIPC
The printing plant of the Morocco-based newspaper Le Matin has decided to re-invest in the press automation solutions of Q.I. Press Controls (QIPC). This time the Dutch specialist in measuring and control equipment for the printing industry will supply IDS-3D closed loop color control on the KBA Compacta 818 heatset press. Le Matin also invested in the management reporting tool IQM.
More News
- The Los Angeles Timesgot a $10-million loan through the federal Paycheck Protection Program, the paper reported. Entrepreneur Patrick Soon-Shiong and his wife, Michele, bought the Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune for $500 million from Tribune Publishing in 2018. https://www.thewrap.com/los-angeles-times-discloses-10-million-ppp-loan/
- Due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as national and international lockdown measures and associated travel restrictions, the Print & Digital Conventioncongress and trade fair originally planned for June 2021 will be moved to Oct. 20–21, 2021, in the Congress Center at the fairgrounds in Dusseldorf, Germany. The organizers, Fachverband Medienproduktion and Messe Dusseldorf, are counting on better general conditions in autumn and extended planning time for participants, they say.
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