PressReader Expands into E-learning
Digital newsstand PressReader is expanding into the e-learning market. PressReader is forming an educational technologies segment with the launch of its e-learning brand TextbookHub and the acquisition of Evident Point Software Corp, PressReader says in a release.
With the acquisition of Evident Point, PressReader gains a company at the “forefront of the on-screen reading experience,” says the release, developing technologies for educators and students to create, distribute and consume digital content.
TextbookHub, PressReader’s flagship educational tech brand, provides integration with SIS/LMS/SMS systems and supports single sign-on online and offline, in-class or remote learning on iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, and Chrome devices. TextbookHub’s tools allow teachers to overlay the textbook with quizzes, video, links, notes and other items to create a collaborative learning experience for students without changing a publisher’s content, says the release.
News Media Alliance, National Newspaper Association Join Challenge on Postal Order
The News Media Alliance and the National Newspaper Association have joined a legal challenge of an order by the Postal Regulatory Commission that would, says the News Media Alliance, effectively eliminate a congressionally-mandated limit on postal rate increases for periodicals and marketing mail, which since 2006 has required postal rate increases to remain within a statutory price cap tied to the Consumer Price Index.
Under the new rate-setting system, the U.S. Postal Service will be able to increase the postage assessed to newspapers by roughly 9 percent annually over the next five years, says the News Media Alliance. “Rate changes of this magnitude would be unsustainable for newspapers and could force small market and community newspapers to close their doors,” the organization says.
Medill, Mather to Offer Subscriber Engagement Index
Mather Economics and Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications have formed a partnership to aggregate and analyze U.S. news media companies’ user behavior and subscription data.
The ongoing benchmarking project, called the Medill Subscriber Engagement Index, will launch in March 2021. “MSEI has wide implications for producing game-changing, actionable insights that will accelerate the industry’s reader revenue-making and engagement abilities,” says a news release on the effort. “Reader revenue is now a cornerstone in the business model for local news,” said Tim Franklin, Medill’s senior associate dean and John M. Mutz Chair in Local News.
“What makes this index so valuable is that it will allow local news outlets to not only measure their own performance with paying readers, but to benchmark against peers across companies around the nation. It also includes a “what if” tool that uses current subscriber data to predict future financial outcomes of strategic decisions. These insights will empower local news leaders to grow revenue at this pivotal time for the industry.”
A number of media companies have joined the project, including McClatchy’s 29 dailies, Tribune Publishing’s 10 dailies, Newsday, the Dallas Morning News, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Advocate, Las Vegas Review-Journal, The Press Democrat, The Spokesman-Review and Bangor Daily News. More new publishers will be announced soon, the release said.
Chicago Tribune Leaving Prudential Plaza
The Chicago Tribune and its parent company are moving out of Prudential Plaza at the end of January, the paper said. The move means the paper won’t have a downtown office. In 2018, the paper left the iconic Tribune Tower.
The Tribune newsroom will relocate to the Freedom Center printing facility along the Chicago River north of downtown, staff was informed in a memo on Jan. 11, the paper said. Due to the pandemic, it’s not clear when many journalists will move into the Freedom Center, the company said, the paper reported.
The paper’s move will increase the large number of vacancies in the wake of the pandemic.
Alden Global Capital is the company’s biggest shareholder.
Gannett Selling Kansas Newspaper Building
Gannett intends to sell the 15,000-square-foot building and the parking lot of The Hays Daily News (Kansas), the paper reported. The building is at 507 Main St. The paper, which produces five days a week, is relocating to a new office space.
New York-based broker Bell Cornerstone is managing the sale, the paper said. Bell Cornerstone is handling the marketing of other Gannett buildings as well, the paper said.
Virtual.drupa Exhibitor Registration Open
Exhibitors can now register for virtual.drupa 2021. Virtual.drupa will take place from April 20–23.
Originally planned as a live event from April 20–28 at the fairgrounds in Dusseldorf, Germany, the trade fair for printing technologies had to be changed into a virtual format due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Free online visitor registration for virtual.drupa will start in March 2021.
The last in a line of drupa preview conference programs will take place February 23.
SendtoNews Adding Newsy Digital Video Content
Online video platform SendtoNews is adding Newsy digital video content to its library, making it available to more than 1,800 digital publishers, says SendtoNews. Newsy is a national news network that delivers breaking, world, science, tech and political news videos.
“Helping content partners like Newsy reach new audiences has always been a strategic priority for SendtoNews,” says Matthew Watson, CEO, SendtoNews. Newsy is the latest content partner to join STN’s platform of providers, which include MLB, NBA, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Conde Nast, Rolling Stone and Variety. SendtoNews Smart Match AI-powered video player matches editorial content with the most relevant video in the STN library and embeds it in the article.
More news
• Canada’s Postmedia has reported its Q1 results.
• The Evening Post Newspaper Group (South Carolina) is offering a matching marketing grant program to support small businesses in South Carolina by helping with advertising costs during this time of COVID-19, the company’s Moultrie News said. Last year the program helped support 146 businesses.
- The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is ending its Friday print editions after Feb. 26, the paper said.
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