PPP Program Ends
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) closed Aug. 8. The U.S. Small Business Administration is no longer accepting PPP applications from participating lenders, the agency says.
The SBA released detailed loan-level data regarding the loans made under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Around $134 billion in PPP loans was untapped, federal data show, Newsday reports. A total of 5.2 million federally-guaranteed loans worth $525 billion were made, says the SBA, which ran the PPP with the Department of Treasury. The average loan was for $100,729.
Dueling Messages from Google, Australian Regulators
Google today posted an open letter to Australians in which the company claims “the way Aussies search every day on Google is at risk from new regulation.” The letter deals with the proposed News Media Bargaining Code. The search engine giant says the proposed code would force Google to provide Australians with a worse Google Search and YouTube, could lead to users’ data being handed over to big news businesses and would put free services Australians use at risk.
The letter contains misinformation, said the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, the regulatory agency that released the draft news media bargaining code, in its response to Google’s letter. Google will not be required to charge Australians for the use of its free services such as Google Search and YouTube, the response said. Google may choose to charge, the response said. Google will not be required to share any additional user data with Australian news businesses, the response said. Google may choose to share additional data, the letter said. The draft code will allow Australian news businesses to negotiate for fair payment for journalists’ work that is included on Google services, according to the ACCC.
Report: Apple News+ Changes Trouble Publishers
Some publishers are troubled about Apple News+ intercepting traffic from websites in iOS 14, MacRumors reported. “Apple did not inform three large publishers about a change in iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur that directs users who tap on an Apple News+ story in Safari to the Apple News app instead of the publisher’s website,” said MacRumors, citing a report in AdAge. Two of the publishers are looking at whether they want to continue with the service, said the report.
The Wall Street Journal, meanwhile, is staying with Apple News because the service is bringing in new readers, the New York Post reported. The paper based its report on comments from WSJ CEO Robert Thomson in an earnings call last week. “That Apple News partnership allows us to focus on that tier of content and bring in a significantly new audience that we would hope to graduate to a paid WSJ subscription over time,” he said. “And it is a genuinely different audience. It’s actually, of late, more women than men. For The Wall Street Journal ¬itself, it’s more men than women.” In June, The New York Times bailed on the service, saying Apple News didn’t align with its strategy of building direct relationships with paying readers.
Signature Offset uses NewsXtreme Cloud
Signature Offset will deploy NewsXtreme Cloud services for their print production, Ohio-based software developer Presteligence said in a press release. More than 14,000 plates per month will be produced through the workflow as part of a Southern Lithoplate plate deal. NewsXtreme Cloud includes PDF preflight with automated correction, page pairing and imposition, load-balanced rips, ink optimization and a portal for commercial clients to upload and proof jobs. These add-ons are built into NewsXtreme Cloud, the company says.
Signature Offset production centers in Colorado and Mississippi will access the hosted NewsXtreme Cloud system from anywhere, on any device with an internet browser, the release said.
Tribune Publishing to use WaPo’s Zeus
Zeus Technology, a revenue platform from The Washington Post, will license Zeus Performance to Tribune Publishing in eight media markets, according to the Post. “This agreement continues a period of tremendous growth for Zeus which will now power adtech for nearly 70 sites in the U.S.,” said a press release from the Post. “Zeus now powers over 3 billion impressions monthly, offering publishers the ability to drive better performance and higher revenue through a modernized advertising framework,” said Jarrod Dicker, VP of commercial technology at the Post and GM of Zeus.
Tribune migrated to The Post’s Arc Publishing platform beginning in 2017. Zeus Performance is one of three monetization tools built in-house by the Post that comprise the Zeus Technology Suite.
Lee Launches Local Business Stimulus Program
Iowa-based Lee Enterprises has launched a local business stimulus program aimed at helping local businesses adapt in an evolving economic environment, says the company.
The company will make up to $5 million available to local businesses through monthly grants ranging from $250 to $15,000. The grants will be awarded in August, September and October of this year.
“This stimulus program follows the highly successful grant program we launched in April of this year,” said Ray Farris, Lee operating vice president and vice president of advertising. “While providing nearly $5 million of much-needed marketing grants to local advertisers, we gained great insight into the challenges our customers are facing. We’ve shaped the business stimulus program to meet those challenges and help local business not only recover, but flourish, in today’s business climate.” The program will be available to locally owned and operated businesses and will provide matching advertising credits for use in print and digital products as well as the company’s suite of digital services.
More news
• Some subscribers of The Salt Lake Tribune will get a free year of basic digital access to The New York Times, the paper announced. The nonprofit Tribune is governed by a board of directors, with Paul Huntsman serving as chairman of the board.
• The Plainview Herald (Texas) is going to a three-day print publication, the paper announced. Starting this week, the print product will be available Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays and will be delivered to subscribers via USPS. Hearst owns the paper.
• Flint Group reports that it has secured an extension the maturity dates of its revolving credit and term loan facilities by approximately two years.
• Time Out is stopping its print editions in the U.S., The Wrap reports.
• The Seaside Signal (Oregon) is moving out of its current office building. Staff will work from home, the weekly said. EO Media Group owns the paper.
• Tribune Publishing is shuttering five of its newsrooms, at the New York Daily News; the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland; the Carroll County Times in Maryland
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