Summary:
Thomson Corp.: Publishing, Travel Units Help Boost Earnings 14%
Stephen King And Simon & Schuster In Book Deal
Knight-Ridder Sells Newspaper
Ziff-Davis And Warner Publisher Services Announce Revolutionary Magazine Distribution Agreement
Golden Books Family Entertainment
Avon Products, Inc. And Hachette Filipacchi
Idg Books Worldwide To Buy Mis: And M&T Computer Presses From Henry Holt
Oracle 8 Selected As Database To Fuel The Unisys Hermes Publishing System
Amazon.Com And @Home Network Sign Multi-Year Agreement To Sell Books Over The @Home Service
Oxford University Press And Imark Announce Electronic Publishing Agreement
CMP Media Expands Internet Management Team With The Addition Of Two New Positions
Princeton Media Group Inc. Announces New Chief Financial Officer
RECENT NEWS:
THOMSON CORP.: PUBLISHING, TRAVEL UNITS HELP BOOST EARNINGS 14%
Thomson Corp., buoyed by higher earnings from its publishing and travel operations, reported a 14% increase in third-quarter earnings and boosted its quarterly dividend by 6.9%. Thomson, Toronto, reported third-quarter earnings of US$342 million, or 56 cents a share, compared with $301 million, or 50 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue was $2.74 billion, up 10% from $2.49 billion a year earlier. Thomson, which has interests in newspapers, publishing, databases and travel services, increased its quarterly dividend to 15.5 U.S. cents a share from 14.5 cents a share. Thomson rose 1.50 Canadian dollars (US$1.07) to C$35.50 in Toronto Stock Exchange trading.
WSJviaNewsEDGE Copyright (c) 1997 Dow Jones and Company, Inc. Received via NewsEDGE from Desktop Data, Inc.: 11/07/97 02:15:18
STEPHEN KING AND SIMON & SCHUSTER IN BOOK DEAL
Best-selling author Stephen King and Simon & Schuster struck a tentative deal Thursday to publish his novel ``Bag of Bones'' in an unconventional arrangement that will give the horror writer a share of nearly 50 percent of the profits. The negotiations came after King's highly unusual public search for a new company to replace Viking, his longtime publisher. His original $17 million asking price prompted much complaining in the publishing industry that such a conventional deal was a money-losing proposition. But Thursday, Simon & Schuster, a unit of Viacom Inc., announced a three-book ``co-publishing venture'' with King that will give him a share of the profits and of the risks and responsibilities for pricing, marketing and packaging his books. King, who was traveling to New York for a meeting with Simon & Schuster on the agreement, could not be reached for comment. According to a person close to the negotiations, King will share in almost 50 percent of the profits and will receive an advance that is small by his standards - almost $2 million a book. He will not receive bonuses or royalties. The three books are ``Bag of Bones,'' a collection of short stories and a work on the craft of writing.
NYTviaNewsEDGE Copyright (c) 1997 The New York Times Co.
KNIGHT-RIDDER SELLS NEWSPAPER
MIAMI – Knight-Ridder Inc. said it sold the Long Beach Press-Telegram to Garden State Newspapers Inc. for an undisclosed price. The sale completes Knight-Ridder's previously announced plan to sell five newspapers. Garden State Newspapers is a unit of Affiliated Newspapers Inc., Denver.
WSJviaNewsEDGE Copyright (c) 1997 Dow Jones and Company, Inc. Received via NewsEDGE from Desktop Data, Inc.: 11/10/97 02:08:13
ZIFF-DAVIS AND WARNER PUBLISHER SERVICES ANNOUNCE REVOLUTIONARY MAGAZINE DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
Entire Stable of Ziff-Davis Magazines to Receive Increased Distribution and Exposure at the Retail Level
NEW YORK, Nov. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Ziff-Davis, a SOFTBANK Company, and Warner Publisher Services (WPS), a TimeWarner Company, announced today an agreement whereby the entire 13-title line of Ziff-Davis paid-circulation magazines in the U.S. will be distributed nationally by WPS. In announcing the new agreement, Claude Sheer, President, ZD Publishing, and Dan Rubin, President of WPS, emphasized the unique benefits of this new publishing partnership. Rubin said, "We're combining the strengths of three unique industry leaders: Ziff-Davis, the world's leading publisher of computer and video game magazines; the vast distribution capabilities of WPS; plus retail-level merchandising and marketing support from Time Distribution Services. We believe it's a fortuitous combination of resources that will help raise Ziff- Davis' already strong, newsstand sales to new heights." In discussing the agreement, James Gerth, ZD Single Copy Sales and Marketing Director, explained: "This new arrangement will allow us to more efficiently serve both the wholesaler and retailer communities. Given the big changes we've seen recently in the newsstand environment, we're especially pleased, and optimistic, now that this unique agreement is in place." Sheer added, "While Ziff-Davis has seen tremendous growth in its Internet business, growth for all ZD print products remains strong, including those for our flagship, PC Magazine, as well as for Computer Shopper, PC Computing, and Electronic Gaming Monthly." Sheer continued, "Magazines are a vital part of our business, and newsstand sales are integral to our publishing plans. We believe this new agreement will carry us to even greater growth in this important area. That's good news for us, and also for our readers, advertisers, and the wholesalers and retailers who handle our publications."
SOURCE Ziff Davis
Business Brief -- GOLDEN BOOKS FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT: Loss Narrows Amid Decline In Costs From Restructuring
Golden Books Family Entertainment Inc. reported that its third-quarter net loss narrowed, in part because of a decrease in costs related to a continuing restructuring program. The New York company posted a net loss of $17.9 million, or 76 cents a share, compared with a loss of $96.8 million, or $4.29 a share, a year earlier. Results for the latest quarter include a restructuring charge of $3.3 million, or 12 cents a share. Results for the year-earlier period include charges of $80.1 million, or $3.01 a share, largely for restructuring. Revenue decreased 21% to $53.3 million from $67.5 million. The company's main operations include children's publishing and entertainment products for children and families.
WSJviaNewsEDGE Copyright (c) 1997 Dow Jones and Company, Inc. Received via NewsEDGE from Desktop Data, Inc.: 11/12/97 02:15:53
AVON PRODUCTS, INC. AND HACHETTE FILIPACCHI JOIN TO LAUNCH NEW MAGAZINE DISTRIBUTION THROUGH AVON REPRESENTATIVES AND NEWSSTAND
NEW YORK, Nov. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE: AVP) and Hachette Filipacchi Magazines today announced that they will launch a new magazine for women. The two companies -- global leaders in their respective fields -- will together publish Athena: Common Sense, Uncommon Style, designed to provide insightful information about beauty, well-being, and lifestyle for women. "Athena represents a new dimension in publishing," explains David Pecker, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hachette Filipacchi Magazines. "The magazine will deliver the spirit of beauty and high fashion along with accessible information and service. We are thrilled to be in this unique joint publishing venture with Avon."
Debuting in the U.S. with the May/June launch issue in April 1998, Athena is set for a bimonthly schedule. The publication will be initially distributed through the 440,000 U.S. Avon Sales Representatives, as well as newsstands. Cover price will be $3.50, with special pricing for Avon Representatives and their customers. Future global opportunities will be explored to bring Athena to other markets around the world, tapping the powerful distribution network of more than 2 million Avon Sales Representatives worldwide. In both domestic and global markets, Avon's key objective for Athena is to strengthen the company's image and role as a beauty authority. Avon will be the exclusive beauty advertiser in Athena, but the publication will be open to all advertisers in non-competitive categories, such as consumer packaged goods, travel, and automotive, who wish to reach the Athena reader.
Hachette Filipacchi Magazines currently publishes 29 consumer titles reaching over 47 million readers, including American Photo, Audio, Best Selling Home Plans, Boating, Car and Driver, Car Stereo Review, Cycle World, ELLE, ELLE Decor, Family Life, Flying, George, HOME, Metropolitan Home, Popular Photography, Premiers, Road & Track, Showboats International, Stereo review, TopModel, Travel Holiday, Video, Woman's Day, and Eating Well, as well as a number of quarterlies and special publications. HFM is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hachette Filipacchi Medias, the world's largest magazine publisher, with diverse holdings in printing, newspaper, film production, and outdoor advertising.
IDG BOOKS WORLDWIDE TO BUY MIS: AND M&T COMPUTER PRESSES FROM HENRY HOLT
FOSTER CITY, Calif., Nov. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. has signed a letter of intent to purchase MIS: Press and M&T Books from Henry Holt Publishers in New York for an undisclosed sum. The deal takes Holt out of trade computer book publishing and reinforces IDG Books Worldwide's leadership in technology publishing. IDG Books Worldwide, Inc., founded in 1990, is the number two computer book publisher with total FY1997 gross revenues in excess of $150 million. Final terms of the agreement are expected by the end of this month.
IDG Books Worldwide President and Publisher Steven Berkowitz characterized the acquisition as a strategic move in an industry that is seeing more consolidation. "MIS: Press and M&T Books produce well-written books and series that are in keeping with our commitment to publishing high quality editorial content. Our strengths in building and marketing brands will help us to expand our market share in the tightening book publishing arena."
IDG Books Worldwide, best known for its 40 million selling ... For Dummies(R) series, has made branding a phenomenon in book publishing. The company has created highly identifiable, successful brands for users ranging from beginners using the ...Simplified (R) 4-color illustrated books to high- end professionals using the certification series for Novell and Microsoft engineers and system administrators. IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading IT media, research and exposition company. IDG publishes more than 285 computer magazines and newspapers and 500 book titles and offers the largest network of technology specific sites around the world, located at http://www.idg.net, which comprises more than 170 targeted Web sites in 45 countries. IDG is also a leading producer of 110 computer-related expositions worldwide, and provides IT market analysis through 49 offices in 41 countries worldwide. Company information is available at http://www.idg.com. Information about IDG Books is available at http://www.idgbooks.com. SOURCE IDG Books Worldwide, Inc.
ORACLE 8 SELECTED AS DATABASE TO FUEL THE UNISYS HERMES PUBLISHING SYSTEM
REDWOOD SHORES, Calif., Nov. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Oracle Corp. (Nasdaq: ORCL) and Unisys (NYSE: UIS), a leading newspaper-system supplier, today announced they will deliver an integrated system, based on Sun Microsystem's Solaris platform, that answers the increasingly complex information technology needs of the publishing industry. Unisys has chosen Oracle8(TM) to power the Unix-Based version of Hermes, its global, integrated publishing system. Hermes will meet user requirements for scalability, reliability and tight-system integration in order to redefine workflow, reduce costs and help in the migration to electronic publishing. This combination will enable publishers to streamline their business from editorial, production and archiving processes to management of all news information electronically to support for hundreds of concurrent users.
"The core competencies of Oracle8 -- the ability to handle more data, support more users, deliver results faster and at a lower price - directly address the needs being expressed in the publishing industry today," said Polly Sumner, senior vice president of Communications Industry, Oracle Corp. "Unisys' Hermes system with Oracle8 as the database backbone provides publishers with the ability to globally manage and deliver information for both traditional and electronic publishing mediums."
"For publishing groups that are looking to reengineer their publishing systems and to reengineer their productions processes, the Unisys Publishing Solutions offer global, scaleable, integrated applications," said Franco Giglio, director of Publishing Center of Excellence Systems, Unisys. "Oracle8 provides the database engine needed to support the scalability and reliability requirements of our customers." The Hermes publishing system, a major component of the Unisys Publishing Solutions, has been expressly designed for metropolitan newspapers which face large organizational issues and complex production processes in highly mission-critical environments. Hermes is applicable for both text-driven and layout-driven publications, as it can support several editorial organizations' needs for design layout, text and headline editing, image processing, ad display creation, page planning, production tracking and full-page output.
ONLINE/INTERNET NEWS:
AMAZON.COM AND @HOME NETWORK SIGN MULTI-YEAR AGREEMENT TO SELL BOOKS OVER THE @HOME SERVICE
SEATTLE, and REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Nov. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Amazon.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), the leading online book retailer, and @Home Network (Nasdaq: ATHM), the leader in high-speed Internet services via the cable infrastructure, today announced a multi-year agreement whereby Amazon.com (www.amazon.com) will be the premier bookseller throughout the @Home service. @Home users will have high-speed, direct access to browse and purchase books from Amazon.com's catalog of more than 2.5 million books. These services are expected to be integrated into @Home's service by the end of the year. This agreement marks the first time Amazon.com has formed a strategic alliance with a cable Internet service provider.
Based in Redwood City, California, @Home Network (http://www.home.net) distributes high-speed interactive services to residences and businesses using its own network architecture and a variety of transport options including the cable industry's hybrid-fiber coaxial infrastructure. The cable connection provides users significant increases in speed over conventional Internet services. Leveraging the "always on" attributes of cable, @Home allows for unique multimedia applications that go beyond current Web experiences. Since its founding in May 1995, @Home Network has reached affiliate agreements with eight leading cable companies in North America, including Tele-Communications Inc., Cablevision Systems Corp., Comcast Corporation , Cox Communications, InterMedia Partners, Marcus Cable, Rogers Cablesystems Limited, and Shaw Communications
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS AND IMARK ANNOUNCE ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING AGREEMENT
RESTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 6, 1997--Imark Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: MAXX) a leading provider of electronic commerce solutions to the information industry, announces an agreement with Oxford University Press USA (OUP) to develop an e-commerce version of "The Computational Intelligence Library" to be available commercially in 1998. Through this collaboration, OUP will employ Imark's award winning NET-MAX(TM) Internet billing system, which enables information providers to outsource the complete development and maintenance of all electronic commerce functions. Imark's NET-MAX metering and billing system is the winner of the 1997 Information Industry Association Award for the Best Enabling Technology of the Year.
The Computational Intelligence Library, a joint publication of OUP and the Institute of Physics Publishing, is a comprehensive reference tool for computer scientists, engineers, psychologists, mathematicians, and physicists, providing a continuously updated overview of the dynamic field of Computational Intelligence. The Computational Library is positioned as an all-encompassing reference that collates research findings from various sources into one authoritative work. Imark will assist OUP in optimizing the online version of the library, designing an online customer registration system with tracking and reporting of customer usage, and advising on possible future enhancements to the pricing model. "We are very pleased to enter into this exciting new relationship with Imark Technologies. What Imark offers Oxford University Press is the ability to bring a niche product to market quickly and cost-effectively with an award winning e-commerce system to back it up" said Royalynn O'Connor, Online product director at Oxford University Press-USA.
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE:
CMP MEDIA EXPANDS INTERNET MANAGEMENT TEAM WITH THE ADDITION OF TWO NEW POSITIONS
MANHASSET, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 11, 1997-- CMP Media's (Nasdaq: CMPX) rapidly-growing CMPnet, the technology network at http://www.CMPnet.com, has created two new management positions and concurrently named a new Associate Publisher for sales and a new Director of Marketing. Chris Tice, most recently CMPnet's Associate Publisher, Sales and Marketing, has assumed the new position of Associate Publisher, Business Development and will retain responsibility for marketing and research. Meryl Otis, previously Associate Publisher for NetGuide Magazine, has been named Associate Publisher, Sales for CMPnet. Aimee Levine joins CMPnet from Time Warner as Director of Marketing. Helen Flaum, formerly a Director of Information Technology in CMP's corporate IT department, has moved over to the Internet Media Group as Director of Operations for the group, which produces CMPnet. In announcing the staffing changes, Rebecca S. Barna, Vice President/Group Publisher of the Internet Media Group, said: "These management moves reflect our commitment to bring users the best information and advertisers the most targeted and cost-effective buy in technology online."
PRINCETON MEDIA GROUP INC. ANNOUNCES NEW CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
PALM BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 10, 1997--Princeton Media Group Inc. (Nasdaq:PMGIF) announced Monday that Hugo Barreca has been named the new chief financial officer for the company. Robert F. Kendall, formerly CFO, has become senior vice president of Finance. Barreca, who joined the company in September 1997, brings over 20 years of experience in the publishing industry, including senior positions with Time Inc., The New York Times Magazine Group and Gruner+Jahr USA Publishing. His responsibilities have included strategic business planning, financial planning and management, contract negotiations and purchasing, and computer systems development, including inventory database systems, financial management systems, logistic models and telecommunications systems. Barreca received an M.B.A. from New York University and a J.D. from Fordham School of Law, as well as other academic degrees and professional honors. Barreca will be responsible for the company's overall financial planning and management. He will also direct the company-wide consolidation of current operations and implement the company's expansion program through continued acquisitions of related business operations in publishing, advertising, websites and other related media.
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