Digital publishing news for October 3, 2013
Audience Development is reporting that publishers have partnered with AOL on a new subscription service. Michael Rondon writes, “The service, Gathr, packages subscriptions to a variety of products and services at a discount. Offerings—there are currently 24 separate options—range from Pandora to Redbox to Norton AntiVirus software, and include annual subscriptions to seven magazines like National Geographic, Maxim and Cosmo (Hearst is the biggest contributor right now with four titles offered). Bundles include four items and run $15 to $30 a month.The magazine titles are heavily discounted, making it an attractive offer for consumers, but a marginally-profitable one for publishers initially.” Subscribers are required to create separate accounts on the services they subscribe to. That sounds like a win for publishers.
BtoB to Be Folded Into Ad Age
minOnline is reporting that BtoB Magazine will be absorbed into Advertising Age. Steve Cohn writes “The major effect will be the folding of BtoB‘s monthly print edition, with news and features becoming part of the weekly Ad Age. BtoB‘s digital components will be posted under AdAge.com.” This transition will happen on January 1, 2014.
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MySpace Gains Ground
You read that right. Online Media Daily has a new report on the audience boost the social network has seen since its relaunch in June. Gavin O’Malley writes, “Since its latest relaunch in June, the social network saw its audience grow from 24 million to 31 million in its first two weeks out of beta. Having since grown its audience to about 36 million users, the musically-focused platform also says that 70% of its community is now 35 or younger.” MySpace is dedicated to partnering with publishers to help fuel their new content strategy.
Jeff Bezos Officially The Owner Of The Post
It’s a done deal. minOnline is reporting that Jeff Bezos has officially become the owner of The Washington Post. Steve Cohn writes, “Bezos will be running the newspaper independently from Amazon, and although he has hinted in Washington Post press coverage that he would provide a “financial cushion” to allow executives to develop a successful business model, there have been no specifics.” The transfer of the company became official on October 1. Cohn adds, “Bezos has said that he plans no layoffs among the paper’s 2,000 employees.”
United Airlines’ Hemispheres Paying Top Dollar
FishbowlNY is reporting that United Airlines’ Hemispheres is paying $1 per word for “compelling narratives.” Sheesh, it pays to write for the friendly skies.
Reuters Cuts Newsroom Staff
The Wall St. Journal is reporting that Reuters has cut 5% of its newsroom staff. “Thomson Reuters Inc. plans to cut as much as 5% of its newsroom employees, Reuters’s editor-in-chief Stephen Adler told staff Wednesday, according to people familiar with the situation. Thomson Reuters employs approximately 2,800 journalists globally, so the cuts translate to about 140 people. The cuts will begin in the next month, the people said.”
