Media group Pearson has bought the US publishing group Simon & Schuster from Viacom for $4.6 billion (£2.8 billion).Pearson will then sell the reference and business part of the publisher to Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst Inc., a US investment group, for $1 billion. This will leave Pearson with the education divisions.Pearson: 0171 411 2000
It is reported in the 15th May edition of Press Gazette that Inside Sport has been suspended following the liquidation of publisher Brackenbury. The title launched last year (see Britain Gets Inside Sport) into a crowded market which had already seen the closure of Sky Sports Magazine.Phonecalls by Newsline to the magazine have not been… Continue reading Inside Sport Suspended
Newsquest, the largest regional newspaper publisher in England, has announced today that it has agreed to acquire Review Free Newspapers Limited for £6.07 million. The takeover is subject to approval by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.Review Free Newspapers had a turnover of £3.51m in the year to 31 December 1997 and is… Continue reading Newsquest Buys Heartbreak Newspaper Group
Emap Radio has appointed marketing directors for two of its major radio brands. Brendan Moffett has been appointed marketing director for the group’s middle youth brand Magic while Cath Murphy has been appointed marketing director for Emap’s FM stations and ‘Big City’ brand.According to Emap, these appointments are the first step in building the profile… Continue reading Emap Radio Appoints Marketing Directors
Total national newspaper circulation was down by 3.1% year on year for the ABC period November 1997-April 1998, from 28.3 million to 27.4 million.National Newspaper November-April Year on Year ABC Comparisons Title Nov 96 – Apr 97 Nov 97 – Apr 98 Actual Change % Change Daily Mail 2,126,637 2,268,533 141,896 6.7 Daily Star 745,422… Continue reading National Newspaper ABC Summary – April
The Polish public TV broadcasting company Televizja Polska (TP) is facing a cut in its advertising levels following the probable passage of legislation through the Polish parliament. The proposed legislation will cut advertising by the broadcaster from 15 per cent to 10 per cent of broadcast time; TP currently earns two-thirds of its income (equivalent… Continue reading POL: Ad restrictions likely
American citizens are now able to get free long-distance telephone calls; the only ‘catch’ is that they must listen to advertising during the call. The scheme, called FreeWay, has been launched in Pittsburgh and entails the phone-caller building up a bank of free telephone time according to the amount of advertising they have listened to;… Continue reading US: Free phone calls
The Internet Advertising Bureau reports that advertising spending on the Internet in the US rose to the equivalent of £214 million in the final three months of 1997, against £68.75 million for the same period in 1996. In the UK, Internet advertising expenditure is set to reach £60 million a year in 1999; in the… Continue reading US: Internet ad spend increasing
The New South Wales print media have been told by the NSW health officer that if they publish photos of racing cars showing any tobacco logo they will be fined up to $30,000. Photos of the recent Melbourne Grand Prix had fallen foul of the law, and the health officer has warned that further transgressions… Continue reading AUS: Photos censored
The EC’s discussion document for a draft white paper on commerce has been debated by the Committee on Distribution and Commerce. The document appears largely to ignore the impact or role of commercial communications.
