ABC Broadens Standards for Newspaper Membership, Finalizes U.S. Newspaper Rule Changes

Elects Officers and Directors

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill., Nov. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- At its meeting last week in Toronto, the board of the Audit Bureau of Circulations agreed to broaden its standards for newspaper membership. If, as expected, the action receives final approval in March, weekly newspapers in the U.S. and Canada would need to have at least half of their distribution qualify as paid to be members of ABC, down from the current minimum requirement of 70 percent. For daily newspapers the minimum paid circulation requirement remains at 70 percent, but the board agreed that this calculation exclude the new U.S. category of branded editions.

The board's actions follow a September advisory vote in which 96 percent of ABC newspapers indicated they favored these steps.

"Newspapers overwhelmingly support these moves because they better reflect the realities of today's multiplatform environment, where publishers are providing rich content across an array of print and digital products," noted Merle Davidson, director of media services at J.C. Penney Co. and chairman of the ABC board. "As a national advertiser, I welcome these diverse publishing channels and audiences, and I want to ensure that they are audited to the high standards for which ABC is known."

The ABC board also gave final approval to U.S. newspaper rules that govern branded editions and single-price subscriptions where content is available across multiple platforms and devices, such as media tablets and mobile apps.

The board modified some of its initial July rulings, including a new requirement that newspaper publishers report both total circulation and net unduplicated subscribers. The board also agreed to move the effective date of some changes to Oct. 1, 2011, to allow U.S. publishers time to prepare for the modified changes. For more details visit ABC's website.

Consumer Magazines

The ABC board received an update from a consumer magazine task force that is exploring future publishing platforms and how to best incorporate those distribution methods on ABC reports. At its most recent meeting, the task force established several guiding principles:

• ABC reporting and verification of a publication's distribution—print and digital—is important.
• Reporting of distribution and payment for each digital platform will be a key metric as digital circulation continues to grow.
• ABC data should include both gross distribution and net unduplicated subscribers for all platforms.
• Website traffic metrics for digital delivery are valuable and should be included on ABC reports.
• Publisher's Statements should include nonreplica digital apps and other print editions of the magazine.

"It's vital that ABC continues to adapt to meet the needs of its constituents," said David Leckey, executive vice president of consumer marketing at American Media Inc. and chairman of the ABC board's magazine committee. "The goal of this effort is to help publishers present advertisers with a more comprehensive picture of a magazine's publishing channels—across print and digital platforms—while providing the transparency and data required by media planners and buyers."

The task force is expected to provide initial recommendations to the ABC board in March.

Directors and Officers Elected

At its annual business meeting, ABC members re-elected 15 directors to serve on the board and elected the following nine new directors:

• Ted Boyd, CEO of 58Ninety Inc.
• Linda Brennan, vice president of operations, McGraw-Hill Construction
• Phillip Crawley, publisher and CEO of The Globe and Mail
• Christopher Daly, vice president of media-print/outdoor, Macy's Inc.
• Gordon Fisher, president of the National Post, executive vice president, eastern Canada, Postmedia Network Inc.
• Scott Kruse, managing director, director of print, GroupM
• John McCarthy, senior vice president, Rodale circulation and online operations, Rodale Inc.
• David Murphy, CEO of Novus Media Inc.
• David K. Ronk II, vice president of retail marketing at Chase

ABC members also elected the following slate of board officers to serve one-year terms:

• Chairman – Merle Davidson, director of media services, J.C. Penney Co. Inc.
• Vice-Chairs – Sunni Boot, CEO of ZenithOptimedia Canada; David W. Leckey, executive vice president of consumer marketing at American Media Inc.; Christina Meringolo, director of global media services and digital marketing at Merck Consumer Care; and David Walker, CEO of NSA Media and Geomentum.
• Secretary – Rob Fisher, senior vice president, American City Business Journals
• Treasurer – Brian Segal, president and CEO, Rogers Publishing

The ABC board of directors meeting was held November 10-12 in Toronto. For a complete summary of board actions, visit ABC's Virtual Pressroom. For a recap of the ABC annual conference, including keynotes, panel sessions, photos, and video clips, please visit the conference web page.

ABC is a forum of North America's leading magazine and newspaper publishers, advertisers and advertising agencies. The organization provides credible, verified information essential to the media buying and selling process. ABC maintains the world's foremost online database of audited circulation information and a growing array of readership, audience and website usage data. ABC's digital arm, ABC Interactive, is one of the world's leading independent auditors of websites and digital ad-based technology. To learn more, visit http://www.accessabc.com.

SOURCE Audit Bureau of Circulations