BUSINESS PUBLICATIONS

Business Publications to Report Separate Circulation Averages for Different Frequencies
Unanimous Consent – Effective for December 2010 Publisher’s Statements
Traditionally, ABC business publication reports have only shown one circulation average for each member. With the increased use of digital circulation, many publishers have added weekly digital products to their monthly print publications.

Beginning with December 2010 statements, the board voted to allow Canadian business publications to report products with different frequencies as separate circulation averages. For example, a publisher of a monthly magazine may want to add a digital-only weekly edition. The magazine has 80,000 combined monthly print and digital subscribers and another 20,000 print-only subscribers. In this example, the first issue of the month may be sent to all 100,000 print and digital subscribers. Any additional issues throughout the month would be served in a digital format and only sent to the 80,000 digital subscribers. Both frequencies will now be reported separately on ABC statements.

CONSUMER MAGAZINES

Board Modifies Public Notification Practices for Magazines That Do Not Meet Filing Deadlines
Unanimous Consent – Effective with December 2010 Publisher’s Statements
The board unanimously agreed to modify the public notification practices for Canadian consumer magazines that do not file their Publisher’s Statements by the publicized deadlines.

Beginning with the December 2010 reporting period, the following actions will be taken for delinquent filers:

• In FAS-FAX, a publisher that has not filed by the deadline will be noted as a “no file” in the report. A separate, full general membership notice will also identify any magazines that did not file by the published deadline.
• In supplemental FAS-FAX, a publisher that has not filed by the deadline will be included on a no-file list that is distributed to the membership with the release of the supplemental FAS-FAX report. A separate, full general membership notice will also identify any magazines that did not file by the published deadline.
• In the e-Data center, publishers that have not filed their statements by the end of the third month following the close of the reporting period (March 31/Sept. 30) will have a note in their online listing stating that the report has not been received by ABC and the previously released statement is now considered out-of-date.
• Finally, publishers that have not filed their statements by the subsequent board meeting will be included on the board’s agenda for notification of delinquent filing. If ABC has not received the Publisher’s Statements by the seventh month following the close of the reporting period (Jan./July), the board will be asked to consider terminating the membership of the magazines.

To accomplish these changes, the board modified Rule B 103.2 Time Limit for Filing Publisher’s Statements.

Analyzed Nonpaid Bulk Circulation Can Now Include Digital Copies Accessed Via an Unrestricted Website
Unanimous Consent – Effective July 26, 2010
The board agreed to allow analyzed nonpaid bulk circulation claims to include any replica digital edition copies accessed by a consumer via an unrestricted website.

FARM PUBLICATIONS

Multimedia Report Format Approved for Farm Publications
Unanimous Consent – Effective with December 2010 Publisher’s Statements
The board voted to allow ABC-member farm publications to use a multimedia report to display data for various media platforms, including print publications, websites, e-newsletters, digital subscriptions and more. The multimedia report format provides publishers with flexibility and customization while ensuring that advertisers receive the audited data needed to make informed buying decisions.

NEWSPAPERS

New Task Force Exploring Changes to ABC Rules and Reporting Requirements
For Information
In March 2010, the ABC Canada Board Committee agreed to create a strategic task force to study the evolution of Canadian newspapers and the rapidly growing channels available to advertisers, including changes in frequency and publishing plans, hybrid and non-traditional targeted unique editions, e-editions and delivery of content via mobile platforms and e-reader devices.

The goal of the task force is to provide market-appropriate newspaper auditing services that support the needs of buyers and publishers across all newspaper segments in Canada. The group is reviewing ways to make ABC reporting more useful for advertisers while creating simple, more intuitive rules with less costly audits for publishers. The task force is also working on ways to address the unique needs and requirements of newspapers with circulation of 50,000 or less.

ABC Board to Conduct Second Advisory Vote Regarding Newspaper Eligibility Requirements
For Information
At its March meeting, the ABC board of directors agreed to initiate a newspaper member advisory vote to potentially eliminate the requirement that a newspaper’s distribution must be paid, as defined in ABC’s bylaws, to be eligible for membership in ABC. The results of the nonbinding vote, from all of the ABC-member newspaper divisions, were 46 percent in favor of eliminating the paid circulation requirement and 54 percent against eliminating the requirement. Given the results, the ABC board agreed to leave the current requirements in place that newspapers must have at least 70 percent of their total circulation as paid.

The board also agreed to initiate a second advisory vote of newspaper members to evaluate member receptivity to calculating the 70 percent paid circulation eligibility based only on the member newspaper’s circulation, exclusive of any branded editions. The board further proposes that the total circulation of the member newspaper, including branded editions, must be predominantly paid or home delivered.

The new advisory vote will also seek member input on lowering the 70 percent paid threshold to 50 percent paid for weekly newspapers.

Additional details about the advisory vote will be distributed to newspaper member representatives in the next month. Newspapers are encouraged to contact ABC’s at (224) 366-6341 to ensure the contact information for their member representative is up-to-date.

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS

Two Additions to the ABC Canada Board Committee
For Information
Gordon Fisher, president of National Post, executive vice president, Eastern Canada, Postmedia Network, joined the ABC Canada Board Committee at its July meeting.

Jocelyn Poirier, president, TVA Publications Inc., has also joined the ABC Canada Board Committee and will attend his first meeting in November.

New U.S. and Canadian Advertiser Directors Appointed to ABC’s North American Board of Directors
For Information
Christopher P. Schembri, vice president, media services at AT&T was appointed to the ABC board of directors. Schembri represents U.S. advertisers.

Shelagh Stoneham, vice president, brand and marketing communications, Rogers Communications Inc., was also appointed to the ABC board of directors. Stoneham represents Canadian advertisers.

ABC Board Expanded to 38 Directors
For Information
The board agreed to expand the number of directors representing ABC members from 36 to 38 with one new directorship representing Canadian newspapers and the second representing North American advertisers or advertising agencies.

Board Votes to Maintain Current Audit Rates
For Information
The board of directors voted to maintain ABC’s current audit rates and other fees for the next year. ABC has not increased its rates or fees since January 2007.