Captivating Connections.

newspapers win for coupons.

"Despite the rapid decline of the newspaper industry, thrifty consumers still turn to Sunday circulars as their primary source of coupons, according to a new study from research firm Borrell Associates.

Coupon use in general has gone up 36 percent in the past 12 months -- aided in large part by the recession and changing attitudes toward spending -- and Sunday circulars still account for 70 percent of all coupons clipped, according to the study.

During that time, the Internet was the source of only 6 percent of all coupons. They did, however, account for 20 percent of the total value, because online coupons are worth roughly twice the value of print coupons.

'That's because coupons [in newspapers] are mostly for grocery shopping, and that doesn't happen online,' said CEO Gordon Borrell. 'That will change over time as some of the grocery shoppers come online, but right now people are making a lot more of their major purchases online.'"

an itunes for the print world?

Interesting...

"A consortium of magazine publishers including Time Inc. and Condé Nast plan to jointly build an online newsstand for publications in multiple digital formats, according to people with knowledge of the plans.

The formation of a new company to run the online newsstand — sometimes characterized as an 'iTunes for magazines' — may be announced in early December. Time, Condé Nast, Hearst and Meredith all intend to be equity partners in the new company, although the deals have not yet been signed.

In the face of slumping print circulations for many magazines, the publishing houses are eager to exert some control over digital readership, said people at the companies, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about the plans. Some newspaper owners have also expressed interest in the joint venture.

In other media sectors, rivals have already formed joint ventures for the Web. Several television networks are stakeholders in Hulu, an online television and film Web site. Some music labels are partners in Vevo, a music video site powered by YouTube that will make its debut next month."

WSJ vs USA Today.

"It's official: The Wall Street Journal has overtaken USA Today for the title of biggest paper in the U.S.

The Wall Street Journal told Advertising Age today that its new report with the Audit Bureau of Circulations will show average paid circulation of 2.02 million copies over the six months ending in September, up from 2.01 million in the period a year earlier.

That will handily topple the longtime circulation champion USA Today, which told Editor & Publisher last week that it's reporting average paid circulation of 1.88 million, down from nearly 2.3 million as a cover-price hike and declining hotel occupancy took their toll."

WSJ launches a hub of its own.

"The Wall Street Journal on Thursday (Sept. 17) will launch The News Hub, a live video series, which will be streamed twice every weekday at 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. across the company’s digital network, including WSJ.com, Barrons.com, Marketwatch.com, Dow Jones Newswires and AllThingsD.com.

The new series will feature Dow Jones journalists discussing the business news of the day in eight-minute segments. The morning edition of The News Hub will be hosted by Journal economic reporter Kelly Evans and will focus on that day’s key economic news to watch for. Meanwhile, the afternoon edition—hosted by Dow Jones Newswires columnist Simon Constable and WSJ.com staffer Kelsey Hubbard—will dissect that days market happenings.

Officials said that The News Hub will frequently feature guest interviews, both with other Dow Jones reporters as well as important newsmakers from the business world. Episodes of the show will also be available for streaming on demand."

wsj to charge mobile readers.

"The Wall Street Journal soon will begin charging people to read the paper on mobile devices such as their BlackBerrys, the paper's owner Rupert Murdoch said on Tuesday.

The move, which News Corp CEO Murdoch announced at a Goldman Sachs conference in New York, is an attempt to find a new way for the business daily to make more money from an increasingly popular way for people to access their news.

The Journal will start charging for mobile access 'in one to two months,' Murdoch said.

Under the plan, people who do not subscribe to the Journal would pay $2 a week for mobile access, and subscribers would pay $1 per week. Subscribers to both the print and online version of the paper will get mobile for free."

Do you think people are going to pay, or just opt to look elsewhere for their news? I don't think I'm ready to pay to access something on my mobile device, knowing how many options there are out there (for free). That and the fact I love my New York Times app!

everyone loves a wine club.

"Proving that three makes a trend, USA Today is launching a Wine Club -- just like The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

Operated by My Wines Direct, the club offers members six bottles of wine quarterly, for $69.99 (plus $11.99 for shipping). Each wine is accompanied by tasting notes, facts about the region and varietal and a recipe to create a meal pairing.

USA Today's "unique twist" on the concept, according to the paper: Reader-tasting panels will help determine the selection.

Members also will receive a 10% discount on purchases in the Wine Store."

jpmorgan chase sudden major media player.

Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, considered by many to be the country's most influential and successful bank executive, can add another title to his resume: Accidental media mogul.

That's right. The banker, thanks to the sagging economy, which has cratered several media giants leaving the lender in the driver's seat, now holds sway over Readers Digest, Source Interlink Media and American Media Inc. -- which have combined revenues of about $5.04 billion.

That's more than Time Inc., generally considered the nation's No. 1 magazine publisher with its stable-leading Sports Illustrated and People titles helping it ring up $4.6 billion in revenue last year, and the combined revenue of Hearst, publisher of Esquire, and Condé Nast, the parent of Vogue.

no more movie times in the paper?

"Filmgoers who have long turned to the local newspaper to find theaters and show times for movies may have to start looking elsewhere as theater chains rethink the value of paper and ink in a digital age.

The top two U.S. chains, Regal Entertainment Group and AMC Entertainment Inc., have begun in recent months to reduce or eliminate the small-type listings showing the start times for movies at individual theaters. Theaters typically must pay newspapers to print that information.

Looking to cut costs, the theater chains are instead directing consumers to their Internet sites or third-party sites, like Fandango, Moviefone or Flixster, which offer those listings for free and make money from the fees they charge for selling advance tickets to movies. Many of those sites also feature film reviews and movie trailers.

The effort may be gaining some traction, as U.S. Internet traffic to AMC's Web site rose 21 percent in July compared with a year ago, according to comScore Inc., while visits to Regal's Web site were up 18 percent."

pay to play.

This past weekend, the NYTimes took a deeper look into The Financial Times and their emering pay to play model...

"The newspaper started charging readers for access to its Web site in 2002. Now, with few signs that advertising is rebounding from a deep slump, and with other publishers moving to imitate FT.com by erecting so-called pay walls, Mr. Ridding [the newspaper’s chief executive] feels vindicated.

'It was pretty lonely out there for a while in paid land,' he said last week. 'But it has become pretty clear that advertising alone is not going to sustain online business models. Quality journalism has to be paid for.'

Now The Financial Times is adding to its paid-content strategy with a plan to accept micropayments for individual articles, as an alternative to a subscription."

more dailies go online.

"Journalism Online, the company that plans to help publishers monetize content, has signed 176 dailies as affiliate partners. In total, more than 500 newspapers, magazines and other sites have agreed to join Journalism Online representing more than 90 million monthly unique users.

Publishing affiliates will be able to select their own pay models. Journalism Online is offering a variety of ways to do that including technology that allows for micropayments, sampling, the ability to turn off the system at will, and the ability to convert users from micropayments to a subscription model.

'By creating a platform of flexible hybrid models for paid content that maximizes online advertising revenue while creating a new revenue stream from readers, Journalism Online has helped shift the debate over charging for online new from 'if' to 'when and how,'' Steven Brill, co-founder of Journalism Online, said in a statement."