August 2014 Digital Boxscores: Celebrity Sadness, Awards and the "Intellectual Bling" Effect
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October 6, 2014 Media Industry Newsletter Vol. 67 No. 38 New York, N.Y. www.minonline.com Steve Smith's Eye on Innovation--August 2014 Digital Boxscores: CELEBRITY SADNESS, AWARDS AND THE "INTELLECTUAL BLING" EFFECT. In the recent past, mobile use has smoothed traffic dips during the summer months, as seasonality impacts Web activity. Our traffic data on magazine brands shows a number of sites retreating as vacation weeks slow the flow. But people still flock online for major stories and to track big events. The death of Robin Williams was a key driver for a number of celebrity and enter- tainment sites. Wenner Media’s USMagazine.com (+7.52% PVs, +16.18% UVs) drew fans looking for information, but the MTV Video Music Awards, Emmys and ALS Ice Bucket Challenge also accounted for traffic bumps. Us tells min that Facebook has been an effective source for funneling traffic into its site from viral stories. (story continues on page 7, digital boxscores on pages 8 and 9) "PLAYBOY LATINO" COULD OPEN LA PUERTA TO AUTOMOTIVE. Edgardo Iorio is Playboy Enterprises Inc.'s newest partner with his Arbol Publishing set to launch the Spanish-language Playboy Latino in December. "Our readers will be affluent, bilingual men who are among the leaders in the 60-million Hispanic popula- tion that puts $1.4 trillion into the U.S. economy. Spanish is cultural, and our con- tent will be far different from that in Playboy's Latin American editions," he says. "Do Playboy readers in Mexico or in my native Argentina care about [Florida U.S. senator] Marco Rubio? No. Will Playboy Latino readers? Yes." (continued on page 10) THE IRONY IN "COSMOPOLITAN" BEING A ROLE MODEL FOR "SEVENTEEN." The September 29 announcement that Seventeen was under the intra-Hearst Magazines direction of Cosmopolitan publishing director Donna Kalajian Lagani and editor-in- chief Joanna Coles was portrayed as big-sister guidance for little sister, as Coles has moved Cosmo beyond it 49-year Sex & The Single Girl image to include fashion and career advice from Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg. The hunky Bach- elors and Fun, Fearless Males events have been mothballed in favor of Fun, Fearless Life galas in New York in November and in Miami in December. Conditions were much different in 1999 when then-HM president Cathie Black wanted to launch CosmoGirl! to capture a piece of the huge teen market that came with the first crop of Millennial children of Baby Boomers. The concern, as Lagani told min at the time, was that parents would not allow their daughters to buy CG because of Cosmo's reputation. The name prevailed, but CG's nine-year run as a "friend" to girls was far more conservative than the frank content seen in rivals Sassy and YM. All three magazines are long gone due to the economy and the infatuation with mobile and other devices. But HM-owned Seventeen continues, and the tie to Cosmo will be far greater than that of its former namesake. What has not changed since the late Helen Gur- ley Brown is Cosmo being among the world's most powerful women's brands. • JETER'S ADIEU, CLOONEY'S I DO, HUSNI'S ACT V AND STOCK WATCH.. Page 2 • STEVE SMITH'S NOT-SO-PHAB REVIEW OF THE iPHONE 6 PLUS......... Page 3 • LOCAL NEWS IS "ADVANCE"-ING... ............................... Page 5 • MONEY SHOT: SMARTPHPHONES REPLACE TABLETS ON PATH TO PURCHASE. Page 6 • THE NEW YORKER FESTIVAL IS TERRESTRIAL AND VIRTUAL........... Page 10 www.minonline.com © 2014 Access Intelligence, LLC. Federal copyright law prohibits unauthorized reproduction by any means and imposes fines of up to $100,000 for violations. PAGE 2 MIN 10/6/2014 COVERING DEREK JETER'S ADIEU AND GEORGE CLOONEY'S I DO. Enjoy this September 29 quip from lame-duck Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson: What a weekend! Derek Jeter and George Clooney both stopped playing the field. In fact, from an image perspective, the two events were superior than their "precedents." Jeter, in his final game as shortstop and captain of the New York Yankees on September 28, was showered with affection by Boston Red Sox fans. By contrast, Ted Williams 1960 finale in the same Fenway Park was surly. The scene was reported memorably 54 years ago by the late John Updike in The New Yorker's Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu. Clooney's September 27 marriage to lawyer Amal Alamuddin had all the pomp of the Ange- lina Jolie-Brad Pitt wedding five months ago. The difference was that Jolie and her fa- ther, actor Jon Voight, are estranged, while Clooney's parents Nina and Nick Clooney were front and center. Nick, the younger brother of the late Rosemary Clooney, delivered what People (October 13) called a "heartfelt speech" during the 30-minute ceremony. THIS WEEK WILL BE A SPECIAL ACT V EXPERIENCE FOR SAMIR HUSNI. His October 7-10 gathering at the University of Mississippi celebrates the 30th anniver- sary of the magazine journalism program that Husni started with Meredith Corp. Appropri- ately, Meredith National Media Co. Women's Lifestyle Group president Tom Witschi is a key- noter. Go to http://micactexperience.wordpress.com for more. --------------------------------------- STOCK WATCH (October 2, 2014, Wall Street close) COMPANY [SYMBOL] PRICE %/Change COMPANY [SYMBOL] PRICE %/Change 10/2 4 wks# 2014@ 10/2 4 wks# 2014@ APPLE INC. [AAPL] 99.90 1.81 1.81 REED ELSEVIER PLC (ADR) [RUK] 63.24 -3.42 5.31 CBS CORP. [CBS] 52.34 -11.93 -11.93 ROVI CORP. [ROVI] 19.79 -12.04 0.51 COMCAST CORP. [CMCSA] 52.84 -3.72 -3.72 R.R. DONNELLEY & SONS CO. (RRD) 16.21 -8.52 -20.07 WALT DISNEY CO. [DIS] 86.79 -3.72 -3.72 SCHOLASTIC INC. [SCHL] 31.95 -8.84 -6.06 FACEBOOK INC. [FB] 77.08 1.49 1.49 SCRIPPS, E.W. & CO. [SSP] 16.83 -14.96 -22.51 GANNETT CO. [GCI] 29.23 -12.25 -12.25 TIME INC. [TIME] 22.85 -2.77 -2.68 GOOGLE INC. [GOOG]* 570.08 -2.04 -2.04 TIME WARNER CABLE [TWC] 141.46 -4.02 4.40 GRAHAM HOLDINGS CO. [GHC] 700.23 -3.40 -3.40 TIME WARNER INC. [TWX] 73.20 -5.22 4.99 INTERPUBLIC GROUP OF COS. [IPG] 17.80 -9.28 -9.28 TRIBUNE PUBLISHING [TPUB] 19.94 5.06 -9.86 LEE ENTERPRISES [LEE] 3.54 -6.35 -6.35 20TH CENTURY FOX [FOXA] 33.41 -7.53 -5.00 MARTHA STEWART LIVING OMNIMEDIA [MSO] 3.73 -12.44 -12.44 TWITTER INC. [TWTR]; 51.85 3.20 -18.54 McCLATCHY CO. [MNI] 3.40 -20.75 -20.75 VIACOM INC. [VIA] 74.85 -7.80 -14.72 McGRAW-HILL FINANCIAL [MHFI] 83.25 -0.73 -0.73 XO GROUP (THE KNOT) [XOXO] 11.36 -5.73 -23.55 MEDIA GENERAL [MEG] 13.23 -16.21 -16.21 YAHOO! INC. [YHOO] 40.50 3.34 0.15 MEREDITH CORP. [MDP] 42.60 -10.95 -10.95 min MEDIA INDEX 2,528.13 -3.50 1.89 MICROSOFT CORP. [MSFT] 45.76 1.10 1.10 NEW YORK TIMES CO. [NYT] 13.08 5.91 5.91 NASDAQ COMPOSITE 4,430.19 -2.90 9.23 NEWS CORP. [NWSA] 15.81 -10.17 -10.17 DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE 16,801.05 -1.57 1.35 # = From September 8, 2014; @ = From December 31, 2013 Editor-in-Chief: Steven Cohn ([email protected]) 203/899-8437 Digital Media Editor: Steve Smith ([email protected]) 302/691-5331 Editorial Director: Bill Mickey ([email protected]) 203/899-8427 VP Content: Tony Silber; VP Publisher: Amy Jefferies ([email protected]); Director of Market Development: Laurie M. Hofmann ([email protected]); Marketing Director: Kate Schaeffer ([email protected]); Assistant Marketing Manager: Marly Zimmerman ([email protected]); Senior Editor: Caysey Welton ([email protected]); Production Manager: Sophie Chan-Wood ([email protected]); Graphic Designer: Yelena Shamis ([email protected]) Event Content Manager: Kelsey Lundstrom ([email protected]); Senior Account Executive: Tania Babiuk ([email protected]); Boxscores ([email protected]) SVP, Media Group: Diane Schwartz; Access Intelligence, LLC President & Chief Executive Officer: Don Pazour; Chief Operating Officer: Heather Farley; Subscriptions/Client Services: 888-707-5814; List Sales: Statlistics, 203-778-8700; Advertising: 203-899-8498; Reprints: Wright’s Media, 877-652-5295 ([email protected]); Editorial Offices: 10 Norden Place, Norwalk, CT 06855; 88 Pine Street, Suite 510, New York, NY 10005; Faxes: 203-854-6735, 212-621-4879; www.minonline.com Access Intelligence LLC, 4 Choke Cherry Road, 2nd Floor, Rockville, MD 20850; Ph: 301-354-2000 Published 2014 © by Access Intelligence LLC. Distributed via email and online. For email and postal address changes, allow 2 weeks notice. Send to: Client Services or call 888-707-5814. For advertising info contact 301/ 354-1629. Contents may not be reproduced in any form without written permission. Subscription Rate: $1049 MIN 10/6/2014 PAGE 3 Steve Smith's App Review: NOT SO PHAB: THE IPHONE 6 PLUS CONTENT EXPERIENCE NEEDS WORK. Apple’s entry into the jumbo phone category may be late, but it is sure to have an impact. iOS remains the baseline for mobile app and site design, regardless of Android’s superior penetration. The arrival of the iPhone 6 at a 4.7 inch screen and the iPhone 6 Plus at 5.5 inches marks a shift in our understanding of mobility. With this new line Apple acknowledges how smartphones are replacing desktops for a wider range of key functions. Now we have the screen to do so.