NatGeo’s Media Partnership, Media General’s Acquisition of Meredith, Apple Event, Publishers’ Plans for the Apple News App, Stick It: How to Paste Like a Pro, Women in Media, Media Metrics, TFP’s Infographic Pick of the Week, DPS 2015 Tip: Adobe Digital Publishing Solution Portal
Welcome to Technology for Publishing’s roundup of news and tips for media industry pros! This week, we’re sharing stories about National Geographic’s $725 million media deal with 21st Century Fox, Media General’s acquisition of Meredith for $2.4 billion, announcements at the Apple event in San Francisco, how publishers plan to approach the upcoming Apple News app, and more.
- A top story this week was the announcement that National Geographic and 21st Century Fox expanded their media partnership in a $725 million deal that will make NatGeo’s magazine, cable channels, and other media outlets for-profit businesses. According to its website and other reports, the partnership will enable the National Geographic Society itself to continue operating as a nonprofit and nearly double its current endowment to $1 billion, providing an influx of resources to expand its science, exploration, and education activities. In the announcement, Gary E. Knell (pictured), who will remain CEO of the National Geographic Society, said, “We will now have the scale and reach to fulfill our mission long into the future. The Society’s work will be the engine that feeds our content creation efforts, enabling us to share that work with even larger audiences and achieve more impact. It’s a virtuous cycle.” Heading the new media venture will be Declan Moore, who was named National Geographic’s chief media officer.
- Another big announcement was Meredith Corp.’s acquisition by competitor Media General for $2.4 billion, a deal The New York Times reported is focused on the strength of Meredith’s television stations rather than its magazine business, which includes well-known titles like Better Homes and Garden and Family Circle. It said the merged company—to be called Meredith Media General and headed by current Meredith CEO Stephen Lacy—will reach about 30% of U.S. households with 88 television stations in 54 markets, making it one of the largest owners of broadcast network affiliates in the country. Bloomberg provided additional details on what each company stands to gain by the acquisition, though what it means for Meredith’s print properties remains to be seen. Pointing to a research note on the deal, the Times reported, “The fate of Meredith’s print publications may ultimately lie in a sale or a spinoff.”
- And there was the Apple event in San Francisco on Wednesday, at which the company showcased new iPhones, a giant iPad, and an upgraded Apple TV. While sites like TechCrunch provided all-day coverage of the announcements—many of which were expected—the Times reported a few things that stood out. For one, the company broke its own “taboo” with the introduction of a stylus, called the Apple Pencil, a feature Steve Jobs himself once called “passé.” And it also rolled out an optional keypad that attaches to the newest iPad versions, making the tablet similar to the competing Microsoft Surface—something that may not sit well with diehard Apple enthusiasts, the report pointed out. New iPhone features, however, were the center of attention, as the smartphone continues to be the company’s bread and butter, bringing in 56% of its profits, according to the Times.
- The rollout of iOS 9 is coming up, too, and with that the new Apple News app, which has both traditional and digital-only publishers “on board en masse,” according to a Digiday article highlighting how four publishers plan to use the app. Beta tester CNN, for one, plans to publish all of its site content to the app and use Apple publishing tools like parallax scrolling and layouts integrating video to see how its audience responds to the content. “I can’t think of another platform where we’ve done this much content natively in that app,” said CNN’s chief product officer, Alex Wellen. “The only way you’ll understand whether you’re effectively connecting with an audience is to do it at scale.” Similar to CNN’s approach, Vox Media, Time Inc., and Wired will publish most of their content to the app as well. The idea for all is to gauge initial response and then develop a strategy to monetize their content—a big selling point of the app.
On the Technology for Publishing Blog
- In her latest article, Mary Lester shares some handy InDesign “paste” commands, including how to format new text “the lazy way” and her all-time favorite, “paste in place.”
- TFP’s latest Women in Media roundup looks at the work ahead for BuzzFeed’s UK general manager, the role of an international news illustrator, how Salon’s chief is focusing on tech to build the business, an interview with the new EIC of Modern Farmer, and more.
- In our most recent Media Metrics roundup, we cover the boom in digital media consumption, magazines taking the leading in the mobile race, and the short half life of mobile apps, among other topics.
- Our Infographic Pick of the Week looks at the many benefits of finding happiness at work and the key factors that lead to the greatest satisfaction.
- This week’s DPS 2015 Tip from Monica Murphy provides an overview of the Adobe Digital Publishing Solution Portal, a cloud-based service that provides all the tools you need to create and manage content and settings in your DPS 2015 apps.
Image: Mark Thiessen, National Geographic
Check out our blog for highlights of interesting and noteworthy stories from the publishing world every Friday, and sign up for TFP’s This Week in Publishing newsletter. Think we missed something great? Let us know! Leave a comment below or drop us a note.
Posted by: Monica Sambataro
