“The single hardest thing to do in business is to make a deal, whether you’re buying or selling.” Former SouthComm, Inc. COO Blair Johnson knew the magnitude of the task before him when, in November 2017, the company’s equity backer Solidus ousted CEO Chris Ferrell and indicated its desire to exit the publishing business within eight months. “At that time, Solidus had decided they wanted to liquidate their position and get out of SouthComm,” Johnson tells Folio:. “[Managing partner] Vic Gatto and the board made a decision that we needed to do it, and do it quickly, and that Chris was probably not the right person to do it. He likes to buy and build, and it’s a different strategy when you have to liquidate.” And so Solidus handed the company reins to Johnson—who took over as CEO—and CFO Bob Mahoney, and the pair immediately began the process of selling off a company that comprised alt-weeklies serving five different cities, a robust b2b media business, and hundreds of employees, among other assets. In a b2b-media space characterized by frequent mergers and acquisitions, the circumstances may have felt a bit like déjà vu all over again for Johnson, who had arrived at SouthComm from Cygnus Business Media in 2015 after four years helping transition that company from bankruptcy to breakup. “We essentially had eight different entities that we had to find a new home for,” Johnson continues. “Clearly, the biggest of these was the b2b assets from legacy Cygnus.” The relative... Continue reading at 'Folio Magazine'
[ Folio Magazine | 2018-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Costa has lifted the anonymity of its three finalists shortlisted for the 2016 Costa Short Story Award following the close of the public vote. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It's official: With Windows 10’s Insider Preview Build 15014 for PCs and phones, Microsoft’s officially opened its ebook store, adding some nifty disk- and power-management features, too. Strategically, the ebook wing of Microsoft's Store app is probably the most important for the company. But... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2017-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Six decades after its initial publication, a novel Roxane Gay says "remains painfully relevant" gets a re-release and a refreshed cover for a new generation. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-01-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Insider, Business Insider’s lifestyle site, has spun off a dozen Facebook pages, including home, art, dessert, beauty -- and even cheese. "People will follow this page because they love cheese," Insider editor in chief Nicholas Carlson said. "And they know exactly what they’re going to get from... Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2017-01-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author Joanna Trollope is to chair the judging panel for the £15,000 BBC National Short Story Award with BookTrust. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oxford University Press Children’s will this year publish a new book in Gillian Cross’ Demon Headmaster series, 35 years after the release of the first title. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Trapeze has acquired a high-concept love story, The After Wife, by Cass Hunter, exploring the differences between human and virtual relationships. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Instagram is testing video ads inside Stories, the section of the app that was built to challenge Snapchat, according to multiple people briefed on the new ad format."Instagram is testing them now with select publishers and content creators," said one ad agency executive, speaking on condition... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2017-01-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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From politics to Potter, we take a look at some of the biggest stories in UK publishing in 2016. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-12-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Among the most-read news stories on our website were our coverage of the increase in bookstore sales in the first six months of 2016 and stories related to book discoverability. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-12-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As we wind down for the holidays, we're looking back at the stories that were most popular among Adweek.com readers over the course of the year. Today, we look at stories from our Technology channel. 50. Facebook Vertical Video Ads Just Went Live and Are Evidently Producing Great Results 49.... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2016-12-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Faber & Faber has acquired The City That Fell of a Cliff by historian Matthew Green following a "heated" nine-way auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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DK has unveiled its Rogue One: A Star Wars Story global publishing program today (16th December), following the film's nationwide release this week. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-12-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The ouster of Barnes & Noble's CEO, the sale of Perseus, and Follett's purchase of Baker & Taylor were the big publishing stories of 2016. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PW takes a look back at some of the library stories that captivated the publishing world in 2016, and what they portend for 2017. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Annual short story competition the White Review Short Story Prize will be running simultaneously in the UK & Ireland and in the US & Canada for the first time next year. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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From the ever-changing terrain of Christian fiction to a preview of religion books getting big-screen adaptations, here are PW’s most-read religion and spirituality stories of 2016. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-12-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Transworld is publishing a collection of Jack Reacher short stories in June 2017, set to be the first time all Lee Child's shorter fiction featuring Jack Reacher has been collected into one volume. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-12-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Here are the ten most popular stories about graphic novels and comics published on publishersweekly.com in 2016. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-12-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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