“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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Allison Pataki, daughter of former New York State Gov. George E. Pataki, grew up gazing across the Hudson River at West Point Academy and hearing about the life of Benedict Arnold, the most notorious turncoat in American history. But when Pataki uncovered a forgotten romantic triangle and the... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pocklington - nicknamed Pock - is a small market town in the Yorkshire Wolds, about 13 miles (or 21 kms) from the city of York.Its population of 8,337 is served by a weekly newspaper, the Pocklington Post, which was chosen by its owner, Johnston Press, to pioneer the publishing of user generated... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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We talk to David Fernández Payatos, CEO of Nubico, the Spanish ebook subscription service that is looking to acquire 30% of Spain's e-reading market. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Two Pulitzer Prize-winners and a Man Booker-shortlisted author are among the 16 people longlisted... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book subscription service Scribd has launched a new app for the Kindle Fire. The app, which can... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The recently launched Scribd subscription ebook service is adding an app for the Kindle Fire tablet as well as providing updates to its iOS and Android apps. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The whole point of owning an Amazon tablet is that you're eventually gonna buy stuff. Want movies? Amazon's got you covered. Music? Time to check out Amazon's MP3 store. And then, of course, there's books: Amazon expects you to buy lots and lots of ... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2014-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The site's recent traffic surge has many in the digital media world wondering how it's become one of the fastest growing sites on the Internet. The post Elite Daily: Inside One Publisher’s Viral Boom appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2014-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After casting a wide net in its search for a chief revenue officer, Time Inc. has narrowed the field to candidates including two current executives: Jed Hartman, group publisher of news and business, and Mark Ford, exec VP-president of the sports group, according to people familiar with the... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2014-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Two of the writers shortlisted for last year's Costa Short Story Award have made the final... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-01-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new collection of contemporary short stories by Man Booker Prize-winning Hilary Mantel –... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a signal of its deepening commitment to native advertising, Hearst Magazines launched a new native ad campaign yesterday for Lancôme on MarieClaire.com.The post Inside Hearst’s Native Ad Strategy appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2014-01-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new story reading app will launch later this month with nine picture books from publisher... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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And it's a mess in there! Here's proof that you don't have to be a neat freak to be wildly successful.Swiss-born curator and art historian Hans Ulrich Obrist is arguably one of the most active minds in the art world today. Named art's second most powerful figure by Art Review in 2010, he's... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2014-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The unnamed protagonist in Jack London's 'To Build a Fire' gets into trouble while hiking in the frozen Yukon with his dog. Widely considered to be London’s best short story, 'To Build a Fire' captures the cold with painful accuracy. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The unnamed protagonist in Jack London's 'To Build a Fire' gets into trouble while hiking in the frozen Yukon with his dog. Widely considered to be London’s best short story, 'To Build a Fire' captures the cold with painful accuracy. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a letter filed yesterday, Apple attorneys asked Judge Denise Cote to fire its external monitor, Michael Bromwich. The request comes after Bromwich filed a declaration in which he detailed Apple’s resistance to his work. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Last week, Ruth Rendell claimed that reading novels is a dying art. Sadly, she might have a pointNo one can say precisely why John Williams's novel Stoner has become a bestseller almost 50 years after its first publication. After all, plenty of books, "forgotten" or otherwise, are recommended by... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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For libraries, 2013 was an eventful year. PW takes a look back at the top 10 library stories of the year, and a look ahead to what might be on the horizon in 2014. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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