“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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Researchers from the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) spoke with online editors and community managers at 104 news organizations from 63 countries to help assemble a report written by Emma Goodman about what works and wh ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Profile is to republish a short story by Alice Munro, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, to... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The first Canadian winner, Alice Munro has published nothing but short stories in a 50-year career. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald
[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2013-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The first Canadian winner, Alice Munro has published nothing but short stories in a 50-year career. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald
[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2013-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sarah Hall has won the £15,000 BBC National Short Story Award with her story "Mrs Fox... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer, William K. Marimow, was fired on Monday, according to a brief e-mail sent to staff members by the newspaper’s publisher. A Pulitzer Prize winner and former investigative jou ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The disappearance of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart dominated headlines a decade ago. Now 25, Smart tells of her experiences in "My Story," a memoir published this week by St. Martin's.The disappearance of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart dominated headlines a decade ago. Now 25, Smart tells of her... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Irish writer William Trevor has been named winner of the inaugural Charleston & Chichester... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-09-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cornerstone has signed a six-figure deal for a début novel about a Mormon family in... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The tech community seems especially impressed by a feature called Mayday, which calls up an Amazon tech support employee via video chat to help with tablet issues. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon has announced the US release of three new Kindle Fire Tablets. Meanwhile Barnes &... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It's the last week to pitch your stories and book advertising in our printed Frankfurt Book Fair Show Daily issues running October 8-11. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Taboola, a company that powers content recommendation and monetization for Web publishers, is now offering users a chance to reject and even weigh in on stories that the company suggests. The company's content recommendation tech appears on all sorts of sites on the Web, often in the form of... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2013-09-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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James McBride takes liberties as he visits the story of white abolitionist John Brown through the eyes of a young slave in 'The Good Lord Bird.'John Brown, the white abolitionist who sought to free black slaves with the barrel of a gun, is a recurring character in American literature. He's one... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sphere has signed a non-fiction title from Ellee Seymour, which will explore the story of women... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-08-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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InfiniScroll, populated by a winding parade of creatures with tails and tales, is an upgrade for child and parent. A favorite tale of children’s book publishers and parenting blogs is set in a land not so far away, where the evil e-reader is a slayer of the bedtime story. In another version... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-08-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon announced a Kindle World license for the books of Kurt Vonnegut, but not everyone thinks it's a great idea. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The collaboration between plush toy manufacturer Animal Magic and California-based interactive media publisher Fat Red Couch, Inc. (FRC) has many in both industries puzzled and intrigued. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-08-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The children's book centre Seven Stories has been voted best education project in the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A story said to have been written by Larsson when he was 17 will be part of an anthology titled 'A Darker Shade of Sweden,' which will be released this February. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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