• Dennis Publishing Launches Kids' Mag
    The Week publisher Dennis Publishing is venturing into the kids' arena with Berty Squiggles, an ad-free coloring and activity pub to be sold in the U.K.
  • CBS Enlists NFL Stars In Anti-TWC Ad
    In the latest volley in the CBS-Time Warner carriage war, CBS is running ads starring football star siblings Peyton and Eli Manning urging viewers to "tell your friends with Time Warner Cable to switch providers now, so they'll be ready for the games on CBS."  Sort of ineffectual, though -- how likely are folks to take word-of-mouth action on a matter that doesn't concern them?On the other side of the fence, Time Warner cable subscribers -- at least in our neck of the woods -- are being offered a free on-demand movie to make up …
  • 'People' Considers New Subscription Model
    Time Inc. is working on new subscription pricing models that will be rolled out first to People, with other pubs probably set to follow, according to sources cited by Lucia Moses. People, with one of the most expensive subscriber fees in the biz, "has been looking at benefits such as new products and exclusive access to content and communities that might keep consumers renewing their subscriptions or entice them to pay more," writes Moses.  Other publishing companies -- like Hearst, which charges more for its tablet than its print editions -- are also "turning to consumers for new revenue" in …
  • How 'Esquire' Is Testing Paywall Models
    Esquire magazine has been experimenting with various paywall models for its digital content -- from a fee of $1.99 for a specific, buzz-provoking long nonfiction piece to an ebook of short stories to working with partners like Longreads, which automatically send content to users' tablets or Kindles. The pub's articles editor, Tyler Cabot, explains the lessons learned so far, including how to generate social sharing for paid content,  and why the tightest security wall may not be the optimum choice.
  • Coming From 'Wired': 'Immersive' Mixed-Media Pieces
    Expect more "immersive digital experiences" like Wired's "Vision Quest," in its September digital issue,  which "mashes up text, imagery, animation and video to retell a print magazine story," writes Caysey Welton. The pub's editor in chief, Scott Dadich, says Wired will be producing multiple "high-fidelity digital storytelling" pieces each month next year, and will "look for ways to leverage dynamic advertising in with the content," writes Welton.
  • Forget About Those Pics -- 'Playboy' Among Most-Grammatical Mags
    GQ and Ladies' Home Journal were the major men's and women's magazines, respectively, with the fewest “spelling, grammar and punctuation errors," according to the editing service Gramnmarly, reports Andrew Beaujon. And in a case where somebody was actually reading it "for the articles," Playboy was chosen fourth on the list of most-grammatical men's pubs.
  • Report: TWC-CBS Spat Industry 'Milestone'
    The CBS-Time Warner battle over carriage fees, which has led to a blackout of 26 days for CBS in over 3 million TWC homes, is "a milestone in the industry," according to an SNL Kagan report. What makes the dispute so major? "The combination of the reported size of the proposed fee, the importance of digital rights to the negotiations, the possibility that CBS could lose its hold on Channel 2 on the cable dial, and the willingness of the cable operator to hang tough in a major market," writes Matthew Flamm, parsing the report.
  • Fallen 'Domino' To Return As Web/Print Project
    A reimagined relaunch of Condé Nast's design pub Domino is set for fall, perhaps as early as September, according to sources cited by Erik Maza. The new version of the cult favorite, killed off in 2009 (though currently available on newsstands as semiannual editions with mostly repurposed content), will be an e-commerce site with quarterly print editions, published probably as a joint venture between e-commerce design site Project Décor and Condé.(We'd give this news a qualified "Yay!" We've pounced on every item about Domino's return in the past few months, but are still awaiting some official announcement.)
  • Last Dance: 'Bunheads' Cast Says Goodbye
    If you're a fan of the recently canceled ABC Family show "Bunheads," check out this story for a look at the "farewell dance" of most of the young cast members (minus the actress who played Boo, reportedly suffering from an injury), assembled one more time by show creator Amy Sherman-Palladino.
  • 'NY Post' To Unveil Revamped Website
    The New York Post is set to launch a complete revamp of its website that will feature "better navigation and search," according to an internal memo, a team "dedicated to creative custom integrated solutions," and a "branded content capability called Dispatch." The site will be staffed by "alumni of Time Inc., Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal, Gawker, Newsweek, Microsoft and, of course, rival tabloid the Daily News, writes Joe Pompeo.
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