• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, December 23, 2010

Griffin Shakes Up Time Inc.

CEO Jack Griffin continued his reorganization of Time Inc. with the appointment of John Q. Griffin, the former executive vice president and president of publishing for the National Geographic Society (no relation), as executive vice president and president of the Time Inc. News Group. The new unit resulted from splitting up the company's previously united News and Sports Group.

Aside from the obvious potential for confusion, John Q. Griffin also brings valuable experience to Time Inc., having helped the National Geographic Society revamp its venerable but somewhat stuffy flagship to better compete in a rapidly evolving media market.

This included new digital platforms and multimedia content, as well as new print products, like NatGeo's "Green Guide," which launched as a quarterly in 2008. Under Griffin's supervision, NatGeo saw ad pages stabilize at 253 in the first nine months of 2010, according to the Publishers Information Bureau.

Now, EVP Griffin faces the task of revitalizing Time Inc.'s flagship newsweekly, which has already undergone several rounds of belt-tightening and reinvention. In the first nine months of this year, Time's ad pages are down 2% to 917. He will also be responsible for business titles Fortune and Money. In the first nine months of 2010, ad pages are down 9.1% at Fortune, to 1,034 -- that's less than half the figure of 2,082 in the same period of 2005. Ad pages at Money are up 10.9% to 420 in the first nine months of 2010 -- but down from 725 in the same period in 2005.

Working with EVP Griffin will be Kim Kelleher, the new publisher of Time, and Brendan Ripp, who was named publisher of Money. The publisher spot at Sports Illustrated, vacated by Kelleher, will be filled by Frank Wall, previously publisher of Money. As noted, CEO Griffin has also created a new Sports Group, including Sports Illustrated and Golf, which will be headed by EVP Mark Ford -- formerly boss of the combined News and Sports Group.

These moves are the latest in a series of new hires and reorganizations implemented by CEO Griffin. Last week, he hired Randall Rothenberg, previously president and CEO of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, as EVP and chief digital officer.

Financial Investing Services Invest in Magazine Ads

Financial firms are looking to magazines to reach affluent American consumers, with total ad pages for investing services jumping 16% in the first three quarters of 2010 compared to 2009, according to MagazineRadar, which tracks various aspects of the magazine business. That compares to an 8% increase for the finance and real estate categories, and 3% for insurance. The two biggest campaigns, from Vanguard and State Street Global Advisors, both focus on encouraging readers to begin investing in their 401(k) retirement funds again.

Inc. Debuts Mozine Mobile App

Inc. has unveiled a new mobile app for the iPhone and Android, called Mozine, developed by Thumb Media Group, providing advice, tools and services to business owners and CEOs for $2.99 per month. Offerings include magazine and Web content, breaking news, online news feeds, slide shows, blogs, social networking and Inc. TV. The magazine plans to introduce a version of the app for BlackBerry in the near future.

Automobile Launches iPad Edition

Automobile has unveiled a digital version of the publication tailored for the iPad, available for download at Apple's App Store beginning with the January issue. (The first issue is complimentary.) Featuring interactive content, photo galleries, integrated video and audio commentary, the new iPad edition of Automobile will include in-depth automobile news and reviews not found in the print edition.

Sight, sound and motion are an important part of the new digital product, explained president and Editor in Chief Jean Jennings, who stated: "We are an experiential publication; the iPad is a medium that allows us to better deliver our experiences to our readers."

Meredith Corp. Names Peterson VP, Newsstand

Meredith Corp. has appointed Mark Peterson vice president for newsstand sales at its National Media Group, which includes responsibility for all single-copy sales channels. In this role, he will oversee Meredith's strategic relationships with major retailers, wholesalers and distributors. He takes over from David Algire, who recently left the company. Before joining Meredith, Peterson served as executive vice president and managing director for DJG Marketing, and president of the ProCirc Retail Solutions Group.