• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, March 1, 2007

LAS VEGAS -- As the local TV and radio businesses make progress on implementing electronic buying systems, the magazine business continues to move at a considerably slower pace.

But that could be accelerating. The trade group the Magazine Publishers of America has garnered funding from members Time Inc. and Hearst, among others, to hire a project manager to spearhead its development process, according to a consultant for the AAAAs.

The AAAAs is in the midst of an eBiz for Media initiative to encourage media sectors to embrace the digital age and adopt systems for online purchasing, the inspiration for a panel discussion at the AAAAs media conference Wednesday.

But industries need buyers and sellers to agree on standards for the transactions, and the new MPA project manager will be charged with managing that diplomacy. The two sides haven't yet been on the same page, said Marisa Kabasinskas, the AAAAs e-business consultant.

"They've realized they need to hire somebody," Kabasinskas said.

But Kabasinskas expressed optimism that the new executive can easily and rapidly bridge the gap--with print buyers able to submit orders on a new electronic platform.

She said it could take as little as several months, but more circumspectly said: "By this time next year, it should be up and running."

The process could be helped along by the AAAA's announcement that it has partnered with Arbinet, a digital solutions provider, to build an e-Biz registry--a directory key to facilitating transactions as sellers and buyers can access critical info about each other. And the registry will assist potential trading partners in initiating communication.

In addition to print, the outdoor and even Internet businesses have not finished developing industry standards for transactions, while spot TV, radio and local cable have made significant headway.

But AAAA executive Mike Donahue said the three laggards "are not that far behind," and he expects all three to be in electronic business by the first quarter of 2008, partly due to the coming registry.

Much like the local TV business, whose trade group TVB unveiled plans for an online system last week in hopes of easing the buying process and accelerating sales, the sluggish print business may feel it too needs an e-business upgrade to spur sales--and compete with the other media further along that path.

McCann Worldgroup CIO Greg Smith said last year that $13 billion in electronic transactions were conducted across various media. But he called that "just a drop in the bucket," and once again urged each industry to accelerate the transition.