Keeping pace with the dramatic changes on the smartphone and tablet front is no small feat for any publisher, but doing so presents a particular challenge for smaller companies without a safety net of funds for experimentation with platforms that are at once in their infancy and yet increasingly seen as essential.

In the Press Distributors Association’s (PDA) opinion, the newspaper kiosks may start selling digital content as well as include online order pick up points, payment terminals, and other services in the future. These changes will help make newspaper kiosks more profitable. Nowadays a chain of newspaper kiosks will take at least 10 years to pay for itself.

"According to experts, about 60% of newspaper and magazine circulations (excluding subscriptions and free publications) are sold through newspaper kiosks in Russia," - it says in the document drafted by the PDA. The document authors believe that Russia’s traditional newspaper kiosks should be turned into comprehensive multimedia stores that will provide a wide range of  socially important services such as payment terminal, info booth with visual and audio equipment, interactive map; will be able to distribute audio and video content via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi; as well as become online order pick up points, provide courier services, etc. These stores should be at least 10-12 sq m retail building that customers can enter; as well as have at least a thousand different titles of newspapers, magazines, books, etc.

After putting the property on the block in October, Reader’s Digest Association will sell Allrecipes.com and related digital assets to Meredith Corp. for $175 million. The deal is expected to close by the end of the first quarter.

This purchase nearly doubles Meredith Women’s Network audience to 40 million monthly uniques, according to the company. Allrecipes.com also boasts a younger audience base; Meredith’s current female demographic falls in the mid-forties.

In a new study undertaken by comScore to support the release of a new digital ad measurement solution, the company found that 31 percent of ads are delivered, but not seen by consumers. The vCE (short for Validated Campaign Essentials) Charter Study, which focused on 12 national brands like Allstate, Chrystler and Ford, finds “in many cases, ads are delivered but not in-view or on target and therefore never had a chance to make an impact”.

“The display advertising market today is characterized by an overabundance of inventory, often residing on parts of a web page that are never viewed by the user. This dilutes the impact of campaigns for advertisers and represents a drag on prices to publishers,” says comScore president and CEO Dr. Magid Abraham in a company statement. “Conversely, some ads below the fold are quite visible and deserve more credit.”

The future of newspaper kiosks in Russia (with the exception of Moscow and St. Petersburg) does not look good. All throughout the country, from Vladivostok to Kaliningrad, the newspaper kiosks are being demolished. Recently, Saratov mayor, Mr. Grishchenko, has terminated all contracts with "Rospechat" (the major retail distributor of newspapers, magazines and books).

The press distribution system of the city will be destroyed. 11 newspaper kiosks have already been eliminated. This will result in   the company losing money, paying less taxes as well as possibly laying off 200 employees. The Saratov branch of the Journalist Union of Russia issued a statement: demolition of newspaper kiosks will make it harder for the residents to access the print media which in turn violates their rights; with the presidential elections around the corner, the information available to citizens is being censored, independent mass media and journalists are being pressured.

Online advertising spending will cruise past print in the United States this year for the first time, according to a new forecast by eMarketer.

Online ad spending in the U.S. grew 23% to $32.03 billion in 2011 and will grow 23.3% more to $39.5 billion in 2012, eMarketer said. That will put it above total U.S. magazine and newspaper spending, which will fall 6.1% to $36 billion this year, said the report.

The MPA released full-year 2011 PIB numbers today and, as individual consumer publishers already know by now, the third and fourth quarters were not very kind. 

There were some exceptions among specific titles of course, which I'll get to in a bit, but in 2011 overall advertising revenues were flat and pages fell about 3 percent compared to 2010. 

In 2011, one phrase defined the magazine industry: digital editions. Whether publishers were deciding to take the leap into digitizing their publications, or deciding on what app to develop next, digital was top of mind for publishers of all kinds.

2011 also saw a flood of tablet competitors enter the iPad-dominated space; Amazon, Samsung and RIM, among others, debuted tablet devices last year. However, only Amazon’s Kindle Fire seemed to gain any real traction among users looking for an iPad alternative. The Kindle Fire, priced at $199, sold a reported 3 million units in its first three weeks at market.

It was reported mid-December that 89 Rospechat newspaper kiosks were going to be demolished in Chelyabinsk.

According to the Chelyabinsk legal department, those reports were incorrect. City Hall together with the Committee on Property Management and Land Affairs filed only one claim asking to remove Rospechat newspaper kiosk located at 65 3rd International street. The claim was filed because the kiosk is located in the area where road construction is taking place.

In an effort to scale back its exposure in the U.S. market, the U.S. division ofFuture plc has sold its Music Division, which includes Guitar World, Revolver and Guitar Aficionado and their related digital and live event assets, to New York-based NewBay Media for $3 million. 

The deal significantly increases NewBay Media's enthusiast portfolio, especially its guitar-related brands. It already has a music group that includes titles such as Bass Player, Guitar Player and Keyboard. The company also has a b-to-b division serving the broadcast/video, professional audio and A/V and electronics markets.