Register Redesign Coming; Wild West Media Opens in Irvine
The Orange County Register and The Los Angeles Times have decided to stop using independent auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC, to track circulation on a quarterly basis.
The two newspaper organizations retained the company a year ago because they were unhappy with 86-year-old Schaumburg, Ill.-based Audit Bureau of Circulations’ definition,and counting,of paid circulation.
ABC long has been the final word in newspaper circulation numbers. Its semi-annual circulation audits are used by advertisers to determine a paper’s marketing reach.
In past interviews with the Business Journal, Times and Register officials said they wanted an independent audit to provide advertisers with more detailed reports of newspaper circulation and encourage the ABC to modernize its policies, particularly rules that discourage creative marketing efforts to sell newspapers.
Things have changed.
“The value added by an alternate audit no longer warranted the expense,” said David Garcia, a Times spokesman. “It was no reflection on the high caliber of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ work.”
The Register stopped using PwC when the Times did. Both news organizations had continued reporting their figures to ABC while using PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The move comes as ABC is changing its paid circulation definition to add flexibility,a factor that influenced at least the Times’ decision.
The ABC board last month gave first approval of a new paid circulation definition for the U.S. newspaper division. The proposed rule counts copies sold at prices greater than 25% of basic price, including bulk sales, as paid circulation. These sales will be segregated by transaction type, such as “individual sales” and “other sales.” The previous standard counted paid circulation as copies sold for at least 50% of the basic newspaper price.
If the board gives the new definition final approval in March, the rule will become effective in September and change a standard that has been constant for the duration of ABC’s 86-year history.
“It’s an initiative the entire industry has been working on for months,” said Mary Metzger, manager of communications at ABC.
In March, ABC formed a task force representing buyers and sellers to review the definition of paid circulation, and both the Times and the Register were represented.
New Year, New Look
Meanwhile, the Register, the county’s largest newspaper, is moving ahead with plans for a major redesign, said publisher N. Christian Anderson. The new look will be introduced in either late March or early April.
Without disclosing details, Anderson said the redesign will give readers information they want in a reader-friendly format, and will be implemented in every section of the paper.
“It’s part of the continuing changes we must have to stay up with the market,” Anderson said.
The Register had conducted a study to determine what readers’ want. Though Anderson would not disclose the study’s findings, he said, “We wouldn’t be doing (a redesign) if we didn’t think it would boost circulation.”
Wild West Homesteads Here
Irvine-based Wild West Media, a full-service digital media production center, will celebrate its official launch on Wednesday afternoon by holding an open house at its 7,000-square-foot office at 17522 Von Karman.
The company, owned by Consumer Coupons Inc., an Internet-based merchandising and promotions operation with other offices in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach, specializes in new media products and services, including digital video production, CD-ROM/DVD business cards, Web casting and streaming video.
“We chose Irvine because it’s one of the growing empires of Internet-based technology,” said Rodger Orlich, senior producer.
Wild West, which is targeting Internet companies and others in the fields of technology, computer software, finance, health and entertainment, leased the Irvine space in August and invested $300,000 to renovate the building. The office has a Southwest theme and houses two sound stages, 400-square-foot green screen and five production departments for graphics and animation; interactive; Web development; DVD authoring; and non-linear video editing.
Wild West Media counts eight employees, and expects to expand to 12 in a year’s time, said Orlich, who estimated the company would bring in about $2.2 million in revenue its first year.
Bit and Pieces:
Rapp Collins Worldwide, part of the Omnicom Group Inc, one of the world’s leading marketing communications group, recently hired Michael Hogan as senior vice president and managing director of its new West Coast service office in Long Beach. Hogan was formerly senior vice president and group director at Young & Rubicam’s Impiric office in Irvine, where he lead a team on the Lincoln-Mercury account. Rapp Collins Worldwide reported 1999 capitalized billings of more than $2.13 billion Ingrid Otero-Smart, president and chief operating officer of Newport Beach-based Mendoza, Dillon & Asociados Inc., was one of Hispanic Business’s 100 Most Influential Hispanics for 2000,her second consecutive year on the list. Hispanic professionals in fields like media, business and technology were chosen for outstanding contributions made in the past 12 months.
