COSTA MESA, Calif. — Gannett Co. Inc. will shrink the web widths of nine additional papers to 44 inches.

Austin Ryan, Gannett’s vice president of production, told the Metro Users Group meeting here that the Town Talk in Alexandria, La.; the Des Moines (Iowa) Register; the (Nashville) Tennessean; the (Phoenix) Arizona Republic; the Reno (Nev.) Gazette-Journal; the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader; the Wausau (Wis.) Daily Herald; the Lansing (Mich.) State Journal and Asbury Park (N.J.) Press will make their 44-inch debuts in 2008.

The papers are in addition to The Indianapolis Star, which published its first edition as a 44-inch-wide paper last week, and The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Ky., which is making the same move later this spring. Last August, Gannett’s Visalia (Calif.) Times-Delta and Tulare (Calif.) Advance-Register were the first North American broadsheets to adopt a 44-inch web. The Spectrum in St. George, Utah, is also at 44 inches.

In addition, Ryan said the Greenville (S.C.) News; the Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal; the Tallahassee (Fla.) Democrat; the St. Cloud (Minn.) Times; the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls, S.D.; and the Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser will reduce their web widths to 46 inches.

Newspapers & Technology will have more information about MUG in the April issue.

 

Masthead debuts 6-wide retrofit service

COSTA MESA, Calif. — Masthead International said it is rolling out a press modification service that would let newspapers print six pages across on a doublewide press.

The service, dubbed Metro Saver, can be performed on 66-inch-wide Goss International Corp. Metro presses, according to Steve Stone, general manager.

The company estimates there are about 120 of these presses, which were built between 1970 and 1981, still in operation.

The 6-wide modification comes as more papers trim their webs to 44 inches, which permits the printing of six pages across on a 66-inch-wide press, Stone said.

The service includes modifications on the press’ RTPs, inkers, folders, rails, spraybars, lockups and blankets. Masthead has teamed up with technotrans for the spraybars, and Mountain States Inc. for the cylinders, which will be engineered with straight-across lockups.

(Editor’s note: Goss said it, too, is examining the web-width reduction market and may also introduce its own 6-wide modification service.)

MediaNews goes Kodak CTP in Calif., Minn.

Several newspapers operated by MediaNews Group tapped Kodak and Nela to underpin its migration to computer-to-plate.

The publisher purchased 13 Trendsetter News thermal platesetters, a mix of 70, 100 and 150 plate-per-hour machines, according to Dutch Greve, vice president of IT at MediaNews’ Los Angeles Newspaper Group.

The first four machines, two at the Chico (Calif.) Enterprise Record and two at the Hayward (Calif.) Daily Review, will be in production in May. The Contra Costa (Calif.) Times will get four machines while the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News is slated for three CTP systems.

The remaining two will be placed at the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press.

All of the CTP machines will be meshed with punch benders from Nela.

Meantime, Kodak said it broke ground on a 16,000-square-foot expansion project at its Columbus, Ga., plate-manufacturing facility in response to strong demand for digital plates.

The plant manufactures a number of plate families, including the Thermal Gold digital newspaper plate. Construction is expected to be complete in the second quarter 2009, Kodak said.

Newspapers & Technology will have more information about MediaNews’ CTP deployment and the Columbus plant expansion in the April issue.

Philly to print NYT in pact; buys 2 towers

Philadelphia Newspapers LLC will begin printing and distributing The New York Times, effective later this month.

The Times said the agreement would enable it to extend weekday and Sunday home delivery to readers in the Philadelphia area as well as better serve existing markets in the surrounding area.

PNL purchased two Goss International Corp. color towers from The Times’ soon-to-be-mothballed plant in Edison, N.J., in order to handle the contract.

The publisher is in the finishing stages of a yearlong project that reduced the web width of its nine Goss Colorliner presses from 50 inches to 48 inches. It also upgraded controls, using software from Rockwell Automation, and migrated to computer-to-plate, installing systems and software from Krause and Fujifilm Graphic Systems USA, respectively.

The addition of PNL brings to 25 the number of national sites printing The Times.

Trib papers skipping 48; to go to 46 inches

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel, the Morning Call in Allentown, Pa., and the Hartford (Conn.) Courant are all going to trim their web widths to 46 inches in projects to be managed by Pressline Services Inc.

The papers last year announced their plans to reduce their web widths to 48 inches, but decided instead to adopt the narrower format.

Cannon picks up contracts

Cannon Equipment said it is providing postpress equipment to Dow Jones, Freedom Communications Inc. and New England Newspapers Inc. as publishers upgrade their postproduction.

Dow Jones purchased dock truck loading equipment for its La Grange, Ga., site while Freedom is installing a belt conveyor delivery system as part of a press expansion project at the East Valley Tribune in suburban Phoenix (see Dateline, Feb. 25, 2008).

NENI purchased a Comet stacker with remote labeling interface for placement in Pittsfield, Mass.

Marketing confab highlights digital appeal

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Newspaper Association of America rolled out a new initiative focusing on helping ad sales reps promote their newspapers’ digital appeal.

The NAA’s Digital Value Proposition, introduced at last week’s Marketing Conference, is wrapped around what the group calls the 4 C’s: community connection, content relevance, customized targeting and consumer activism.

More than 125 exhibitors and sponsors showcased their wares at the conference.

Among developments:

•BrandMuscle Inc. demonstrated BuildMyAd, an online application that allows advertisers to build and book classified and display advertising.

•HarvestInfo formed a partnership with Azoogle.com Inc. that will allow hyper-local advertisers to create their own online ads and post them to newspaper sites.

•Impact Engine Inc. said it would launch self-service display ad stores aimed at companies that want to advertise on newspaper Web sites. Advertisers will be able to visit a publisher’s ad store, access a catalog of ads and target and publish ads within minutes.

•Legacy.com added new features to its obituary pages that allow users to place additional information about their loved ones.

•NSA Media upgraded its print distribution-planning app iAnalyze, giving users more flexibility in sub-ZIP distribution of inserts via newspapers and mail.

•Rockledge Software displayed its SalesPoint Map and SalesPoint Schedule software, which allow ad reps to sell preprints or inserts by truck route.

•Sierra Media demonstrated its Newsgarden mapping software.

Look for more coverage of the NAA Marketing conference in the April issue of Newspapers & Technology.

Orlando Sentinel kicks off community news site

The Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel last week launched a community forum and journalism portal serving Orange and Volusia counties.

The site, www.forumpubs.net, lets users contribute news, information and advertising materials.

The Sentinel will print a weekly version of the Forum, distributed to higher-income subscribers and placed in vending stands in central Florida.

Va. daily partners with CBS affiliate

The Daily Press in Hampton Roads, Va., will shift gears and share news with the local CBS affiliate beginning April 1.

The Daily Press Inc. and Channel 3 WTKR-TV will share news and video, and launch joint Web sites in a bid to enhance news coverage for readers, viewers and Internet users in Hampton Roads, the publisher said.

The partnership marks the end of the Daily Press’ decade-long partnership with the market’s NBC affiliate.

Look for more on the partnership in the April issue of Newspapers & Technology,

Fla. papers strike distribution pact

The Miami Herald and South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale are swapping responsibility for delivering papers in their respective markets, according to The Herald.

Next month, The Herald will deliver the Sun Sentinel in Miami and Dade County while the Sun-Sentinel delivers The Herald, El Nuevo Herald and USA Today in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

Herald President and Publisher David Landsberg said the contract will save the paper “a significant amount of money,” according to The Herald.

Gannett names new president for newspaper unit

Gannett Co. Inc. named Robert J. Dickey to succeed Sue Clark-Johnson as president of its newspaper division, which the company has renamed Gannett U.S. Community Publishing. Dickey was formerly senior group president of Gannett’s Pacific Group and chairman of Phoenix Newspapers Inc.

Clark-Johnson was named chair of the newly named newspaper unit and announced plans to retire as president in May.

Dickey’s newspaper career began in 1981 at The Daily Tidings in Ashland, Ore. He joined Gannett in 1989 at the Reno (Nev.) Gazette-Journal, where he served as manager of retail advertising and director of advertising. He was named president and publisher of The Desert Sun in Palm Springs, Calif., in 1993 and added the title of group vice president in 1997. He has served as senior group president of the Pacific Group since 2005.

Adicio hands out best practices awards

The Wall Street Journal, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the San Diego Union-Tribune and the Seattle Times were among the winners of the 4th annual Adicio Best Practices Awards.

The recipients are Adicio client Web sites judged by Classified Intelligence LLC to have excelled in their presentation of online careers, motors and real estate classifieds.

Conn. Post plant hit by fire

Sunday publication of The (Bridgeport) Connecticut Post had to be moved to an alternative site after a fire broke out at the paper's production plant Saturday afternoon.

The newspaper said the blaze damaged the folder and conveyor areas of the press. Fourteen people at the plant were evacuated as a result of the fire.

The Post said one press operator was treated for smoke inhalation.

In Brief

Edward W. Scripps Jr. is retiring as trustee of the Edward W. Scripps Trust and as a director of the E. W. Scripps Co. Scripps is a great-grandson of the company’s founder and served as a corporate director since 1998.

Clarity Media Group named Michael Sherrod as president and chief executive officer of Clarity Digital Group, responsible for overseeing the publisher’s Internet operations. Sherrod is a former executive with AOL.

Muller Martini Mailroom Systems named Tim Adams director of technology. He will oversee MMMS’ engineering functions.

Tesa Tape Inc. added David Watson to its sales force.

The Des Moines (Iowa) Register is outsourcing five advertising production jobs to 2AdPro, which has offices in Bangalore and Chennai, India.

www.2adpro.com

Media General is acquiring shopping portal DealTaker.com from NARAE Enterprises Inc. The Web site provides coupons, rebates and bargains, many of them exclusive to DealTaker.com. It has more than 400,000 unique visitors per month and offers a number of active community forums.

French daily newspaper Liberation selected Web content management and text mining engine applications from Nstein Technologies Inc. to support its Web. 2.0 activities. The software will mesh with the paper’s current editorial system.

www.nstein.com

OneVision announced the upcoming launch of its newest software, Amendo. The app provides automated, professional-quality image enhancement, including automated color correction, the vendor said.

Amendo will be introduced at America East in Hershey, Pa., March 11-12, in booth 17, and again at Nexpo in Washington, D.C., April 12-15, in booth 1324.

www.onevision.com

Fusion Systems International rolled out Publication Proofing System version 2.0, a Web-based soft proofing workflow app for newspapers and publishers.

New features include advanced controls for automated post-RIP page-pairing and imposition, integration with popular imposition applications, job approval and rejection control and file-flow automation based on standardized publication naming conventions.

www.fusionsystems.com

Transcontinental Inc. said it is buying a Goss International Corp. Sunday 3000 press, Goss SP2200 stitcher and Burhs 4000 polybag line to anchor a $20 million upgrade of its Interweb facility in Montreal.

www.transcontinental.ca

HK Systems Inc. released an upgraded version of its Material Tracking and Control software. The app is designed to help newspapers better manage FSIs. The software meshes with management control apps from a number of vendors, including Burt Technologies Inc., Goss International Corp. and Muller Martini Mailroom Systems Inc.

www.hksystems.com

Ultimate Technographics released Ink Ready 2.0, adding such features as global value adjustments to compensate for press miscalibration, enhanced report printing and support for Acrobat 8.

www.imposition.com

Gannett Co. Inc. is rolling out localized editions of Cozi Group Inc.’s organizational software across its broadcast and newspaper Web sites.

www.cozi.com

Dynagram released INposition version 7.3, its QuarkXPress XTension. The new version offers increased performance and compatibility, Dynagram said.

The app now runs natively on both Intel and PowerPC-based Macintosh processors and offers new compatibility with apps including Mac OS X.5 (Leopard), Adobe Acrobat 8.0 and Adobe InDesign CS3.

www.dynagram.com

Prospero, whose social networking software is used by a number of newspapers, was purchased by Burlington, Mass.-learning software developer Mzinga. No financial details were disclosed.

www.mzinga.com