Consumer sentiment rises to highest level in a year (chainstoreage.com)

Today Media, a publisher of regional lifestyle magazines, business publications and websites in several East Coast markets, has acquired Bethesda magazine and the news site MoCo360 from Z-Pop Media, the company announced on Friday. Terms were not disclosed. Bethesda and MoCo360, which cover Montgomery County in suburban Maryland, are “a great fit” for Today Media, says Rob Martinelli, CEO of Today Media. Based in Wilmington, Delaware, Today Media publishes in four East Coast markets, including New York's Westchester County and the Hudson Valley, Delaware and suburban Philadelphia.

Retail sales that occurred outside of stores increased 6.8% compared with October 2016. That's a major deceleration from September, when nonstore sales increased 9.2% year over year. New October retail sales data out this morning suggests that the fourth quarter could be off to a rocky start for e-commerce. Growth in U.S. retail sales that take place outside of stores, known as nonstore sales, decelerated in October, with sales dropping 0.3% compared with September 2017, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. Click Read More below for additional information.

While the rise of digital has led many publishers to reduce their print offering, Dennis Publishing has continued to invest. Kerin O’Connor, chief executive of The Week at Dennis, explains how it’s found success with a print version of The Week for children – and what it can teach the industry about the future of print… Jon Watkins spoke to him ahead of the 41st FIPP World Congress, taking place from 9-11 October where Kerin will be among 100 speakers from around the world sharing insights on a variety of industry and related topics. Join the conversation at the Congress. Tell us about the drivers behind the launch of The Week Junior – how much of it was that you’d seen an opportunity in the market and how much was it driven by the desire to help kids engage with issues? So, the best place to start was by looking at the success we’d had with The Week. One of the things that we’ve done, particularly over the last 10 years, was to build a suite of products that are designed to help people in their lives by providing expert opinion. Through those, there are four things that we do. We inform, we advise, we indulge, and we distil content. Our audiences are clever people who appreciate expert opinion that allows them to make up their own minds. Click Read More below for more of the story.