Nonprofit Group Closes On Purchase Of Maine Newspapers (mediapost.com)

American Media, Inc. announced that it was further building on its recent investment in Men’s Journal by increasing the brand’s print circulation to 1.25 million, a 66% increase as current readers of Men’s Journal and Men’s Fitness will be receiving Men’s Journal beginning with the November issue. The integration is part of a broader strategic investment in Men’s Journal that also includes a frequency increase to 12 issues per year and enhancements in both the print and digital products. The brands will continue to maintain separate digital destinations at mensjournal.com and mensfitness.com. “It’s clear, as evidenced by numerous third party research studies, that today’s affluent men are looking for, and eager to invest in, curated experiences and adventures,” said Men’s Journal Chief Revenue Officer Jay Gallagher. “AMI believes that Men’s Journal is well-positioned to meet these consumer demands by extending our national footprint and deepening our authority in this space with the addition of even more world-class editorial and the significant improvements in paper quality and trim size, so that we can continue to build on our position as the only destination for adventurous men.” Click Read More below for more of the story.

FY23 fourth quarter service performance scores covering July 1 through August 11, included: *First-Class Mail: 91.3 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.3 percentage points from the fiscal third quarter. *Marketing Mail: 95.2 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal third quarter. *Periodicals: 85.6 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 3.3 percentage points from the fiscal third quarter.

Readers purchased 825 million copies of print books in the U.S. in 2021—the best-selling year for print books, NPD Bookscan says, since it began tracking data in 2004—and analysts believe young people posting about books on social media played a serious role in those big numbers. The U.S. print book market was up 9% compared to 2020, according to NPD Bookscan, finishing 67 million copies ahead of 2020, and selling 125 million more copies than in 2019. Kristen McLean, executive director and industry analyst at NPD Bookscan, said social media—particularly TikTok users who post about books, known collectively as BookTok—has “definitely been a factor” in surging book sales, along with the pandemic in general, with many of the sales gains coming in Q1 and Q2 before the Covid-19 vaccines were widely available.