USPS Issues New Rule On Requester Newspapers (mediapost.com)

In a move that surprised many in the self-publishing community, Macmillan has announced that it will cease all operations at Pronoun, a self-publishing platform that it acquired in May 2016. Jeff Seroy, senior v-p of publicity and marketing at Macmillan's Farrar Straus and Giroux unit, confirmed the shutdown. Asked why Pronoun was being shuttered 18 months after the acquisition, Seroy said despite Macmillan investment in the platform and “terrific” feedback from Pronoun authors, “we came to the conclusion that there wasn't a path forward to a profitable business model and decided to shut down the platform." Seroy said Macmillan will, “continue to invest in the data and analytics side of the company as we have found it of great value.” He also said that former Pronoun CEO Josh Brody and former chief product officer Ben Zhuk left Macmillan earlier in the year. Click Read More below for additional information.

Amazon is on pace to spend over $120 billion on supplies and services from businesses in the U.S. in 2021. The purchases are from more than 200,000 companies that operate in communities across the country that help keep Amazon running—from electric vehicle manufacturers to cardboard box producers to construction and engineering firms. The 2021 spending represents an increase of 20% year over year and does not include any of the products Amazon buys and sells to customers in its stores. “Millions of families rely on us to deliver what they need every day,” said Dave Clark, CEO of Worldwide Consumer at Amazon. “Delivering for our customers takes teamwork—we can’t do it alone. We rely on strong partnerships with hundreds of thousands of American businesses—from our forklift manufacturer in Kentucky to the construction company in Texas that builds our delivery stations. Today is about renewing our commitment to these businesses and betting big on them.”

FY24 first quarter service performance scores covering October 1 through November 10, included: *First-Class Mail: 87.8 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 3.3 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter. *Marketing Mail: 94.5 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal fourth quarter. *Periodicals: 85.4 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal fourth quarter.