NOVEMBER 7 2008 NORTHAMPTON MA 2008 Audit

Agenda October 1, 2008 November 3, 2008 April 1, 2009 October 1, 2010 Other

Structure Task Forces • Created to research and discuss specific initiatives • Make recommendations to the Committees • Meet regularly to review potential modifications to rules and reporting formats. • Make recommendations to the Board of Directors • Meet 3 times each year to discuss and decide on any changes to ABC rules and formats, member appeals, etc. ABC Staff is responsible for performing audits to ensure compliance with the rules. Also, we assist members with interpreting and applying all rules and reporting formats. © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

Structure Qualification and Reporting Task Force (Q &R) Created after July 2006 Board meeting Mission Review current newspaper rules and reporting formats to ensure they are relevant to the industry today. Consider focus of total distribution, not just paid. Make ABC data most useful and effective for the newspapers and their media buyers Vet recommendations through the committees, then propose to Board of Directors © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

Task Force Implementation: Improvements to rule and reporting formats for U. S. Newspapers received first passage at March ’ 08 Board meeting. Final passage received in July ‘ 08. Amendments continue. Improvements to be phased in beginning October 1, 2008 and continue through October 1, 2010 Provides time to understand improvements, then apply to your own marketing strategies and system applications. © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

October 1, 2008 Improvements • OPTIONS FOR NEWSPAPERS WITH • 50 k or less

50 k or Less Weekday Circulation Day-of-week reporting is optional. To eliminate, please notify your Publisher Relations Manager. Every-other-year audit is available. Note that ABC must maintain a balanced workload each year. To take advantage, please e-mail your Audit Manager to request and discuss. © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

50 k – 75 k Weekday Circulation First passage in July ‘ 08. Final approval deferred in Nov. ‘ 08. Deferred for more conversation between buyers and publishers To be reconsidered in March ‘ 09: Day-of-week reporting is still mandatory Every-other-year audit may be available (EOY). Must receive final passage at this Board meeting. To take advantage, please e-mail your Audit Manager to request and discuss. Must participate in ABC’s Preprint Projection Center Adjustment must be less than 2% in recent audit. Third-party sales must be less than 5% of total avg. paid circ. © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

November 3, 2008 Improvement • SEPARATE BASIC PRICES Electronic Editions • Hybrid Subscriptions •

November 3, 2008 You may establish separate sets of basic prices for your electronic and hybrid subscriptions. Must collect minimum of 25% of the new basic prices for electronic and hybrid subscriptions. “Hybrid” A consumer is buying a single subscriptions (i. e. 7 -day), but some days of the week are delivered in electronic format, while other days of week are delivered in print format. The print and electronic formats do not overlap on any day of the week. © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

April 1, 2009 Improvements • DEFINITION OF PAID CIRCULATION • OMITTED DAYS • JOINT DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENTS • BONUS DAYS (INTERMITTENT SUBSCRIPTIONS) • FORCED CONVERSIONS • FREQUENCY UPGRADES • BASIC PRICES • PRICE PAID REPORTING © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

Definition of Paid Circulation As of April 1, 2009: One cent or more, net of considerations Consideration: Anything offered to an end purchaser in addition to the newspaper. Considered an inducement – i. e. t-shirts, hats, free ads, etc. Net of Considerations: Amount paid by consumer after you subtract the value of all inducements from the purchase price. © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

Omitted Days As of April 1, 2009: You do not need ABC pre-approval Just

Joint Distribution Agreements What is a JDA? When a non-7 -day newspaper wants to distribute copies of another newspaper to its own subscribers on the days it does not publish. Limit of 2 days per week. As of April 1, 2009 Notice required to be sent to the non-7 -day a week subscribers offering option and instructions on how to opt-out of the “other” newspaper. Only applies to new JDA’s formed on or after April 1, 2009. Those already in place prior to April 1, 2009 may continue to force the “other” paper to the non-7 -day newspaper subscribers. © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

Bonus Days What is a bonus day? A newspaper received by a subscriber on a day that was not known to be included in their subscription contract at the time the order was placed. All Sunday only subscribers will receive Thanksgiving Day. When they ordered their subscription, none of the promotional material indicated that Thanksgiving was included. Therefore, Thanksgiving would be a bonus day. © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

Bonus Days April 1, 2009 – March 31, 2011: 120 -day advance notification to advertisers required via ABC hosted Web site. I. e. if a bonus day is to be served on April 1, 2009, you must post to the ABC Web site by December 2, 2008. Not posted 120 days in advance? Not eligible as paid circulation. May cancel a bonus day at any time, just update the ABC Web site will maintain history of all postings. Reporting remains the same Separate line item in Paragraph 1 and itemized in Explanatory if you serve 8 or more bonus days in a P/S period. © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

Bonus Days Limitations enacted: Limit of 50 between 4/1/09 - 3/31/10 Limit of 25 between 4/1/10 – 3/31/11 Eliminated from paid circulation as of 4/1/11. All paid requirements associated also eliminated 120 -day notice eliminated Separate reporting eliminated Limit eliminated Shifts to Verified, Home-delivered. © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

Forced Conversion What is it? When a subscribers receives an upgrade in delivery frequency as a replacement for their FOD being eliminated. As of April 1, 2009 Discontinued FOD cannot be reinstated for at least 6 months. Discontinued FOD cannot be promoted 30 days prior to elimination. Affected subscribers must receive notice prior to the change. Additional days of service may not be stated or inferred as free. Requires 120 -day advance notice to advertisers via an ABC hosted Web site. © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

Frequency Upgrade What is it? When a subscribers receives an upgrade in delivery frequency at the newspaper’s discretion. The FOD originally ordered is not being eliminated. As of April 1, 2009 Affected subscribers must receive clear and conspicuous notice prior to the change and must include: Opportunity to decline/opt-out of upgrade. Simple instructions on how to decline upgrade. Additional days of service may not be stated or inferred as free. Upgraded service must continue for a minimum of 12 weeks. Opt-out requests received at any time in first 12 weeks result in the exclusion of the serviced upgraded copies from paid circulation. Requires 120 -day advance notice to advertisers via an ABC hosted Web site. © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

Sales Production Current Paragraph 4 is eliminated Sales of premiums, combo sales, etc. Associated

Basic Prices As of April 1, 2009: Reporting significantly downsized. Must publish in newspaper at least quarterly. Only report annual basic prices for each frequency. May also have Electronic and/or Hybrid annual prices © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

Analysis by Price Paid As of April 1, 2009 No longer on ABC documents. Required to be provided on an ABC-hosted Web site for advertiser access only if: 5% or more of your subscription circulation is sold at less than 25% of basic prices. NOTE: Applies only to Home Delivery and Mail circulation Note: The concept of disclosing an “average price” was being discussed. Those plans were discontinued at the Nov. ‘ 08 board meeting. © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

October 1, 2010 Improvements • GENERAL REPORTING IMPROVEMENTS • SHIFT IN QUALIFICATION & CLASSIFICATION Elimination of “other paid” classification • Introduction of business/traveler • Introduction of Verified circulation • © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

General Reporting Improvements As of October 1, 2010 Reporting by ABC Zone is optional ZIP Code reporting is mandatory Paragraph 3 (County) is required Paragraph 3 A (Town) is optional Paragraph 3 B (ZIP) is required © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

Shift in Classification Now Individually Paid Other Paid Third Party Sales As of October 1, 2010 Individually Paid Business/ Traveler Verified Electronic & Unique Editions Unpaid

Individually Paid & Business/Traveler Individually Paid Ordered and paid for by individual consumers. Business/Traveler Purchased by businesses for their own designated employees. Names of specific recipients are available. Purchased by hotels for placement within the hotel property. Delivered to hotel guest rooms after guest is notified and provided an opportunity to decline and receive a refund. © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

Verified Circulation Distributed to individuals in a controlled environment Focus is on how/where copies are being distributed No payment or paid element for ABC purposes Can I charge for these copies? Absolutely, but copies will still be classified as Verified. ABC will not evaluate any financial transaction when qualifying this circulation. 5 types of Verified Home Delivered – Requested Home Delivered – Targeted Educational Programs Employee/Independent Contractor Copies Retail/Business Copies © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

Verified Home delivered – Requested Distributed to an individual at a residence Requested by recipient Minimum term of 12 weeks Maintain orders and route lists for audit Home delivered – Targeted Distributed to an individual at a residence Request not required No minimum term of service (may be a single day) Maintain route lists for audit © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

Verified Educational Programs Ordered by and distributed to educational facilities Used for educational purposes Maintain orders & affidavits for audits MYTH: ABC doesn’t care about kids. They want to shut down all NIE programs. False, false. You can still raise funds to cover your own expenses or to increase revenue. It is the strategic decision of each newspaper as to whether to continue the program and in what format or structure. This ABC improvement expands your opportunities for fundraising by removing restrictions such as how to obtain eligible donations, language on promotional efforts, eligible classroom settings, etc. © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

Verified Employees/Independent Contractors No change to current requirements Retail/Business Ordered by a business Distributed on-site at the business location Business environment is a controlled setting Maintain orders and distribution records for audit © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

Membership Eligibility + + + Individually Paid Business/Traveler Paid Electronic Editions Paid Unique Editions TOTAL PAID CIRCULATION* Verified Unpaid Circulation TOTAL DISTRIBUTION * Must represent 70% of more of total distribution. © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

October 1, 2010 Translation HOW WILL CIRCULATION FROM MY CURRENT PROGRAMS BE CLASSIFIED AS

Q & R Resource ONLINE Q & R SUPPORT CENTER HTTP: //WWW. ACCESSABC. COM/RESOURCES/QANDR. HTM • NEW RULE LANGUAGE • PROTOTYPES OF 2009/10 AND 2010 P/S’S • FAQ’S • BOARD ACTION SUMMARIES FOR Q &R TOPICS © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

http: //www. accessabc. com/resources/qandr. htm

Consolidated Media Report NEW OPPORTUNITY! © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

Consolidated Media Report Displays a variety of print, online and audience data. Daily publication Free distribution products i. e. real estate focused, job focused, auto publications, etc. Free newspapers Web site activity Recognition and opportunity to show media buyers that your newspaper’s reach may encompass more than just traditional print product © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

Audit Quicklink SAVE MONEY, SAVE TIME, SAVE PAPER © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

What is it? Tool that allows you to: Prepare some documents for audit online Paragraph 3 Nth factor ABC Book Survey Questionnaire Debit/Credit Summaries Submit documents needed for the audit directly to ABC online. All of the above, plus anything else you have ready in advance. Can be any format of file or even scanned and attached. © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

Benefits For you and your staff Convenience Can submit documents at your convenience throughout the year. Can update at ANY time. Reduce e-mails Between you and the auditor when preparing for the audit. Auditor can access all information and documents you download. Less intrusion during actual audit Less document requests when auditor is on-site. Minimize math errors $$$$ savings © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

Savings? Non-metro newspapers On Flat-rate pricing model Save money when you upload the following within 15 days after the close of the audit period: $150: Upload Paragraph 3 $200 - $400: Online ABC Book • $200 if no day of week • $400 if day of week Metro newspapers On hourly model Any data provided in advance may result in reduced audit time, and therefore some cost savings. © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

Implementation It is ready NOW! Overview available at: http: //www. accessabc. com/resources/auditquicklink. htm Log in at: http: //abcas 2. accessabc. com/pls/edp_newspaper_audit_ menu. login Need your online filing username and password © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

Long-term Goals Generate Publisher’s Statements directly from the information entered into the Online ABC Book. Increase report functionality of ABC Book for member use. Maintain other ABC account information desired by member. Other ideas? Share them with your audit manager! © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

Preprint Projection Center SAVE TIME, SAVE PAPER, SAVE REPETITION © 2008 Audit Bureau of

Preprint Projection Center(PPC) Launched w Free Service ! April 1, 2008. Free, easy-to-use online tool. ABC hosted central “data warehouse” Upload your pre-print data for confidential use only by advertiser members of ABC in a secure environment. Developed by ABC in partnership with NAA and the ABC Newspaper Buyers Advisory Committee. © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

PPC Benefits to you Fast and efficient way to put your newspaper’s preprint information into the hands of media planners. Streamlines task of updating your monthly pre-print quantities, zones, dates and distribution. Can upload data plus any explanatory notes, disclaimers or contact information for your newspaper. Cannot be viewed by other newspapers. Your information is Confidential © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

PPC Benefits to media planners Makes media planning and buying process easier and more convenient. Can have on-demand access to your newspaper’s pre-print information. Data accessible in one central location for multiple newspapers. Receive timely preprint information for their production. Projections for markets with seasonal fluctuations will be available and accessible Have option to open or download files for future use. Advertiser must be an ABC member and register for access. © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

PPC Highlights Publishers: Use your online filing username and password. Can upload data in various formats: PDF, Excel, etc. Can update data as often as you desire. History will be maintained and available for viewing by advertisers Other newspapers cannot access your data, but you can see a list of participants in the database. © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations

PPC Disclaimers Participation by newspapers is optional and free. Information submitted is at discretion of the publisher. Publishers represent that data submitted is “best estimate” at time of data entry. Publishers may only view their own data. ABC does not review nor audit the publisher data entered into this database. Check it out at: www. accessabc. com/products/ppe. htm © 2008 Audit Bureau of Circulations