Washington Post 2011 Annual Report Download - page 39

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 39 of the 2011 Washington Post annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 112

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84
  • 85
  • 86
  • 87
  • 88
  • 89
  • 90
  • 91
  • 92
  • 93
  • 94
  • 95
  • 96
  • 97
  • 98
  • 99
  • 100
  • 101
  • 102
  • 103
  • 104
  • 105
  • 106
  • 107
  • 108
  • 109
  • 110
  • 111
  • 112

networks, violated this requirement by broadcasting material in their newscasts without disclosing its source. The stations
responded to these complaints by asserting that they did not receive any consideration in exchange for the relevant
broadcasts and that the broadcasts did not violate FCC rules. Although the FCC took enforcement action in 2007
against a cable operator in connection with the same set of complaints, it has not taken any action with respect to the
affected PNS stations.
The FCC is conducting proceedings concerning various matters in addition to those described in this section. The outcome
of these FCC proceedings and other matters described in this section could adversely affect the profitability of PNS’s
television broadcasting operations.
Other Activities
Avenue100 Media Solutions Inc.
Avenue100 Media Solutions Inc. (Avenue100) is a digital marketing company headquartered in Woburn, MA, that
sources leads for academic institutions and recruiting organizations. Avenue100 operates as an independent subsidiary
of the Company.
Bowater Mersey Paper Company
The Company owns 49% of the common stock of Bowater Mersey Paper Company Limited (Bowater Mersey), the
majority interest of which is held by a subsidiary of AbitibiBowater, Inc. Bowater Mersey is engaged in the manufacture
and sale of newsprint and lumber, as well as the production of electricity in Nova Scotia, Canada.
WaPo Labs
WaPo Labs is an innovative digital team focusing on experimenting with emerging technologies. In addition to working
closely with the Company’s news websites, the team created and launched two new products in 2011, Washington Post
Social Reader (Social Reader) and Trove.Social Reader is a news application on Facebook that enables users to share
what they are reading and see what their friends are reading. Social Reader aggregates content from the Post, Slate,
Foreign Policy, Express, the Root and more than 20 other content partners to create a socially powered newswire of
articles. Launched in September 2011, over 15 million people have downloaded Social Reader in just over five months.
Trove is a personalized news site and is the technology powering Social Reader.Trove aggregates news from more than
10,000 sources across the web and allows users to customize channels based on their interests.
Production and Raw Materials
The Post and El Tiempo Latino are produced at the printing plant of WP Company in Fairfax County, VA. The Herald, The
Weekly Herald, the SCBJ and La Raza del Noroeste are produced at The Daily Herald Company’s plant in Everett, WA.
The Gazette Newspapers, Southern Maryland Newspapers,Express and the Fairfax County Times are printed at the
commercial printing facilities owned by PNM. Six military papers, one free weekly and one paid weekly from Southern
Maryland are printed at Chesapeake Publishing in Easton, MD. Greater Washington Publishing’s periodicals are
produced by independent contract printers.
In 2011, the Post and El Tiempo Latino consumed about 69,000 short tons of newsprint in WP Company’s printing plant
in Fairfax County, VA. Such newsprint was purchased from a number of suppliers, including AbitibiBowater, Inc., which
supplied approximately 41% of the 2011 newsprint requirements for these newspapers.
While the price of newsprint has been volatile historically, it has been steady since August of 2010. According to The
RISI East Coast Newsprint Price Index, which provides monthly single-price estimates based on marketplace surveys of
both buyers and sellers, 27.7 lb. newsprint (the kind of newsprint used by the Post and most of the newspapers published
by PNM) has been at $617 per short ton since August 2010. The RISI Index prices do not necessarily correspond with
the prices actually paid for newsprint by the Company’s subsidiaries, because of quantity discounts and other factors. The
Company believes that adequate supplies of newsprint are available to the Post and the other newspapers published by
the Company’s subsidiaries through contracts with various suppliers. More than 70% of the newsprint consumed by WP
Company’s printing plant includes recycled content.
Competition
Kaplan’s businesses operate in fragmented and competitive markets. KHE competes with both facilities-based and other
distance-learning providers of similar educational services, including not-for-profit colleges and universities and for-profit
businesses. PACE competes in each of its professional lines with other companies that provide preparation for exams
required for professional licenses, certifications and designations. KTP competes with a variety of regional and national
2011 FORM 10-K 27