Von Mehren to Boost Random Trade Paper; Ebershoff Becomes Editor-at-Large Jane von Mehren is leaving her post as editor-in-chief and associate publisher of Penguin to take the new position of publisher, trade paperbacks at the Random House publishing group. Starting March 23, she will oversee lines from Ballantine, Modern Library and Random House, and will also acquire hardcovers. Group president Gina Centrello says the hire signals a desire “to expand our share of the trade paperback market.” David Ebershoff, who was publishing director for RH trade paperbacks and the Modern Library, is becoming an editor-at-large, “a position he requested in […]

Triple Problems at Penguin Pull Down Pearson Results; Weak 2005 Forecast Means $10 Mil Charge at Penguin US Following their warning to financial markets in mid-January, Pearson’s annual performance came in at the low end of expectations, and profits fell 6 percent overall, reflecting a triple whammy: the weak dollar, the Penguin UK warehouse mess, and a striking decline for Penguin in the US in the second half of the year. Penguin sales fell 6.5 percent (though the company calls it flat after accounting for currency fluctuations), to $1.51 billion, and profits plunged 41 percent, to $104 million. The company […]

Audible Shareholders Sue, Saying Company Broadcast the Wrong Message A group of Audible shareholders has filed a class action lawsuit against the company following its recent quarterly report and ensuing stock swoon (now down almost 50 percent from its recent high). The complaint charges that the company misrepresented its plans and objectives by not disclosing that, “(a) the Company’s heady growth could not continue without material investments in expensive strategic initiatives that would severely erode the Company’s earnings in the foreseeable future; and (b) the Company was about to embark on expensive strategic initiatives that would constitute a material risk […]

S&S Revenues Up, As Viacom Takes Huge Writedown and Begins Asset Sales Viacom’s quarterly report is headlined by a whopping $18 billion writedown related to the declining value of their radio and billboard advertising businesses. In a conference call with investors, co-president Tom Freston indicates that the asset sales that have been “hinted” at over the past few months are starting: “Viacom is in the early stages of an auction of our Famous Players [a movie theater business]” Freston said. “We don’t see that as a core business going forward and we expect to complete the auction process in the […]

French Library Wants In on Digitizing Books for the World The head of France’s national library Jean-Noel Jeanneney has offered remarks to both Le Monde and Le Figaro indicating concern that Google’s plans to digitize the collections of academic libraries presents “a risk of crushing domination by America in defining the idea that future generations have of the world.” In connection with the campaign, the library will put 22 French periodicals and newspapers going back to the 19th century online. According to Reuters, he wants the European Union to help with broader digitization and create it own search engines. All […]

Schedule Note I thought we were going to skip today, but then all these items popped up. Random Rings Mobile Content Player Random House’s investment subsidiary Random House Ventures has purchased “a significant minority stake” in VOCEL, which publishes branded content via mobile phones and has a patent pending on technology that “facilitates the transmission of templated text-based messages to cell phones.” Ventures president Richard Sarnoff says “Random House considers the mobile phone to be an important future platform for the delivery of information to consumers.” One VOCEL offering already in place with the Princeton Review sends users SAT questions […]