• Conservative and pro-gun titles were the fastest-growing magazine categories in the U.S. for the first half of the year. The slowest-growing categories were news, auto and entertainment, with dollar sales down in the double digits. U.S. newsstand sales overall dipped 7% from January to June, with cover price increases and waning consumer interest partially to blame.

• The Economist's success in reaching savvy global readers is profiled in the NYT, which also raises an eyebrow at the New Scientist's "neuromarketing" cover experiment.

• Allbritton's first hyperlocal website — the Washington, D.C.-focused portal, TBD.com — from former Washington Post online editor Jim Brady goes live, draws predictable response by WaPo.

• Former BusinessWeek executive editor John A. Byrne also launched his new digital venture today: an MBA-focused website called Poets & Quants, the first in a series of websites from his new company.

When we reported last month that the iconic magazine brand, Newsweek, was up for sale, we lamented the fact that "The sale of the venerable brand is a harbinger of the generally besieged print media industry, as readers continue to jump ship to the web and mobile, and ad sales remain lethargic."

But several industry players must believe the Newsweek brand is worth something. The New York Times reports that at least three bids have been made on the magazine by its auction deadline yesterday.

The potential buyers include Newsmax Media, owner of a conservative magazine and website; OpenGate Capital, owner of TV Guide; and Thane Ritchie, a hedge fund manager who has tried to create a third political party in America.Continue reading...

It’s official, Newsweek is for sale—and not just at the newsstand, but the whole operation.

The current affairs weekly magazine has been struggling for some time, and in the past year it has tried to reduce costs through employee buyouts, and boost readership through a redesign and a new editorial focus, along with a reduction in its rate base, all to no avail.

Its ad sales were down 20% in the first quarter and 26% overall last year. Its owner of almost 50 years, The Washington Post, today announced that the ailing title no longer fits within its holdings, which also includes Kaplan tests and a cable operator.

"Despite heroic efforts on the part of Newsweek's management and staff, we expect it to still lose money in 2010. We are exploring all options to fix that problem. Newsweek is a lively, important magazine and website, and in the current climate, it might be a better fit elsewhere," chairman Donald Graham said in a statement published on the Newsweek.com home page.

The sale of the venerable brand is a harbinger of the generally besieged print media industry, as readers continue to jump ship to the web and mobile, and ad sales remain lethargic.

Newsweek also faces a branding dilemma: are the words "news" and "week" an anachronism in this age of always-on, streaming news on the Web?Continue reading...

Fully free from that old-media dinosaur Time Inc. since December, America Online has been taking a number of steps aimed at re-establishing itself on the cutting edge of online media. Remember 15 years ago when AOL was the online media?

One of AOL’s latest moves has been to hire a number of brand-name journalists, ranging from Jay Marioti, the well known Chicago sports commentator and sometime guest on ESPN, to Gene Marcial, a sage of business journalism who is best known for his long stint at BusinessWeek.

AOL also hired Marty Steinberg, the former supervising editor of the Associated Press, and has named him its executive news editor at AOL News.Continue reading...

Remember a year ago, when both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo broke out of the gates with huge new branding campaigns that were at least loosely built around the national infusion of optimism because of Barack Obama’s election to the presidency? Pepsi went so far as to mimic his campaign logo, while Coke sallied forth, asking consumers to “Open Happiness.”

Now, one year later, OfficeMax and Hyundai are placing new bets on the political atmosphere and economic outlook. However, in this instance, the brands are taking divergent views on the state of affairs, perhaps reflecting the ambivalence felt by consumers.Continue reading...

Posting will be light on brandchannel today for the US holiday. Tune in tomorrow for all of Abe Sauer's Black Friday coverage!

Beijing Auto may purchase Saab to finally gain access to foreign technology. [WSJ]

Toyota plans to recall 4 million vehicles with faulty gas pedals. [NY Times]

GM will not close Opel plants in Germany. [NY Times]

France Telecom will merge Sunrise and Orange Switzerland to challenge Swisscom. [NY Times]

Tesco to sell iPhone before Christmas in UK, launching price war. [Telegraph]

Eschewing "Black Friday," luxury retailers offer deals online. [NY Times]

"Cyber Monday" loses steam. [LA Times]

(More headlines:Tiffany, GE's NBC deal, Porsche losses.)Continue reading...

The Google phone -- HTC's Passion/Dragon, a Droid without the keyboard -- is coming. [TechCrunch]

MySpace bolsters its entertainment positioning with music charts. [CNET]

Interactive mobile video ads, courtesy of new Google acquisition AdMob. [Mobile Behavior]

BusinessWeek plans layoffs of about 100 under new owners Bloomberg. [paidContent]

Bloomberg LP rebounded from last year’s crash strong enough to be able to pick through the detritus of this year’s media crash and buy venerable but struggling BusinessWeek from McGraw-Hill.

Now, to revive the brand, Econsultancy reports Bloomberg execs hope to follow The Economist’s model – and leave behind BusinessWeek’s also-ailing segment mates, Forbes and Fortune.

Bloomberg reportedly plans to boost the page count of the magazine, upgrade the paper stock, double the number of stories, broaden its global coverage, charge subscribers more for the print versions and add Bloomberg to its name.Continue reading...