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Sun-Times Media Group Announces Agreement To Outsource Advertising Production
CHICAGO-(Business Wire)-February 19, 2008 - Sun-Times Media Group, Inc. (NYSE: SVN) today announced that the Sun-Times News Group, its principal operating unit, has entered into a contract with Elgin, Illinois-based Affinity Express Inc. to handle most of its print and online advertising production. The agreement is expected to save the Company $3 million annually.
"Partnering with Affinity will enable us to significantly upgrade our service to our advertisers while reducing our costs," said Cyrus Freidheim, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of Sun-Times Media Group. "This is one in a series of actions to make our Company more nimble and efficient. Last year, we announced another outsourcing agreement in which most of the Company's newspaper delivery would be handled by another source. These moves are part of Sun-Times Media Group's strategy to focus on what we do best: providing the best local news and information in the Chicago region."
The outsourcing agreement is part of the Company's previously announced plan to reduce its costs annually by $50 million. The transition to Affinity will be phased in over a period of several months, over all of the Company's business units, which are the Chicago Sun-Times, Fox Valley Publications, Midwest Suburban Publishing, Pioneer Press and Post-Tribune. There will be headcount reductions as a result.
Under the agreement, the Company's business units will outsource the internal production of ads; however, advertising clients will not experience changes in the ad submission process.
"Many newspapers across the country have outsourced ad production," Mr. Freidheim said. "These moves allow companies like Sun-Times Media Group to serve our customers more quickly and more cost-effectively."
About Sun-Times Media Group
Sun-Times Media Group is dedicated to being the premier source of local news and information for the greater Chicago area. Its media properties include the Chicago Sun-Times and Suntimes.com as well as newspapers and Web sites serving more than 200 communities across Chicago. Further information can be found at www.thesuntimesgroup.com.
Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made in this release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act"). Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or imply future results, performance or achievements, and may contain the words "believe," "anticipate," "expect," "estimate," "project," "will be," "will continue," "will likely result" or similar words or phrases. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in reports filed by Sun-Times Media Group with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in its Forms 10-K and 10-Q. New risk factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for management to predict all such risk factors, nor can it assess the impact of all such risk factors on the Company's business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on forward- looking statements as a prediction of actual results.
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