For a CEO who saw sales drop 10% and profits fall 45% in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023, HarperCollins’ Brian Murray sound remarkably calm in an interview with PW looking back over the past 12 months. “It was a challenging year,” Murray acknowledged. “The numbers don’t paint a rosy picture.” But he said he is heartened by the fact he thinks the worst is over. "I'm feeling better about things," he said. For the fiscal year ended in June, revenue dropped to $2.0 billion from $2.19 in fiscal 2022 and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) fell to $167 million from $306 million a year ago.

New Balance has no plans to stray from its decades-long commitment to American manufacturing. The footwear firm has released its first Made in USA Economic and Social Footprint report focusing on 2023 and 2024 initiatives. The company, who said it is the “only” major athletic footwear manufacturer to maintain U.S. production, disclosed that it invested $155 million in expanding its U.S. factory presence since 2021. Those investments have included the integration of advanced technologies while also preserving skilled craftsmanship that has defined its shoe-making heritage since 1938. The company operate four factories in New England. Two are located in Maine, one in Skowhegan and the other in Norway, as well as two in Massachusetts, one in Lawrence and the other in Methuen. A fifth factory in Londonderry, N.H., is slated to open in early 2026. The report noted that the shoe firm in 2024 contributed $3.1 billion to the U.S. economy, representing a 23 percent increase from $2.5 billion in 2023. The company said that $479 million of that impact came from its U.S. Made operations, underscoring the “vital role domestic manufacturing plays in its U.S. economic footprint.” Its operations employed more than 5,000 across the U.S., including 1,200 Made employees. The company also said that last year, each Made employee supported 2.5x additional U.S. jobs.

Meredith Corporation announced that it has accepted a revised proposal from Gray Television, Inc. to acquire Meredith's Local Media Group for approximately $2.825 billion in cash, and that the two companies have entered into an amendment to their previously announced definitive merger agreement reflecting the revised terms. Under the terms of the revised Gray proposal, Meredith Corporation shareholders would receive $16.99 per share in cash, revised from the previously announced $14.51 per share in cash, and 1-for-1 equity share in post-close Meredith. Meredith received an unsolicited proposal from another party after announcing the definitive agreement with Gray and subsequently received the revised Gray proposal. Meredith's Board of Directors gave due consideration to both proposals and carefully assessed the risks and benefits of each and unanimously approved the revised Gray proposal. The Board of Directors of Meredith unanimously recommends that Meredith shareholders vote in favor of the revised Gray proposal.