2012

Book sales rose 6.2% last year in the U.S., thanks to the continued growth of electronic publishing, according to newly released StatShot data from the Assn. of American Publishers. Electronic books, which a decade ago represented a tiny fraction of the industry's revenue, now are the fastest-growing segment of the publishing business. Indeed, sales of digital versions of books for children and young adults more than doubled in 2012 from a year earlier. The digital transition has been gathering momentum since the 2007 introduction of e-readers such as Amazon's Kindle, and accelerated with the soaring popularity of tablet computers that followed the 2010 launch of Apple Inc.'s iPad.

The nation's airlines improved their on-time performance and baggage handling rates in 2012 but passenger complaints rose anyway, a reflection of increased unhappiness with air carriers, according to authors of a new study. Despite better performance by airlines in key areas, the rate of complaints against carriers jumped 20% in 2012 compared with the previous year. Most of the gripes focused on flight problems, reservations, ticketing, boarding and consumer service, according to a report issued Monday by professors at Wichita State and Purdue universities.

C.J. Wilson seems amused by reporters who try to analyze him, or, as he puts it, "get inside my head. " Approached after a loss to Cincinnati in his first start, the Angels left-hander quipped, "Here come the sports psychologists. " Of course, Wilson tends to invite questions about his mental approach because his results often don't seem to match up with his array of what the Angels consider to be better-than-average pitches - a 92-mph four-seam fastball, a lively two-seam fastball, a slider, cut-fastball, curve and changeup.

After years of devastating losses, the newspaper industry has a glimmer of good news. Circulation revenue for daily newspapers grew in 2012 for the first time in a decade as more people paid to subscribe to digital editions, according to data compiled by the Newspaper Assn. of America. The finding is noteworthy because it demonstrates that the newspaper industry, which has been hammered in recent years as consumers and advertisers migrated to the Internet, has begun to adapt its business model to a new era. Newspapers generated $10.4 billion in circulation revenue in 2012, a 5% increase over the previous year.

Rank; Team (Division, Record) 1. MATER DEI (SS-1AA, 34-2) SS Division 1AA runner-up, Open Division State champion (2) 2. ETIWANDA (SS-1AA, 28-3) SS Division 1AA champion, Open Division SoCal runner-up (6) 3. LONG BEACH POLY (SS-1AA, 28-4) SS Division 1AA semifinalist, Open Division SoCal semifinalist (3) 4. ST. JOHN BOSCO (SS-3A, 24-7) SS Division 3A champion, Open Division SoCal quarterfinalist (8) 5. PACIFIC HILLS (SS-4A, 29-4) SS Division 4A champion, Division IV State champion (13)

Angela Braly, the former chief executive of insurance giant WellPoint Inc., earned $20.6 million last year despite resigning under pressure in August. Braly quit the Indianapolis company after major shareholders expressed dissatisfaction with her leadership and the company's performance. WellPoint is the parent company of Anthem Blue Cross, California's largest for-profit health insurer, and it runs Blue Cross plans in 12 other states. Her total compensation for 2012 was $20.6 million, up from $13.3 million a year earlier, according to the company's proxy filing.

RANCHO MIRAGE -- A year ago at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, women's golf's first major of the season, Korea's I.K. Kim needed to just tap in a putt on the 18th hole to win. Instead, Kim flubbed the tap-in, a putt so easy many men and women can sink it without even looking. Kim ended up losing the title in a playoff and for an hour afterward, in between tears, Kim answered questions about what happened. And she's back, a year later, and said her sad experience has taught her lessons.

Herbalife Ltd. Chief Executive Michael O. Johnson was paid $10.3 million in 2012, a 58% cut from the $24.6 million he received in 2011, Herbalife said in a regulatory filing. Johnson, 58, a former Walt Disney Co. executive, has served as chief of the Los Angeles-based nutritional products company since 2003. He was paid $1.2 million in base salary in 2012, with the rest of his pay coming from stock-option awards, performance-based bonuses and perks. The biggest difference from 2011 was the value of his stock-option grants, which fell from $19.5 million in 2011 to $5 million in 2012, Herbalife said in Wednesday's filing.

The number of Los Angeles County Probation Department employees investigated for serious crimes last year remained roughly the same as in 2011 despite efforts to weed out misconduct through improved training, according to a report released Wednesday. In 2012, 64 employees were either arrested or questioned in crimes ranging from burglary to attempted murder, according to a report by the county's Office of Independent Review. In 2011, 69 probation employees were arrested. "The frequency of off-duty employee misconduct continues to plague the department," according to the report.

Honey Boo Boo should be getting a nice box of chocolates in the mail. David Zaslav, the chief executive of cable programming giant Discovery Communications, had a 2012 compensation package worth $49.9 million, according to the company's proxy statement. Besides Discovery Channel, Discovery Communications also owns TLC, home to the reality show "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. " Other Discovery Channels include Animal Planet and Discovery ID. It also is partners with Oprah Winfrey on the OWN Network and with Hasbro on the Hub, a cable channel aimed at kids and families.  ON LOCATION: Where the cameras roll While a pay package worth $49.9 million is nothing to sneeze at, it is actually a reduction from 2011, when Zaslav's compensation was valued at $52.4 million.