My former colleague and long-time min editor Steve Cohn was fond of characterizing the magazine industry as a “people business.” I believe he meant a number of things. On the most basic, transactional level, much of the trade was centered around a small patch of Manhattan real estate where everyone seemed to know one another, and regularly ran into each other at any number of watering holes or subway stops. A lot of large and small things got done in these sometime impromptu meet-ups. People were hired, companies merged, stories were given inspiration and later written and jealousies were stoked just by the core intimacy of the industry. But on another level, the “people business” of magazines was about creating a real connection with our audiences. The great periodicals of pre-mass circulation America like The Atlantic, Harper’s and Scribner’s spoke directly to the “gentle reader” in their pages. This highly personal mode of address carried over into the more raucous golden age of mass-consumer magazines in the tradition of the “letter” from the publisher or editor that opens most print magazines to this day. It's hard to imagine in the age of streaming video and algorithm-driven media rabbit holes. Today, subscribers have been largely replaced by eyeballs, where readers are “users” and where audiences are “data.” Let’s not mince words: the very nomenclature of digital media has always carried with it a tendency to dehumanize and mechanize the people on the other side... Continue reading at 'Folio Magazine'
[ Folio Magazine | 2020-01-23 15:41:48 UTC ]
A Manhattan court case about digitisation rights has brought books and the web a step closer togetherOn 14 November, after eight years of wrangling, Judge Denny Chin of the Manhattan district court finally ruled in the case of Google versus the Authors Guild. At issue was Google's scanning and... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2013-11-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Another big magazine company is looking to ad tech to make its online ad inventory more valuable. Six months after Conde Nast launched a private ad marketplace to increase the sell-through of its online ad space without opening it up to public ad e ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The government views its settlement with, and continuing litigation against, publishers and Apple over ebook pricing as a great victory for consumers. The overwhelming reaction in the book industry, however, is one of bewilderment, with many members believing that the government has no sense of... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A looming lawsuit could further solidify Amazon's dominance in the book business. That might be good for readers' wallets, but it also might be bad for readers in the long term. Here 's why. Continue reading at The Atlantic
[ The Atlantic | 2012-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Thu, 15/09/2011 - 08:55 Arts Council England (ACE) has released a document outlining its approach to library strategy. Culture, Knowledge and Understanding: Great Museums and Libraries for Everyone is said by ACE to be designed to provide certainty... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple, its products adored by consumers all over, has nonetheless had a complicated relationship with publishers, who have battled with the tech giant over its intractable position involving the sale of content on its devices. But those who have railed against Apple's hard-headedness are... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2011-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Even though ad exchanges and networks were created to lubricate the buying and selling of digital ad inventory, the system is still far from slippery. One lingering issue is that of transparency: when online publishers cant sell all their inventory directly to advertisers (often at a premium),... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2011-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Mon, 06/06/2011 - 08:59 The outgoing Children's Laureate Anthony Browne has warned society "will pay the price in the long term" for closing school and public libraries. In a letter to his successor, Browne urged them to campaign against their... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Fri, 25/03/2011 - 09:36 Academic retailers have demanded that academic publishers provide them with greater support, arguing that the current model is "not sustainable" in the long term. The development comes after Waterstone's m.d. Dominic Myers... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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