Phil Robertson was suspended by A&E for bigoted comments in GQ. Conservatives cry foul, but it hardly violates his rightsThe right to free speech isn't just a fundamental American value; it's enshrined in the first amendment to our constitution. If only the most loud-mouthed among us actually understood what it says. Here's what the First Amendment offers: you can say, write or publish pretty much whatever you want, no matter how offensive (with a few exceptions), and the government can't step in and censor you or put you in jail. Here's what the first amendment doesn't do: allow you to say, write or publish whatever you want, no matter how offensive, and also entitle you to a giant pay check from your starring role on a cable reality TV show.This isn't exactly Harvard-level legal theory, but many Republicans, Christian organizations and garden-variety tweeters enjoy spouting off about their love of freedom and the Constitution while remaining disturbingly unaware of what the Bill of Rights actually says and means. The right-wing passion for a set of ideals they claim to revere – but remain ignorant of – is not new, but it's news again this week. They're up in arms at the suspension of Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson for a series of homophobic and bigoted remarks he made to GQ magazine. Professional consequences for bigoted comments, they say, violate the constitutional right to free speech.Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal said: Phil Robertson and his family are great... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2013-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
Crime and thriller authors, almost all American, make up every one of the top 10 most borrowed... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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They say everything is bigger in Texas, and that certainly held true for the issues facing librarians at the American Library Association’s 2012 Midwinter Meeting, held January 20–24 in Dallas. In a climate of stretched budgets, ever-more-complex technology, copyright and legislative issues, and... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sales of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations have rocketed thanks to the BBC's lavish... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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"The TV Book Club" returns to More4 on Sunday 29th January with author S J Watson's... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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"The TV Book Club" returns to More4 on Sunday 29th January with author S J Watson's... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital royalty rates paid to authors by publishers are increasing, though there remains... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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For the past five years publishers have talked about the need to consolidate trade showsand lower their costs. A struggling economy, the increased power of Amazon, and the erosion of print book sales to ebooks have only accelerated calls for change from not only publishers but from some... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-11-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It may be increasingly common for first-time authors who cant place their book with a trade house to publish themselves. But its pretty rare for a self-published book to sell more than 1.5 million copiesor move to the small screen as an animated film to be aired on CBS in prime time on Black... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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#chanda bell
Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 02/11/2011 - 13:55 The Independent Publishers Guild has accepted the OFTs decision to clear the merger of Amazon and The Book Depository, but called on Amazon to work hard with its members to allay their concerns. Following a survey, IPG... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With print media in decline, magazine companies are working feverishly to get a foothold in TV and video. Two that have been especially aggressive on this front are Condé Nast, which just started an entertainment division and hired cable vet Dawn Ostroff to run it; and Hearst Corp., which... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2011-10-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The opportunity to put a value on content and services should be harnessed and not feared by publishers, a panel at the AOP Digital Publishing Summit 2011 has argued. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2011-10-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Tue, 04/10/2011 - 10:10 Sky Arts is moving "The Book Show" to a new primetime slot on Thursdays when it returns for a fifth series next week. The show, presented by Mariella Frostrup, will be broadcast at 8pm and opens with four episodes from the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As publishers prep for the next big tablet hope (Amazon is set to release its much-awaited tablet device on Wednesday), a new survey released from global business advisory firm FTI Consulting, Inc. details how digital media users (including tablet users and non-tablet users) are engaging with... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 26/09/2011 - 08:35 Faber has scored three of the shortlisted titles for the £5,000 HW Fisher Best First Biography Prize, with books from Bloomsbury, Northumbria Press and Yale University Press making up the rest of the selection. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Fri, 16/09/2011 - 16:12 Walker Books is strengthening its licensing operations in order to exploit forthcoming television deals for its properties including the Tilly and Friends series and Sam McBratney and Anita Jerams Guess How Much I Love You.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publication audit agency BPA Worldwide released its U.S. Consumer Trac Data report for the period ending June 30, 2011 on Tuesdaythe results show that newsstand sales across different titles throughout the industry are on a decline from the same period a year ago. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publication Date: Wed, 24/08/2011 - 08:25 BBC Books is to launch a publishing programme around Bafta-winning TV series "Sherlock", which was inspired by the adventures of Arthur Conan Doyle's Victorian detective Sherlock Holmes. The titles will each feature the show's branding and introductions... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 22/08/2011 - 15:18 One in six children do not read a single book per month, according to a new survey by the National Literacy Trust. The research suggested the United Kingdom is polarised between those who do not read and the one in 10 children... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 22/08/2011 - 15:00 Simon & Schuster US has signed a deal to publish the physical editions of John Locke's Donovan Creed novels in North America. In June, Locke became the first self-published author to sell more than one million ebooks... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Measurement company Nielsen has long offered the industry standard for TV ratings, but can it do the same for the Web? Later this month, Nielsen will release a new service that measures online ad campaigns in a way thats similar to how branded ad campaigns are measured on television. Online... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2011-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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