Richard Branson by Bower - journalists have not held him to account

Tom Bower, the author who so often strikes fear into his subjects, has taken a second critical look at Richard Branson.His new book, some 14 years on from his first biography, is being serialised in the Sunday Times, with the second instalment due in two days' time.I think all journalists would benefit from reading Branson: Behind the Mask.* It reaches similar conclusions about him as before. Bower paints Branson as a showman who often fails to live up to his promises. Last Sunday's extract about Virgin Galactic, "Lost in space", was a case in point.Bower dissects several more examples in the book and I lighted upon one chapter in particular: Branson's attempt to launch an iPad magazine in 2010.The Project, as it was called, took him into a head-to-head battle with Rupert Murdoch, who was then about to launch an iPad "newspaper", The Daily.Branson described his monthly magazine as "the first truly digital magazine by creative people for creative people", which would be available via the Apple app store.That was front of house, which is Branson's favourite place. Behind the scenes, as Bower details, the story was much more complicated. Virgin's development director, Giovanni Donaldson, had persuaded the digital agency Seven Squared to invest in the iPad magazine. He was then helped by Branson's daughter, Holly, to persuade her father to back it.Seven, which was taking the greater financial risk, hired Anthony Noguera, an experienced former editor of Zoo, FHM and Arena. So,... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It's Official: Book Publishing Sales Held at $25 Billion in 2020

The Association of American Publishers released its final report on 2020 industry sales today and the figures show another flat year, with sales down 0.2% compared to 2019, slipping to $25.71 billion. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-10-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Richard Osman, inspired by ‘The A-Team,’ has created a delightful band of elderly sleuths

‘The Man Who Died Twice,’ the latest in Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series, is a notably entertaining mystery novel Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-10-06 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Richard Powers Resets Earth’s Trajectory

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[ The Millions | 2021-09-29 20:30:41 UTC ]
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Richard Charkin: Why I’m Attending Frankfurt Book Fair in Person

Richard Charkin says he misses not only those 'incessant meetings with old friends' but also that 'slightly permanent hangover.' He's headed back to Frankfurt. The post Richard Charkin: Why I’m Attending Frankfurt Book Fair in Person appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-09-28 12:19:11 UTC ]
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Jim Sheeler, Pulitzer-winning journalist who honored fallen troops, dies at 53

He wrote richly detailed obituaries but was best known for “Final Salute,” an article and book about a U.S. Marine who helped comfort the families of troops killed in Iraq. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-09-24 13:32:46 UTC ]
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Fresh off a Pulitzer win for ‘The Overstory,’ Richard Powers delivers another environmental ode

“Bewilderment,” longlisted for a National Book Award, follows a widower desperate to help his neurodivergent son. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-09-21 15:24:56 UTC ]
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Richard Osman’s second book is one of the fastest-selling novels since records began

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[ The Guardian | 2021-09-21 14:37:39 UTC ]
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In Richard Powers’s New Novel, Hope for a Grieving Kid and Planet May Lurk in the Human Brain

The Pulitzer Prize winner’s latest book, “Bewilderment,” features a widowed father whose troubled son is transformed by a novel neurofeedback therapy with profound implications for the human race. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-09-21 09:00:08 UTC ]
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Richard Osman's The Man Who Died Twice makes a killing

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-21 06:44:44 UTC ]
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Richard Charkin: An Heretical View of Academic Publishing

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-09-16 13:08:14 UTC ]
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Journalist Trains a Novel Lens on Christian Culture

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-09-07 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Fitzcarraldo bags journalist's 'harrowing' debut about Kabul migrant trail

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-20 22:32:40 UTC ]
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‘We see silence filled with fear’: female Afghan journalists plead for help

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[ The Guardian | 2021-08-16 08:37:35 UTC ]
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Richard Charkin: Notes From a Small Publisher in London

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-08-12 17:07:48 UTC ]
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On accountability and Andrew Cuomo’s rise-and-fall story

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[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2021-08-11 12:45:23 UTC ]
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HarperNorth acquires journalist Bright's 'timely' debut on regional equality

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Patricia Kennealy-Morrison, Rock Journalist, Dies at 75

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[ The New York Times | 2021-08-04 22:08:44 UTC ]
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‘What Strange Paradise’ is a visceral account of a refugee’s desperation

Omar El Akkad’s novel about a Syrian boy’s panicked flight is a testament to the impossible predicament confronted by millions of people. Continue reading at The Washington Post

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Former Trump officials share alarming inside accounts of his final year in office

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[ The Washington Post | 2021-07-15 08:42:00 UTC ]
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