Those who take on the global industry that traps research behind paywalls are heroes, not thievesNever underestimate the power of one determined person. What Carole Cadwalladr has done to Facebook and big data, and Edward Snowden has done to the state security complex, Alexandra Elbakyan has done to the multibillion-dollar industry that traps knowledge behind paywalls. Sci-Hub, her pirate web scraper service, has done more than any government to tackle one of the biggest rip-offs of the modern era: the capture of publicly funded research that should belong to us all. Everyone should be free to learn; knowledge should be disseminated as widely as possible. No one would publicly disagree with these sentiments. Yet governments and universities have allowed the big academic publishers to deny these rights. Academic publishing might sound like an obscure and fusty affair, but it uses one of the most ruthless and profitable business models of any industry.The model was pioneered by the notorious conman Robert Maxwell. He realised that, because scientists need to be informed about all significant developments in their field, every journal that publishes academic papers can establish a monopoly and charge outrageous fees for the transmission of knowledge. He called his discovery “a perpetual financing machine”. He also realised that he could capture other people’s labour and resources for nothing. Governments funded the research published by his company, Pergamon, while... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2018-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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German literary publisher Suhrkamp Verlag has completed a reorganisation it started almost two years ago, with a “stable financial and legal framework” for the publishing house now in place. As part of the changes, Ulla Unseld-Berkéwicz, chairman of the board of Suhrkamp, will withdraw from... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Charlie Hebdo is printing 7 million copies of its "survivor's issue," published one week after terrorists attacked the magazine's Paris office Jan. 7, killing 12 people. To print the additional copies, Charlie Hebdo, which usually puts out 60,000 copies per issue, received financial help from... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2015-01-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Image Comics announced sales gains and 19 new titles at their fourth Image Expo earlier this month. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A crowdfunding appeal to publish a book by the late Paul Sidey, Hutchinson’s former editorial director, has been set up on Unbound. Sidey, who died in September 2014, worked at Hutchinson for 31 years before retiring in early 2012. His authors included Ruth Rendell and the late Richard... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Artist is appealing against temporary injunction obtained by his ex-wife, who says book will be distressing for his son to readAn attempt to prevent a performing artist from publishing his memoir on the grounds that its contents would be distressing for his son to read has opened up “a new,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Madeline McIntosh, who was named president of the Penguin Publishing Group last September, put her own stamp on the division last week. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers need to standardise their Open Access publishing policies to reduce confusion among authors, while steps such as aggregated billing for Article Processing Charges could help with the administrative burden, according to a newly released report from the Copyright Clearance Centre. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At Oxford University Press we have to balance children’s cultural and learning needs, while retaining some healthy common senseGiven that our editorial guidelines that reference pigs and pork have been in place for as long as I can remember, little did I imagine that they would attract... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-01-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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For the first time, Facebook's Internet.org app has bundled free ebooks with its services, starting in Colombia with 24symbols. The post In Colombia, Facebook Partners with 24symbols for Free Books appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-01-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers are awash in data about readers' habits. Now: what to do with it all? Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Biteback Publishing has signed a new book by UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage. The Purple Revolution: The Year that Changed Everything was signed by Biteback m.d. Iain Dale in a deal with Charlie Brotherstone at Ed Victor. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Catholic publishers elect new board members; Barbour author honored twice; Lucado’s latest is Family’s Book of the Year; Zondervan author on four-city tour; IVP a Best Workplace for Sixth Year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The wider publishing industry – including book, journal, newspaper and magazine publishing - was worth more than £9.9bn to the UK economy in 2013, 3.2% up from the year before, according to newly released government statistics. The rise is slightly above the 2013 UK annual inflation rate of 2.5%. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The CEO of Publishing Technology offers his five predictions for trade publishing in 2015, including more hybrid pubs, content marketing and mobile reading. The post Five Trade Publishing Predictions for 2015 appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-01-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Through the award, five schools in Britain and Ireland will receive funds for their libraries. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Buzzfeed, HuffPo, Mashable and Vice have all set up in the U.K. Agencies weigh in on their collective impact. The post Why British publishers don’t sweat new US competition appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2015-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Through the award, five schools in Britain and Ireland will receive funds for their libraries. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In response to the Charlie Hebdo attacl, the International Alliance of Independent Publishers has issued a statement of support for freedom of expression The post International Alliance of Independent Publishers on Charlie Hebdo appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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On Tuesday, Scribd and Oyster both announced partnerships with Macmillan to bring new titles to their ebook subscription services. But how do all-you-can read platforms benefit publishers? The post Publishers Are Lining Up Behind ‘Netflix for Books’ Services. But Why? appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2015-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The future of digital publishing is increasingly borrowing from the long history of newspapers' political cartoons. The post Digital publishers turn to cartoons to cover the news appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2015-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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