Scientific publishing is a rip-off. We fund the research – it should be free | George Monbiot

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 ]
News tagged with: #alexandra elbakyan #modern era #academic publishing #significant developments #technical term

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Short Takes: Religion Publishing News Briefs, August 27, 2014

Awards and honors for Catholic books and Christian fiction; conferences and trade shows in September and beyond. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #short takes #christian fiction #trade shows


Turns out traditional publishers do just fine with millennials

Many publications claim to be popular with millennials, but not all publications that do so actually garner a significant Millennial audience. The post Turns out traditional publishers do just fine with millennials appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-08-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Why publishers should cheer Facebook’s click-bait crusade

Reducing the click-bait clutter is just the latest in a series of alterations aimed at filtering the news feed for quality. It looks like long-form publishers have something to celebrate. Sponsor content by Parse.ly. The post Why publishers should cheer Facebook’s click-bait crusade appeared... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-08-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #sponsor content


Kingstone Publishes Graphic Novel Tie-In for Sony Movie

Kingstone Comics has published the graphic novel version of the film 'The Remaining,' a supernatural thriller that releases in theaters September 5. The graphic novel is already out in digital on ComiXology and in print at retail. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #supernatural thriller


Liberio review: Turn your Google Docs into a published ebook

Now that eBooks have enabled anyone to be a published author, more would-be scribes are submitting their work directly through digital storefronts like Kindle Direct Publishing. Yet even with this radical change in the book industry, the e-publishing process is hardly simple. In fact the... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2014-08-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #google docs #published author #work directly #radical change #book industry


Publishing Pay Rose 2.8% in 2013

The average pay raise for publishing employees in 2013 was 2.8%, according to PW’s just-concluded salary survey. The percentage increase last year was the same as in 2012, when the survey also found that pay had risen by 2.8%. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Steve Laube: Agent + Publisher

In his long history in Christian publishing, Steve Laube has played many roles--bookseller, editor, literary agent. Now he adds publisher to that resume, joining what seems to be an emerging trend among agents. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #long history #christian publishing #literary agent


Amazon and Hachette feud could rewrite the book on publishing

The Ebook price row has the potential to create irreversible changes to the literary world and its business modelsThe battle between Amazon and the French publisher Hachette is not just a spat about the price of books. Their row over ebook prices, which led to the online retailer freezing out... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ebook prices #donna tartt #biggest publishers


Publishers: Ditch your apps; focus on mobile Web

New research shows how hard it is to drive app downloads and why news publishers should be focusing more on their mobile websites and social distribution. The post Publishers: Ditch your apps; focus on mobile Web appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #news publishers #post publishers #mobile web #research shows #mobile websites #social distribution


Parragon Publishing Restructures

In a move meant to reflect its broadening business interests, Parragon Publishing has restructured its operations into two divisions. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #move meant #parragon publishing


What you need to know about Amazon's fight with ebook publishers

Unless you've been living in a book-free cave, you may have heard that retail giant Amazon and book publisher Hachette are having a little tiff. It's all about digital versions of books -- so-called ebooks -- and it boils down to this: Amazon wants... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2014-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ebook publishers #digital versions


'Rogue' tale from George R R Martin

Titan Books is to publish a collection of 21 original stories from authors including Gillian... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #titan books


New Seamus Heaney collection to be published

An anthology of later work by the Nobel laureate will feature a last poem, In Time, written for his granddaughter SíofraSeamus Heaney obituary by Neil CorcoranA poem written for his granddaughter and never published before in the UK will form part of a new collection of selected poems by the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #nobel laureate #form part #publisher announced


Vanity Fair Publisher Moves to Condé Nast Media Group President

The seemingly endless summer of Condé Nast corporate and executive activity continued on Aug. 21 with the announcement by four-year president Bob Sauerberg that Edward Menicheschi (pictured) was ending eight years as Vanity Fair VP and publisher to become president and chief marketing officer of... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2014-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Latest Conde Shakeup: Vanity Fair Publisher Takes Over Corporate Media Group

Conde Nast has promoted Vanity Fair VP-Publisher Edward Menicheschi to CMO-president of the Conde Nast Media Group, which sells ad programs spanning the company's brands, effective immediately. Mr. Menicheschi succeeds Lou Cona, who is leaving the company.Mr. Menicheschi was named publisher of... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #effective immediately #named publisher #vanity fair #wear daily #statement thursday


Waterstones stocks Amazon Publishing's Sherratt

Paperback editions of books by Amazon Publishing UK author Mel Sherratt are being stocked locally... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #paperback editions


The Changing Book and Its Publishing Model

With previously monolithic books now (mostly) digitized and disaggregated into chapters, objectives, tests, case studies and various metatagged bits, a different publishing model is emerging. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishing model #case studies


Mobile traffic surpasses desktop for top UK publishers

The top newspaper and magazine publishers in the U.K. have now crossed the mobile-desktop audience threshold, with many reporting that over half their audience now views their content on mobile and tablet devices. The post Mobile traffic surpasses desktop for top UK publishers appeared first on... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #magazine publishers #tablet devices


When publishers’ platform dreams become nightmares

Publishers are discovering that giving contributors the keys to their publishing platforms often opens up a host of new issues. The post When publishers’ platform dreams become nightmares appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sand Named Adult Trade Publisher at Abrams

Michael Sand, executive editor at Little, Brown, has been appointed v-p, publisher, adult trade at Abrams, effective September 22. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #appointed v- #adult trade