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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The book, 'The Ice Dragon,' appears to be set in the 'Thrones' fictional universe. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Just two weeks on from reporting a large increase in profits, Gannett has announced the splitting of its broadcast and publishing divisions into separate companies. It means that Gannett's British newspaper outfit, Newsquest, will find itself as part of the publishing arm and, quite possibly,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Independent publisher Silvertail Books has signed a book of business lessons from British... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-08-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Gannett Co. (GCI) plans to split into two publicly traded companies by spinning off its publishing business, including USA Today, and also said it has agreed to buy full ownership of Cars.com. Gannett will separate the publishing business through a ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Gannett Co., the owner of USA Today, will split into two publicly traded companies, one focused on broadcasting and digital businesses and the other on publishing, it said today, following the trend that has swept the media business.Signaling its interest in digital investment, the company also... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2014-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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FastPencil partnered with Evernote to offer the ability to self-publish Evernote notes as print and ebooks, as well as offer distribution and sales. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sainsbury’s has purchased the HarperCollins and Penguin Random House stakes in the Anobii e... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Media giant to create two companies, one of which will focus on broadcasting and digital content and the other on publishingGannett, the publisher of USA Today, is to take full ownership of the auto website Cars.com and spin off its publishing assets into a publicly traded company as it focuses... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Xiaoying Chu at Charlesworth (Beijing) Information Services details the booming Chinese digital publishing market and the strides being make by online booksellers. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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While European publishers have a rather contentious relationship with Google News, U.S. publishers have no such qualms and are more than happy to be indexed by the search giant’s crawlers. And starting today with the launch of the ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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UK Literary Scout Lucy Abrahams discusses the the post-crisis Greek publishing industry and issues surrounding book prices and a fixed price law. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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One area of publishing where brand loyalty reigns is in religious books, and Roman Catholic books in particular, largely resulting from market fragmentation. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-08-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Giacomo D'Angelo, product manager at Narcissus.me describes how BackTypo promises to help authors build beautiful books simply and easily. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Looking to get that novel you've been plugging away at in your "spare time" published with ease? Well, Evernote now offers an option for doing just that, thanks to a partnership with FastPencil. The note-taking and productivity repository allows you... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2014-07-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It's do or die time for Chicago Tribune and its sibling newspapers.On Aug. 4, Tribune Publishing Co. will be on its own, after parent Tribune Media Co. hives off its print properties. While Tribune Media will remain privately held, the new publishing company will start trading the next day on... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2014-07-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London-based events producer and academic publisher Informa plc has agreed to acquire Virgo Publishing, pending regulatory approval. Terms weren't disclosed. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2014-07-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The industry of business events is a veritable growth machine, with publishers, service providers and just about everybody else seeing live get-togethers as moneymakers and can't-miss marketing vehicles. But the details of event planning can be an analogue mess, and a web software startup... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal
[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2014-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Newspaper took photo of the late Ryan Dunn from Facebook page of NZ-born Israeli killed in GazaA newspaper has apologised after mistakenly publishing a photograph of the late Jackass star Ryan Dunn to accompany a story about an Israeli soldier killed in Gaza.The error, on the front page of the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Traditional mainstream publishers in Spain believe they have found a way to extract payment for the appropriation of their online content.It follows the Spanish congress's passing of a law last week nicknamed tasa Google ("Google tax") which gives newspaper publishers the right to seek payment... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sir Quentin Blake has written and illustrated a children’s book for 5-7 year olds, The Five... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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