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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Hearst Magazines' homes title Good Housekeeping has launched a new reader recommendation tool for brands to use across marketing material and campaigns. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2011-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 02/09/2011 - 15:02 Publishers have a raft of rugby titles set for release this autumn as the 2011 Rugby World Cup kicks off in New Zealand on 9th September. Among the books coming out is Rugby World Cup 2011 from G2 Entertainment, edited by... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Fri, 02/09/2011 - 15:24 Quercus plans to increase its staff by 40% within the next three years, as it aims to become one of the UKs top five trade publishers. The indie outfit is currently ranked as the 14th largest UK operation in terms of sales... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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IGN Entertainment, the News Corporation-owned online publisher, has appointed Mike Goldstein as its first UK publisher for men's entertainment site AskMen. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2011-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 01/09/2011 - 08:51 Readers will be able to download the ebook of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone for free with the limited edition model of the new Sony Reader. Further details have emerged about the Reader, which is set to go on sale in... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 01/09/2011 - 15:00 Picador has won an eight-way auction for an American debut set primarily in 1950s America, snapping up the title and one other for a six-figure sum. Editorial director Kate Harvey acquired Tigers in Red Weather by Liza... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Fri, 02/09/2011 - 07:50 Twenty French online-only book publishers and other digital providers have joined forces for the first time to launch the new literary season. The site larentreelitteraire.org was unveiled this week and will stay live until... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Though magazines releasing digital editions have provided plenty of headline fodder over the past months, sales of those editions have been another story. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Wed, 31/08/2011 - 08:45 Chatto & Windus has acquired a debut collection by poet Helen Mort, with plans to publish Division Street in 2013. Assistant editor Parisa Ebrahimi acquired world rights, all languages, in a deal made directly with... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Wed, 31/08/2011 - 14:45 The Edinburgh International Book Festival, Scottish indie Cargo and US publisher McSweeney's are to team up on a four-volume collection of stories from authors including Roddy Doyle and Ali Smith. Fifty authors are to take part... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a move to grow its Technology Group, Penton Media has acquired Nine Lives Media. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-08-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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James Tye, CEO at Dennis Publishing, warns against assuming all your readers want the same, and reveals how the company is monetising its digital products. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2011-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Business-to-business higher education and international trade publisher ThinkGlobal is partnering with online s Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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La Martinière will split revenue with the U.S. Internet company from digital sales of out-of-print, copyright-protected works. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple, its products adored by consumers all over, has nonetheless had a complicated relationship with publishers, who have battled with the tech giant over its intractable position involving the sale of content on its devices. But those who have railed against Apple's hard-headedness are... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2011-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 25/08/2011 - 14:38 The "literary nightclub" BookSlam is to venture into publishing, releasing an anthology of new material inspired by music from the likes of Irvine Welsh, William Boyd and Simon Armitage. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Drew Kirkland, group publishing director for weekly women's and TV titles at Hearst Magazines UK, has been appointed publishing director for TV brands at IPC Media. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2011-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Tue, 23/08/2011 - 09:10 Several US law firms have now filed lawsuits against Apple and major US publishers alleging what one described as a "horizontal conspiracy" to fix and increase the price of ebooks in the US. One firm also now moved for the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-23 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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Digital technology is transforming the world of textbook publishing much as it is changing every other aspect of the book world. Digitization is bringing down the cost of textbook content, transforming static print works into interactive learning experiences and allowing publishers to create and... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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