Newspapers: Getting Kicked into Change

With the recent announcements of even more newspapers folding or facing major cutbacks, lots of change is in the air for media corporations. Folio’s recent 2009 media predictions create a sense of urgency for media to evolve into a more user-friendly version of itself.

Keith Kelly, a columnist for New York Post suggests:

More closings of magazines and newspapers and more survivors clinging to the online world as a life boat. Fundamental problem of the digital age vs. print. While the gross numbers grows, advertisers still don’t invest in all the niche products with anywhere near the level of support that they once had for old mainstream media.

While Andy Cohn of VP Media foresees:

Five out of every 10 magazines and newspapers will go out of business, scale down their frequency or move entirely to the Web.  This will not just be survival of the fittest, rather survival of the most willing and able to adapt to the changing media paradigm, and throw all of the old rules out the window.

David Callaway sees the threat of the institution leaders will force innovations to save newspapers:

Unlike autos and finance, the problem with newspapers isn’t the content, but the delivery. The business side was too slow to adapt…So, by all means, mourn the passing of great names, just as we do in other industries. But look for the new channels from which all the talent that made them great will flow.

 

Google Book Scanning and Scholarship

A recent New York Times article describes the book scanning Google has undertaken with both copyrighted and out of copyright books. Litigation aside, I do think it’s interesting to note the concerns of some librarians who fear the way education will change if digital reading continues. A Yale librarian suggests:

I have to say that I think pedagogically and in terms of the advancement of scholarship, I have a concern that people will be encouraged to use books in this very fragmentary way…

 This is a sentiment I will likely pursue in my master’s thesis. I think we all read newspapers online quite differently than over coffee with a printed version. Fragmentation and mere sound bytes cannot accurately portray the sentiments intended by the authors.

In terms of access to rare books, I think digitization is a positive step. And I have to admit the convenience factor is a large benefit, since starting my master’s program I’ve done almost all of my research using online databases.

I for one, don’t think books are in danger of extinction, but I do know that their uses in varied forms will increase. Blogger and former book review editor for the Phili Enquirer, Frank Wilson, further demonstrates the possible forms of the Google Search project.

Publishing Wars

Amazon’s recent decision to offer their own print on demand titles (from their acquired BookSurge Company) has caused quite a stir in the entire industry. In the past I’ve used Lightning Source for print on demand and they’ve done remarkable work. I’m sure their business will greatly suffer if the majority of publishers sign up for Amazon’s print on demand services.

Author James Grahame is finding this new arrangement troublesome as he too enjoyed the flexibility offered by his use of LightningSource:

I’m going to choose the “or else” option. I don’t much like being bullied, especially after years of directing the majority of my book’s sales to Amazon, who earned as much as 45% of the cover price for each book sold in the USA and UK. The “buy” button still appears on my book’s Amazon page, but I fear that will change once Amazon runs out of inventory.  

What’s legit publishing?

It’s interesting how our techie age has transformed publishing of all kinds. I recently wondered how tenure-track positions at universities were being affected. I’ve talked to several professors who have had a hard time convincing others that online journals and books that are peer-reviewed have the same merit as their printed cousins. Are born digital works the step children to bound works?

Art Durkee makes a valid point for poetry. I can definitely understand why this form of publishing should have great validity in any form. I’m also not a poet, so I don’t understand the relationship between poets and their readers.

For some people who have worked hard to get published, I do understand their reluctance to give the same significance to self-published authors.

Shall see how these arguments work themselves out.

Paper technologies

So I’m going through thousands of author files taking out contracts and amendments so they can be scanned and OCR’d for the future owner of our company’s benefit. It’s amazing looking through some of these ancient files from the 60’s. I’ve been wearing jeans because I just feel ick with 60’s fifth when I’m through sifting over all this paper. There are contracts written on slick old fax paper, there are the (now hilarious) dot matrix printouts, there are the type written contracts, and the now over-templated versions.

One student blogger discusses the issues above and is similarly amazed these ancient pieces of paper can get OCR’d for preservation and search capabilities.

Mark Frauenfelder finds the advantages of the latest technology preserving great books from the turn of the century. I always put things into context of my Great Uncle Pat. He was born in 1907 and passed away just a couple years ago. He was an avid reader and likely read these series of books and I think it’s great that these now frail books can be preserved and enjoyed.

Just for fun I’ll attach a photo of my Uncle Pat using what in his view, was the greatest technology of his time, a glass eye washer.