Job Insecurities

With lots of layoffs and people finding it takes much longer to find employment, a lot of people are stressed to the max. As a person no stranger to layoffs I can empathize with all my friends dealing with this problem. My younger brother just took a less-than-desirable job just to start getting a paycheck again.

The Washington Book Publishers is hosting a helpful meeting (no membership is required) this Thursday, May 21st in Washington, DC.

Newspapers at cost per page?

Reacting to the newspaper industry crisis, Shira Ovide of the Wall Street Journal Blog announces:

A top executive at Hearst, which publishes 16 newspapers including the Houston Chronicle and Seattle Post-Intelligencer, said the company is mulling how much of its online offerings to keep free, while reserving some content exclusively for people who pay.

This new pay model is something publishers have discussed for a while now and implementing it won’t be easy. As with reprint permissions, different rates for educational use and trade use are difficult to monitor. Journalist Alan D. Mutter offers his insights:

Judging from the terseness of the announcements, the statements seemed to be more aspirational than the result of lengthy and detailed strategic planning…It’s a journey publishers absolutely have to begin. After years of giving everything away for free on the web, it won’t be easy for them to start charging for at least some of the content they spend small fortunes to produce. But there is no other choice.

Warner Crocker in his blog sounds off on Hearst’s attempts at an e-reader. His readers also reflect on the increasing demand for electronic reading of news over print.

It’s difficult to say if these new strategies will pay off, but as more and more newspapers face closures, something does have to give. Time will tell if Hearst’s client will be willing to pay for the content they consume, and if more publishers take notice and change their own models.

 

 

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.

Wal-Mart’s Wrath

Looks like it’s not just the music industry calling fowl on Wal-Mart’s business practices. Border’s announced plans to sell because of diminished returns. It’s one thing when cherished mom-and-pop bookstores close, but what are we saying about our current economic market when these mega stores close? Are we to only buy from Amazon? Scary!

And now Barnes & Noble is looking into possible purchasing Borders.

English Major curriculum: The Simpsons?

Came across a blog asking for more curriculum for English majors related to future career options. I think I would have definitely have taken a course on the History and the Future of the Book at UCLA had it been offered as Professor Jerz mentions he teaches. My “fun” class was the History of Hollywood Literature. There were lots of classes deconstructing past literature but nothing to really discuss the future of literature dissemination altogether. Even in my master’s program I would love more focus on actual book publishing. The digital specialization exposes me to lots of related material, but nothing on books. Guess I’ll have more fun for the thesis.

Side side note, do enjoy the Simpsons. Found a site that lists a plethora of academic papers written on them. Have to say this one is my favorite listing all the mathematical references in the show. Who knew The Simpsons were actually teaching the Pythagorean Theorem incorrectly? I thought they were quite the educational show.

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.

Memoir Fiction

Yet another fake memoir has been busted. And this one is a trail of big old lies; gang affiliations, a half white and half Native American girl growing up in foster care. I don’t quite understand why these authors with lots of creative juices flowing just don’t publish good fiction titles. Now Margaret B. Jones’ book is being pulled by Riverhead (division of Penguin). Cannot imagine the anguish of putting so much work into something just to see it immediately pulped. I wonder what her next title will be—possibly a memoir of her sad writing career.

Daniel Drezner has taken this occasion to iron out possible titles for his own fake memoir. Love it!

Amazon killed the bookstore stars

Dutton’s Bookstore in LA is closing its doors this month. So sad, since while at UCLA I’ve spent many of hours at this great personable and comfy store. So many amazing book events occurred here, and you really got a sense that all the visitors really cherished this gem of a bookstore. I loved that I could walk (yes even in LA) to this store and get lost in the books.

A great photo of owner Doug Dutton amidst his volumes of books. On his bookstore’s website, Dutton acknowledges the changing landscape of the book market and physical stores:

It is no secret that the store today is a shadow of its former self. Given our situation as it now stands, the pride we feel in our past achievements, and the vagaries of the current book market, shuttering our doors seems the only realistic solution…The one certainty that we have relied upon for our many years at this location is the honest and dedicated support by this community to the value of books and bookstores in general, and to this one in particular.

While the beloved store-front store is closing, the virtual bookstore of Barnes & Noble is utilizing new functionalities to capture consumers. Original multimedia content will be updated constantly and will “do for the book what the cooking show did for the recipe.”