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September 2002
- Publishers Target E-piracy
DAW Books, a fantasy/sf imprint of Penguin Putnam, has
added a notice to its books that makes readers
aware that scanning books and uploading them to the
Internet is illegal. Pirated digital versions of books have
yet to make much of an impact on book sales, but as better ebook
readers become available it could become more of a concern
for publishers.
Source: Publishers Weekly 9-30-02
- Newspaper Help-Wanted Ad Revenues Plummet
Newspapers continue to struggle as the advertising
recession lingers. The Help Wanted Index fell to
41 points in August, which is nearly a 40-year low
according to MarketWatch.com.
Source: MarketWatch.com 9-28-02
- Yahoo Dumps Fee-based Research Service
Yahoo is ending
the fee-based research search tool it
launched in January, 2002. The research center was a partnership
between Yahoo and Northern
Light.
Source: News.com 9-27-02
- CNBC Europe, a joint venture between NBC and Dow Jones,
plans to lay off as many as 27 employees.
Source: Media Guardian 9-26-02
- Mainstream publishers, commercial magazines and
newspapers aren't the only publishers making cuts.
University presses are also cutting back on the number
of books, journals and publications they publish.
Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education 9-23-02
- Blogs and Libel
Weblogs are popular and can certainly increase
traffic to an online newspaper or magazine -- but
could they also bring lawsuits? The New York Times
reports that weblogs are already creating friction
between journalists and the media outlets they work for.
Source: New York Times 9-23-02
- Conus Communications is closing its
production services business and its news
services. The Star Tribune reported that as many
as 165 employees could be affected by the move.
Source: Star Tribune 9-23-02
- Journalists To Blame for Dot-Com Crash?
Are journalists to blame for the dot-com crash?
Who created all the excess hype? While there
are many in all fields who deserve credit for
inflating the bubble, some responsibility may
fall on journalists that got carried away -- but
in many cases they weren't given enough facts
or the correct facts.
Source: SFGate.com 9-18-02
- Rosie Leaves Rosie
Rosie is leaving Rosie, the magazine named
after her, because of an editorial dispute with
publisher Gruner + Jahr.
Source: AdAge.com, New York Daily News 9-18-02
- iVillage Inc., a women's media company, has received a
compliance notice from The Nasdaq Stock Market.
Nasdaq informed iVillage that its common stock had failed to maintain a minimum
bid price of $1.00 per share for 30 consecutive trading days.
iVillage will have until December 16, 2002 to regain compliance
with Nasdaq's continued listing requirements. If at any time before
December 16, 2002, the closing bid price of iVillage's common stock
is at least $1.00 per share for a minimum of ten consecutive trading
days, Nasdaq staff will determine if iVillage then complies with
Nasdaq's continued listing requirements. If iVillage is unable to
demonstrate compliance with the continued listing requirements
on or before December 16, 2002, Nasdaq staff will provide iVillage
with written notification that its securities will be delisted. At that
time, iVillage may appeal the Nasdaq staff's decision to a
Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel. 9-17-02
- Bloomsbury: No Potter Release Date Yet
The wait for Harry Potter will continue as
author J.K. Rowling continues to write it.
Bloomsbury, the publisher of Harry Potter novels in the U.K.,
has still not set a release date for the book.
Source: The Scotsman 9-17-02
- Author and columnist Bob Greene has resigned from the
Chicago Tribune after admitting to
inappropriate sexual conduct with a high school
teenager about ten years ago.
Source: Chicago Tribune 9-16-02
- Authors Are Busy Promoting Themselves
Whether it is a self-published book or a book
published by a big publishing house, more and more
authors are attempting to handle some or all of
their publicity themselves. Authors are doing
everything from arranging their own booksignings
to handselling their books at events and stores.
Book reviewers told Salon.com that some authors are even contacting
them directly by email (which didn't work with these reviewers) and
that they are receiving many more books than in the past
because there are more self-published books.
Source: Salon.com 9-16-02
- Sandbox.com, a provider of fantasy sports
games and sports news, may be closing its doors. The company
lists its assets at less than $50,000 and a deal to sell out
to SportsLine fell apart last fall.
Source: Washingtonpost.com 9-16-02
- FirstPublish, a provider of print-on-demand self-publishing
services, informed its authors that it has ceased publishing titles.
The assets of the Brekel Group, Inc., which included FirstPublish,
were acquired by Sequiam
Corporation in July. Authors are concerned
that their books will become out-of-stock on Amazon.com before
they can find a new printer. On a more serious note, some
authors told the Orlando Business Journal that they
are also concerned about receiving complete
payments from FirstPublish for their book sales.
Source: Orlando Business Journal 9-16-02
- Fasttrack, which covers business news in
South Florida,
could cease publishing in the near future according
to an article on PalmBeachPost.com.
Fasttrack is published by JES Publishing.
Source: PalmBeachPost.com 9-13-02
- Gay and lesbian book sections at
major chains such as Barnes & Noble
are taking business away from small
independent gay and lesbian booksellers.
A Different Light, a large independent
gay bookstore in New York,
closed its doors last year. Gay bookstores
in other cities could suffer the same fate.
Source: HoustonChronicle.com 9-10-02
- FBI Library Searches Continue
The Patriot Act allows FBI agents to
search obtain customer information from
librarians and booksellers. The Patriot Act conflicts
with state laws which keep this information
confidential. Searches by FBI agents have
continued, despite complaints
that they are an invasion of privacy. In Florida,
FBI agents recently removed computers from
a library in Delray Beach.
Source: Miami Herald 9-9-02
- Print Still Losing Readers to Web
The death of print continues as new studies
find readers prefer the web for information about
new products and services. The study found that 77%
of those polled used the web to discover new products
and companies.
Source: AdAge.com 9-9-02
- Hardly Anyone Using Netscape Browser
WebSideStory has
reported that the percentage of Web surfers using
Netscape worldwide continues
to dwindle, and is now at record lows. As of Aug. 26, 2002, Netscape's
global usage share had dropped to 3.4 percent, down from 13 percent
at this time last year, according to WebSideStory's StatMarket.
Since early 1999, Netscape's global usage share has dropped from
about 32 percent worldwide.
Microsoft's Internet Explorer, meanwhile, continues to climb, and now
has a global usage share of 96 percent, up from about 87 percent a
year ago, StatMarket reported.
"The browser war is in fact a massacre," said Geoff Johnston,
vice president of product marketing for StatMarket. "The newest
versions of Netscape have failed to win over users so far. There
are pockets of resistance in certain countries, but unless AOL
makes a move soon, Netscape may find itself battling Opera
for the last 1 to 2 percent of the market."
9-6-02
- Cox Ohio Publishing ceased publishing the
The Franklin Chronicle and Springboro Star Press
on Aug. 28. 21 editorial jobs could be affected by
the termination of these publicatons.
Source: Dayton Daily News 9-6-02
- Royalty Increase Could End Web Radio
Jupiter Research has found that new royalty fees
could force Web radio stations to shut down. The radio
stations would not be able to earn enough in advertising to
pay for the royalties. CNet's News.com reported that some Internet stations
have already ceased webcasting music.
Source: News.com 9-5-02
- The Practice of Ministry in Canada (PMC) magazine,
a quarterly publication, is going to cease publishing
next year.
Source: Anglican Journal 9-4-02
- 1,515 workers at media companies were laid off in August
according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.
TVInsite reported that this is the worst month so far this year for
media layoffs.
Source: TVInsite 9-4-02
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