Paging Authors Podcast: Herve Kempf

Posted by Dana on 12.18.2008 at 5:17 pm

Paging Authors with Dana Barrett is a weekly podcast in which our lovely and talented Ms. Barrett sits down with your favorite bestselling authors as well as up and coming literary stars.

Join Dana for a chat with French journalist Hervé Kempf about his book How the Rich are Destroying the Earth. Since 1988 Mr. Kemp has specialized in environmental and ecological reporting. He created the environmental magazine Reporterre, and has written for scientific and economic newspapers. He is the Environmental Editor at Le Monde, the most influential French newspaper, where and covers ecological topics, notably climate change and biodiversity. Le Monde now Read more…

Herve Kempf [ 14:43 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1026)

3 Comments » | Tagged Author Podcast, Uncategorized, herve kempf, how the rich are destroying the world, journalism, le monde

On the Book Industry and its Byproducts (cont’d)

Posted by Jack on 12.08.2008 at 4:22 pm

My coworker Eddie just saw this and thought it relevant to my recent prognostications…

The Pulitzer Prize, the prestigious award for excellence in print journalism, is being expanded to include online-only publications.

Since 2006 the award committee has accepted submissions from stories appearing on the websites of newspapers, like say – The New York Times – but the new guidelines would seemingly open up the prize to online-only outlets like, you know, Mashable (lol).

According to a statement issued today, the basic criteria for qualifying organizations are that they “publish at least weekly … are primarily dedicated to original news reporting and coverage of ongoing stories … and adhere to the highest journalistic principles.” Video, however, is still off-limits.

Somewhat ironically, the news comes on the same day that The Tribune Company, one of America’s biggest newspaper companies, filed for bankruptcy. Way to go, Internet.

Have your say » | Tagged Uncategorized, authors, book industry, journalism, pulitzer prize, writers

On the Book Industry and its Byproducts

Posted by Jack on 12.08.2008 at 3:05 pm

Across the pond, Two Ravens Press weighs in on the book industry these days:

The further demise of the book review is predicted by Robert McCrum in The Observer today.  “The book world is in full-blown transition,’ he says. ‘Blogs are rampant; Google is digitising every text going; e-readers are transforming the experience of reading. Books (and book reviewing) have been pushed to the margin. It doesn’t help that in a global recession publishing is also feeling the pinch.”

It’s an interesting question, whether blogs really are supplanting professional critical reviewing. I’m a big fan of really good serious literary blogs, which take the level of discussion about books to a place that a typical review, no matter how well done, can’t. A blog enables you to have a debate about books: what worked for you as a reader and what didn’t, and that’s a very valuable thing.

I agree with the value of book blogs (natch!) but would contest that there will always be a place for good writers.  I would go so far as to suggest that this is could become the Age of the Great Writer, Read more…

9 Comments » | Tagged Uncategorized, authors, book industry, journalism, on my soapbox, writers