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.

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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…

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