NiemanLab: People are getting a lot of coronavirus news from traditional media, but they trust information from their employers more. “The coronavirus pandemic continues to throw salt in the wound we journalists have about the public’s trust in news. The communications firm Edelman published a special edition of its annual Trust Barometer Report that highlights the role that the private sector must play in informing people about the coronavirus crisis. Unfortunately, the study also underscores the public’s conflicting views of the news media.”
publishers
DCist: Local News Outlets Face Existential Threat Amid Coronavirus-Related Drop In Revenue
DCist: Local News Outlets Face Existential Threat Amid Coronavirus-Related Drop In Revenue. “Even as local news outlets are seeing record traffic on their websites, one of their main revenue sources is drying up. Advertising for area events and establishments is nearly non-existent thanks to the coronavirus-related cancellations and closures. Media outlets are reacting to the sudden change with layoffs, pay cuts, and calls for reader support.”
Publishers Weekly: Is Macmillan Reconsidering Its Library E-book Embargo?
Publishers Weekly: Is Macmillan Reconsidering Its Library E-book Embargo?. “At the recent ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia, Macmillan CEO John Sargent told librarians that he would come back in March with potential alternatives to the publisher’s controversial library e-book embargo. And this week, Macmillan made good on Sargent’s statement, with an email to a select group of librarians seeking feedback on three proposals that could inform new e-book license terms for public libraries.”
Bloomberg: Google In Talks with Publishers to Pay for Displaying News
Bloomberg: Google In Talks with Publishers to Pay for Displaying News. “The early-stage talks are taking place primarily with French and other European publishers, and may not lead to any agreements, a person familiar with the matter said. A deal would apply only to news products like the Google News vertical, they added, not general web content queries.” This is my jaw on the floor.
Inside The E-Book ‘War’ Waging Between Libraries And Publishers (WGBH)
WGBH: Inside The E-Book ‘War’ Waging Between Libraries And Publishers. “According to the American Library Association (ALA), about one fifth of the books sold in the U.S. are eBooks. Some publishers are worried that the ease of borrowing a digital book from a library is hurting sales and have decided to limit how and when libraries can access digital books. Now, libraries in Massachusetts and nationwide are vowing to fight back. They say the practices are not just unfair and unethical, but they might be illegal.”
Publishers Weekly: Educational Publishers File Suit to Block Sale of Pirated E-books
Publishers Weekly: Educational Publishers File Suit to Block Sale of Pirated E-books. “According to the lawsuit filed in the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the pirate sites are selling unlicensed e-books using Google ads which they place in response to searches for the publishers’ legitimate content. While the lawsuit proceeds, the publishers, through the Educational Publishers Enforcement Group which brought the action, were granted a temporary restraining order that calls for the immediate shut down of the illegal activity on these sites, as well as the cessation of the services that support the sites.”
“We’re wounded animals and wondering if they’re going to shoot us”: Publishers have, um, cooled on partnerships with platforms (Nieman Journalism Lab)
Nieman Journalism Lab: “We’re wounded animals and wondering if they’re going to shoot us”: Publishers have, um, cooled on partnerships with platforms. “The era when publishers could be just mildly skeptical of platforms while continuing to work with them enthusiastically appears to be over. Bring on the ‘just kill me now’ analogies — and a shift to, um, unenthusiastic partnerships.”
