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Book Publishing Jobs, Job Listings & Careers Search
Find your next Book Publishing career. Search Book Publishing jobs from thousands of job and career search sites.
A search engine for jobs with a different approach to job and career searches. In one simple search, job
seekers get free access to millions of employment opportunities from thousands of websites.
Find your next job in Book Publishing today.
There's good reason to get hopes up. On the evidence of not only 'True Blood' but other book series-to-small-screen transfers such as 'The Vampire Diaries' and 'Dexter,' a link to a larger, high-profile entertainment property has big benefits on the publishing side of the equation.
Laura Lang tapped as CEO of Time Inc.
Publishing News: Digital ad exec to head Time Warner's publishing group -- Time Warner topper Jeff Bewkes Wednesday named digital advertising exec Laura Lang as CEO of the conglom's Time Inc. publishing group, the nation's largest and home to People magazine, InStyle, Time and Sports Illustrated.
James Murdoch quits board of UK publishers
Publishing News: Steps down from News Group Newspapers -- James Murdoch has resigned as director of the British companies that publish The Times, The Sunday Times and the Sun.
N.Y. Times swings to big profit
Publishing News: Sports group sale, digital ads boost bottom line -- The New York Times Co. swung to a hefty $15 million profit last quarter from a $4 million loss a year ago in part on a one-time gain from the sale of a stake in Fenway Sports Group.
Lorraine Ali named L.A. Times pop music editor
Publishing News: Vet journo has written for Rolling Stone, Newsweek -- Lorraine Ali has been named pop music editor at the Los Angeles Times, announced Sallie Hofmeister, assistant managing editor, arts and entertainment, and Craig Turner, arts and entertainment editor.
New newspaper woes for News Corp.
Publishing News: WSJ Europe faces allegations on circulation fudging, editiorial compromise -- News Corp.'s got another newspaper migraine, and this one is creeping closer to home as the publisher of the Wall Street Journal Europe was accused of effectively fudging its circulation numbers and stepped down after he seemed to compromise the paper's editorial independence.
Goldsmith back
as Variety biz editor
Publishing News: She will be based in Gotham -- Jill Goldsmith has returned to Variety as business editor, based in Gotham.
Gluck: WME lit leader strikes while iron is hot
Publishing News: Women's Impact Report 2011: Suzanne Gluck -- William Morris Endeavor's literary department is on pace to have its best year ever, thanks to its swelling roster of best-selling authors.
Borders to liquidate stores
Publishing News: Retail chain, lacking buyers, could begin folding Friday -- With no buyer in sight, Borders Group has asked court approval to turn the bankrupt bookstore chain over to liquidators, with store closures to begin as early as Friday.
News Corp. axes News of the World
Publishing News: U.K. tabloid collapses, plagued by scandals -- Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. has announced that it will close U.K. newspaper the News of the World, which has been embroiled in a phone hacking and police bribery scandal.
Infamous Players: A Tale of Movies, the Mob (and Sex)
Publishing News: 288 pages; Weinstein Books; $25
The Ballad of Rango: The Art & Making of an Outlaw Film
Publishing News: Insight Editions; 156 pages; $39.95
Filmcraft: Editing
Publishing News: Focal Press; 192 pages
Tribune consolidates broadcasting unit
Publishing News: Nils Larsen named CEO of Tribune Broadcasting -- Tribune Co. has consolidated the management of its broadcasting unit, naming Nils Larsen as CEO of Tribune Broadcasting.
Editor Geoff Miller dies at 74
Publishing News: Was a founder of Los Angeles magazine -- Geoff Miller, one of the founders of Los Angeles magazine, has died at the age of 74.
Hearst Corp. ups Swartz to COO
Publishing News: Newspaper exec seen as possible successor to CEO -- The Hearst Corp. on Wednesday named Steve Swartz, a senior newspaper executive at the company, as chief operating officer, a move that may give some hint to succession plans for longtime CEO Frank Bennack.
Prisa sells 10% stake in Media Capital
Publishing News: Paes do Amaral holds option to buy further 19.7% stake -- Portuguese aristocrat, businessman and race car driver Miguel Paes do Amaral has purchased a 10% stake in leading Portuguese media group, Media Capital.
Time Inc. parts ways with CEO Jack Griffin
Publishing News: Topper apparently clashed with exec team -- Just five months after Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes tapped a topper to run his weakest business, Time Inc., John Griffin ankled Thursday over a disagreement in "style and approach that did not mesh," the parent said.
Huffington Post sale a homecoming for exec
Publishing News: Co-founder Ken Lerer is former AOL exec VP -- The sale of the Huffington Post is a homecoming of sorts for one of the site's co-founders.
Neal Baer strikes three-book deal
Publishing News: 'Law & Order: SVU' producer to write forensic series -- "Law & Order: SVU" exec producer Neal Baer has cut a three-book deal with Kensington Publishing for a novel series about a femme forensic psychiatrist on the hunt for a serial killer.
Yahoo Entertainment adds writers
Publishing News: Leitch, Ganz, Carlson, Robertson add original voices -- Yahoo! Entertainment is beefing up its editorial team.
Variety.com - Publishing News
The premier source of entertainment news. Turn to Variety.com for timely, credible articles, reviews and analysis of film, TV, music, theater, video, gaming and movie and television production -- information vital to your showbiz career.
Are eBooks Creating New Opportunities for Short Story Writers?
At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, short stories were among the most popular forms of fiction in America. Since then the short story has taken quite a hit, but digital publishing is poised to bring the literary form back into the public view.
5 Free Tools to Convert Files for the Kindle and Other Ebook Readers
There are a number of reasons why you might want or need to convert your files and manuscripts to e-book formats. No matter what your reason and your needs, there are a variety of tools to do most of the hard work for you.
Breaking Down Publisher Guidelines - What a Writer Needs to Know
Kathryn Lively suggests that if you believe in your book it is worth testing the water to find another person who believes in the story.
Self Publishing: Why You Should Write and Publish Your Book Now
While it might not be the best time ever to be a book publisher or bookseller, it is a great time to be a self-publishing author.
What You Need To Know About Ebook Formats for Ebook Readers
What you should know about the most popular ebook formats.
Avoid The Newsstand Bloodbath
Distribution can be as brutal as ad sales. But it doesn't have to be. Here are some thoughts on how to best work with and around the system... first up, the newsstand.
What's on Your Back Cover?
Everyone knows that a book’s back cover needs a bar code along with ISBN and price information, but once those are in place, new publishers often are unsure what to add to the back cover of their books. While there are many different views about what should be on a back cover, I believe the best use is to see the back of your book as a mini sales page, including four elements.
Getting Out There
Michael Brooke's eighth article in his series on independent magazine survival gives advice on getting new subscribers. Is bigger better, or does slow and steady win the race?
The Advantages of Self-Publishing
While there has traditionally been a stigma attached to self-publishing, for some writers the option to self-publish has many advantages.
Interview with Independent magazine publisher Woody from Sneaker Freaker
Started as a way to get free shoes, Sneaker Freaker has become a world-wide pheonomenon with a ton of influence in its niche.
Why Book Publishers Should Be on Twitter
When I speak to publishers about the benefits of Twitter, I get one of two reactions. They either respond enthusiastically, or they declare that Twitter is a complete waste of time.
Who are the needles in the haystack?
Michael Brooke's seventh article in his series on independent magazine survival shows you which readers your magazine should be pursuing.
Are Self-Publishing Companies Cheating by Removing the Hurdles to Get Your Books Published Faster?
Are self-published authors not paying their dues? Are self-publishing services encouraging cheating the system? Brent Sampson thinks not.
A to Z of Self-Publishing
This excerpt from The Economical Guide to Self-Publishing: How to Produce and Market Your Book on a Budget takes you through self-publishing from A to Z
What's Your Magazine's Focus?
A ball bearing publisher is not concerned primarily by size but rather by stature. What does that mean? Find out in the sixth installment of The Ball Bearing and the Beach Ball where Michael Brooke talks about focus.
Interview with Gloria Hildebrant of Escarpment Views Magazine
Gloria Hildebrant, a freelance writer and editor, has contributed to many magazines over her career, but now has a magazine of her own. Along with co-publisher Mike Davis, she has a little over one year of publishing Escarpment Views under her belt. Learn how she's keeping her readers and advertisers happy, even in a tough economic climate.
Learn to Write Like Ben Franklin
Ben Franklin wasn’t born a gifted writer. He had a rigorous and demanding method to improve his writing that you can use too.
Selling Advertising
Michael Brooke's fifth article in his series on independent magazine survival shows how a niche publisher can attact and keep advertisers.
Interview with Suzanne Soto-Davies of Silver and Gold Magazine
While some print magazines are looking at a bleak future, Suzanne Soto-Davis has her sights set high. Her two year-old magazine's 55+ demographic is growing, they're a boon to advertisers, and they are avid magazine readers.
5 Ways Authors Can Find Out Who is Buying Their Books
Authors must find out who their readers are in order to build profitable lasting relationships with them. Identifying readers who buy books from bookstores and independent distributors is usually impossible. The solution? Bonus content online.
Magazine Survival Guide : Advertising and Sales
Michael Brooke's fourth article in his series on independent magazine survival explains how he approaches advertising.
A Strategy For Getting Your Self-Published Book into Bookstores
It's fine to say that you don't need to have your books in brick and mortar bookstores as long as you've got the Internet, but every author and publisher wants that real world presence in their local bookstore, and especially in bookstore chains. Here's a strategy to make that happen.
Interview with Cynthia Moyer of Open Magazine
Cynthia Moyer is a social enterprise publisher of a health and living magazine with one of the most unique twists to magazine publication we've seen. Each issue of Open Magazine is focused around one colour, and all the products, stories and articles are linked to that colour. Find out how colour, a social mission, and a strong desire to serve open minded, intelligent women, are driving explosive growth for one magazine.
Magazine Publishers: Let's Get Small!
Michael Brooke's third article in his series on independent magazine survival advises new publishers to be small. Very small.
A Crash Course in Submitting a Children's Book Manuscript
While the submission process may feel like second nature to experienced writers, it's easy to forget that newcomers aren't aware of the specific procedures. And since everyone can benefit
from a refresher course now and then, here's a rundown of the steps.
Why do you want to publish a magazine?
Michael Brooke asks why on earth you're in, or want to enter, this ghastly, cruel marketplace, and has some great advice if you've got the gumption to stick it out.
Booklets, Another Way to Sell Your Books
Why would someone want to turn their book into a booklet? This gives readers a bite-sized palatable introduction to a new topic in their life rather than first delving into a 200-page book as their first experience with new information.
Publishing Books in a Slow Economy
Previous economic downturns have shown that people continue to spend on entertainment. In fact, movie attendance actually spiked during the Great Depression. Some have attributed this to the need to escape bleak reality, and what is better escapism than spending a few hours with a book?
The Ball Bearing and the Beach Ball - Introduction
What does it take to survive, or even thrive, as an independent magazine publisher during these tough financial times? Michael Brooke begins a weekly article series exploring the question.
Consumer Magazines
Consumer magazines generally cater to a non-professional audience whereas trade magazines target a specific profession, trade, or field of science. Some magazines, like computer trade magazines and job listing weeklies, fall into the gray area in between the two categories.
How I Became a Children's Book Author
Multi-genre author Mayra Calvani explains how she went from writing horror fiction to writing books for children, and what she gets out of the experience.
What is a Magazine?
Publishing Central's introduction to magazine publishing begins by trying to narrow down exactly what a magazine is.
Interview with Michael Brooke of Concrete Wave Magazine
Michael Brooke is something of a legend in the skateboarding world. As publisher of Concrete Wave Magazine, he describes himself as a "skater turned publisher," but as our interview reveals, he is as intently passionate about the written word as he is about skateboarding.
Interview with Independent Magazine Publisher Tom Kirkman of Rodmaker Magazine
Ten years ago, Tom Kirkman did what many people would say was nearly impossible. He launched a glossy, color magazine for a small niche market. A decade later, his magazine, Rodmaker Magazine, is still going strong. We interviewed Tom about his successes, difficulties, and lessons learned as a successful independent magazine publisher.
Learn How Kids Can Be Published Authors Too
Kenton Verhoeff is a 12-year old homeschooled boy who has written and published his own book. He offers advice to other young aspiring authors here.
The Rise of Self Publishing
Not long ago, self published books were considered just a few steps above pamphlets run off on a Xerox machine. How did this big change come about?
How To Find A Fashion Magazine Internship
If you are looking to get into fashion magazines as a career, an internship is one of the only ways to break into the business, especially if you want to work for a top level fashion magazine like Allure, Elle or the highly regarded Vogue.
10 Ways to Monetize your Author Blog
If you’re an author who realizes the importance of having a blog to develop a relationship with your existing readers and to find new readers but also needs to write in ways that produce more direct and immediate revenue instead of just tiny blips in the royalty check, then perhaps you need to find a way to make your blog make money for you while it builds your readership.
Publishing Central Updates
Learn about book, magazine and newsletter publishing, plus writing, editing and proofreading tips from Publishing Central.
Time Inc's Maghound to Close April 30, 2012
Maghound, a magazine subscription service run by Time Inc., will be closing April 30, 2012. The site says, "We're sorry, this site will close April 30, 2012. No new orders accepted."
Maghound was launched in 2007. The site let people subscribe to multiple magazines for a discount, such as three magazines for $4.95. The service was billed as Netflix for magazine subscription as launch time.
(via Folio)
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Daily Mail Now Biggest Newspaper Website
The MailOnline, located at dailymail.co.uk, is now the biggest newspaper website. The MailOnline points out that its 45,348 million unique users surpassed the New York Times's 44,787 million unique users in December 2011, according to data from Comscore.
MailOnline says it recently opened editorial offices in New York City and Los Angeles. These new offices have helped MailOnline become the fifth biggest newspaper among U.S. readers, according to Comscore data. The Daily Mail has a lot of online celebrity and human interest stories, which help drive lots of traffic.
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NewBay Media Acquires Three Magazines From Future US
NewBay Media LLC has acquired select titles from Future US, Inc, the San Francisco-based subsidiary of Future plc. The titles include Guitar World, Revolver, and Guitar Aficionado. NewBay Media says it now reachers over 5 million music and audio professionals and enthusiasts every month with the new titles. The magaines joins NewBay's existing music and audio titles, which include Guitar Player, Bass Player, Keyboard, Electronic Musician, Mix, Pro Audio Review, Audio Media, and Pro Sound News.
Steve Palm, CEO, NewBay Media, said in a statement, "These titles, and the talented team behind them, have set a high standard for guitar enthusiast publishers around the world, and we are thrilled to welcome them into the NewBay family. This acquisition furthers our goal to offer our readers and advertisers unparalleled depth and breadth within the music and pro audio communities."
The Guardian reports that Future US sold the titles after slumping to a $5.6 million loss in 2010.
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The Write News is Now on Google+
The Write News now has a Google+ page on Google+. Google+ is a new social network from Google. You can follow us on Google+ by clicking on the Google+ button below and adding us to one of your circles.
You can also find The Write News on Facebook and Twitter.
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Meredith Corporation to Acquire FamilyFun From Disney Publishing
Meredith Corporation has signed an agreement with Disney Publishing Worldwide to acquire the assets of FamilyFun magazine. The magazine has a rate base of 2.1 million and an audience of 6 million. The assets include the magazine, its special interest publications, ToyHopper and digital magazine applications. However, Disney Interactive's Moms and Family online portfolio will retain all existing FamilyFun content for digital use.
FamilyFun debuted in 1991. It targets moms with kids ages 3-12. The first issue of the magazine under Meredith is expected to be the March 2012 issue.
Meredith National Media Group President Tom Harty said in a statement, "We are delighted to add the FamilyFun brand to our expanding media portfolio. This acquisition further strengthens our leadership position and reach among women in both the parenthood and food spaces, and offers our advertisers additional channels to reach these consumers."
Photo: Meredith Corporation
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GamePro Print Magazine Ends, Website Forwards to PCWorld
GamePro magazine is no more. The print version ended with the November quarterly issue. This isn't a situation where the print version dies and the website continues. The website is gone as well. Visitors are being forwarded to a section on PCWorld.com. A message on the GamePro.com website says, "Thank you for your loyalty, support, and participation in the GamePro.com community. The U.S. version of GamePro is now part of PCWorld.com offering gaming news, reviews, and how-tos from the PCWorld team."
IndustryGamers has a report on the demise of GamePro here. There are also reports here on USA Today and here on Entertainment Weekly.
Photo: IDG
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The Protester is Time's Person of the Year
Time magazine chose the protester as its "Person of the Year" for 2011. The corresponding article covers the protests from the Arab Spring to the more recent occupy protests in the U.S.
The cover was designed by artist Shepard Fairey. The artwork is based on a photograph taken by photojournalist Ted Soqui. The woman in the photograph is Highland Park resident Sarah Mason. She is a member of Occupy L.A. Take a look:
Photo: Time
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Warren Buffett's Company Buying Omaha World-Herald
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway company is buying The Omaha World-Herald Co., the publisher of the Omaha World-Herald. Teddy Kroeger, the current publisher, president and CEO, of the company will remain in charge. Barrons.com reports that Berkshire owns the Buffalo News and has a major stake in the Washington Post Company.
Warren Buffett says he is "extremely bullish" on his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska.
Here is Omaha World-Herald publisher Teddy Kroeger talking about the sale and a video of Warren Buffett addressing shareholders of Omaha World-Herald Co. Take a look:
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Retailers Use Kindle, Nook and Other Ereaders to Lure in Consumers on Black Friday
Many of the big retailers are offering ereaders in Black Friday ads. Some of the retailers are even offering gift cards with the hot items. This is yet another sign that the book industry is moving rapidly to the new digital format. Here are some highlights of how the ereaders are being promoted on Black Friday.
There will probably be many more ereader offers as Black Friday gets closer. You can keep up with the latest Black Friday news by following @blackfriday on Twitter.
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Hanley Wood Shutters Big Builder and Building Products Magazine
BtoB Media Business reports that publisher Hanley Wood is ceasing publication of two magazines, Big Builder and Building Products.
Big Builder was targeted at executives at building firms. Building Products was for high-volume builders and remodelers. The housing industry has been struggling since 2008. A Wall Street Journal story links the demise of Big Builder to the downturn in the housing market.
Hanley Wood will also stop developing its eBuild.com online directory, but will keep the site online. The company also eliminated five positions.
Photo: Hanley Wood
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Rachael Ray Leaves Readers Digest for Meredith Corp.
The New York Post reports that Rachael Ray is leaving Reader's Digest for Meredith Corp. She will move her Every Day With Rachel Ray magazine to the new publisher.
The Post says Tom Williams, the former CEO of Reader's Digest, blamed Every Day With Rachel Ray for some of the company's financial problems. The Post says this made Rachael Ray very angry. Newsstand sales for the magazine fell 16.9% in the first of the year, which is not good, but a lot of magazines are struggling in the recession and the continued move away from print.
Rachael Ray said in a statement, "Everything to me is about family and I am so excited that Every Day with Rachael Ray will now be joining the Meredith family. We are very proud to have established a loyal following by creating a new perspective in the food space with our magazine."
Meredith National Media Group President Tom Harty said, "The acquisition of Every Day with Rachael Ray will further extend our leadership and deepen our reach in providing women with best-in-class food content, while offer advertisers multiple avenues to reach them."
Photo: Rachael Ray
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Time Uses 1984 Photograph for Steve Jobs Cover
Time magazine went with a 1984 photograph of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs with a Macintosh computer on his lap for its special Steve Jobs issue. The magazine cover photo was taken by Norman Seeff in 1984.
This was the seventh time Steve Jobs covered Time. One is from Jobs' Pixar days and the rest are from his two separate stints as Apple CEO. You can see see a gallery of Time's Steve Jobs cover here.
Photo: Time
(via Mac Daily News)
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Steve Jobs Arrives at Pearly Gates on The New Yorker Cover
Steve Jobs arrives at the Pearly Gates in The New Yorker Steve Jobs cover. The cover sketch shows Saint Peter checking for Jobs' name on an iPad. It is a clever cartoon even though Jobs was a Buddhist. The New Yorker has a slideshow of more Jobs' cartoons here.
Photo: The New Yorker
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The Scientist Magazine Ceases Publication After 25 Years
The Scientist magazine, published by London-based Science Navigation Group, is ceasing publication. The last issue of the magazine is the October 2011 issue, which is also its special twenty-fifth anniversary issue.
Columbia Journalism Review has a detailed entry on the closure of the science magazine. It includes an email from publisher Jane Hunter. Hunter says the increasingly difficult ad market, a result of the terrible economy, led to the publication's downfall. The economy has led to the downfall of many magazines.
Hunter writes, "We took this decision because we just could not make the numbers work. The Scientist depended almost completely on advertising revenues and - as I'm sure you know - the ad market is getting harder and harder to succeed in. The economics of the situation eventually gave us no choice but to close."
Nature reports that the magazine's staff were only just informed at a meeting Thursday morning that there will be no November issue.
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Businessweek Releases Cover Image for Steve Jobs Tribute Issue
Visionary Apple co-founder Steve Jobs died today at age 56. Steve Jobs had a huge impact on the development of computers and technology. Most recently his iPod and iPad devices were changing the music and publishing industries. Industry leaders and executives have been posting tributes to Jobs. Bill Gates says Jobs was a colleague, competitor and friend since he and Jobs met nearly 30 years ago.
Bloomberg Businessweek's has already released the cover image for its Steve Jobs tribute issue, which will arrive on newsstands on Friday, October 7, 2011. Print and iPad subscribers to Bloomberg Businessweek will begin receiving the issue on Friday. The cover shows a partial face of Apple's Steve Jobs, with the writing: "Steve Jobs 1955-2011."
Photo: Businessweek
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News Corp's The Daily is Short of Murdoch's 500,000 Reader Goal
News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch believes The Daily, the media company's iPad-only magazine, needs 500,000 monthly readers to make money. Bloomberg reports that The Daily is averaging about 120,000 readers a week, which is only about 1/4 of what it needs. 120,000 is still a very impressive paid subscription number for content available only on the iPad.
People can get a free two week subscription to The Daily on iTunes, so the true subscriber number could be less than 120,000. Hopefully, News Corp. will give The Daily more time to gain traction before giving up on it.
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F+W Media Launches Digital Business Imprint
F+W Media has launched an business ebook imprint, called F+W Media Business Now. The imprint will include ebook titles focused on emerging trends in management, career, personal finance, sales, and marketing. The ebooks will be priced at $7.99 each.
Publisher Karen Cooper says, "I am excited to be among the first publishers to give readers immediate, comprehensive, and practical coverage on of-the-moment topics. These books give readers a leg up in today's rapid-paced business environment."
Two of the new titles from the imprint include Split-Second Negotiating by Peter Sander and Play to Your Team's Strength by JoAnn Warcholic. The website for the new imprint can be found here.
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Baltimore Sun to Launch Paywall in October
The number of newspapers putting up paywalls continues to increase. Poynter is reporting that the Baltimore Sun will put up a paywall next month, starting October 10th. The paywall will launch with an introductory rate of 99 cents for the first four weeks. The regular rate will be $49.99 for 26 weeks for non print subscribers and $29.99 a year for print subscribers. Non subscribers will be able to access 15 pages for free each month.
In a memo to employees, publisher Tim Ryan said, "Many other media companies, including the New York Times, Dallas Morning News and Boston Globe, currently offer digital subscriptions. We believe our expertise in creating and delivering high-quality news positions baltimoresun.com to better serve our customers in the Baltimore area."
You can read the full memo here.
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M. Shanken Communications Launches The Whisky Advocate
M. Shanken Communications has launched The Whisky Advocate magazine. M. Shanken acquired Malt Advocate in 2010 and has relaunch it as The Whisky Advocate. The relaunched magazine, which is published quarterly, also has a website at thewhiskyadvocate.com.
Marvin R. Shanken, chairman of M. Shanken Communications, says, "We plan to make major investments in this title, because we think the time for a whisky magazine is now. In recent years, whenever I would visit wine shops across America, I would see big window displays and vast selections of whiskies. When I asked retailers why they stocked so many whiskies, their answer was always the same: because they sell. I then asked who was buying them-particularly as so many of them are high-priced. Their answer: the same people who buy fine wine."
M. Shanken Communications also publishes Wine Spectator and Cigar Aficioando.
Photo: M. Shanken Communications
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Hearst Reduces Harper's Bazaar Publishing Frequency to 10 Issues Per Year
Heart is going to reduce the number of issues of Harper's Bazaar it published in 2012 to just 10 issues. The frequency change follows Hearst's acquisition of Elle from Lagardere SCA earlier this year.
Harper's Bazaar will skip issue in the summer and at year's end. It will publish a June-July summer issue and a December-January issue in 2012. WWD reports that Harper's Bazaar will also trim size.
Media Post notes that Harper's Bazaar shrank from 12 issues to 11 issues this year, so next year will be the second consecutive reduction in frequency for the fashion magazine.
Photo: Harper's Bazaar
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World of Warcraft Magazine Ceases Publication
Future US and Blizzard Entertainment have ceased publication of World of Warcraft Magazine after five issues. The official site now contains a message saying the magazine is ending. The World of Warcraft (WoW) online game is the largest MMORPG game with over 11 million subscribers. WoW gamers probably have access to plenty of information online and don't really need a print magazine.
The magazine's website also contains an input box where subscribers can enter a code to redeem a special offer. Joystiq says the offer is for six World of Warcraft pets. Cinema Blend says gamers can also get a refund for their remaining subscription balance.
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Myspace Delays Announcing Relaunch Plans
The Wall Street Journal reports that Specific Media LLC and Justin Timberlake have delayed their announcement about how they plan to revamp MySpace. Specific Media acquired the site, which was once a social star, in June. The company's plans for MySpace will now be announced at the Advertising Week conference in New York in October.
We expect MySpace will get rid of its awful logo with the underline. They will also probably need to launch a button of some kind, like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+ and all the competition have. Publishers are running out of space for buttons so it is not clear how effective a MySpace button would be.
The traffic to MySpace is still a healthy 33.1 million unique visitors. That was the figure in August according to ComScore. It is a big drop of 44% from August 2010.
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The Atlantic Launches Atlantic Cities Website
The Atlantic has launched a new site, called Atlantic Cities. The site carries the tagline, "Place Matters." Categories on the new site include jobs and economy, commute, housing, arts and lifestyle, design, technology, politics and neighborhoods. The website's description says, "The Atlantic Cities explores the most innovative ideas and pressing issues facing today's global cities and neighborhoods. By bringing together news, analysis, data, and trends, the site is an engaging destination for an increasingly urbanized world."
Bob Cohn, editorial director of Atlantic Digital, describes the new site as follows: "This is the place for stories on housing, commuting, and public art; for charts, graphs, maps, and rankings; and for conversation and debate among the leading voices on urbanism. The Atlantic Cities is for people who care about the issues and ideas that are changing where and how we live, work, and play."
The site contains articles relevant to people living in urban areas. There are currently articles about chain stores, preserving the environment in cities, college enrollment, architecture, geography and politics on the homepage. The site contains a pull-down menu that lists dozens of U.S. cities. If you click on one of the cities you will get taken to a city hub site that displays a handy chart that shows you city data, such as population change, media income, media home price, top occupations, city rankings, diversity and more. The city hub sites also display any relevant articles Atlantic Cities has to offer about that city.
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The Guardian Launches New U.S. Website
The Guardian has launched a new U.S. website at guardiannews.com/. The Guardian said in a release that the new site will be helmed by Janine Gibson, formerly editor of guardian.co.uk. The new site was designed as a hub for U.S. readers.
Gibson says, "The site will be a gradual build which will allow us to monitor audiences and grow according to behaviour and what our users want - we're starting small but thinking big. It's fantastic to know that we will have the freedom to innovate and experiment with new forms of digital journalism with the full support of the Guardian brand behind us."
New writers and editors wre hired to build the site. In a letter posted on guardian.co.uk, Gibson says the Guardian is "hiring a new US team of writers, technologists and editors to work with journalists from the UK."
A button on the top left side of the page will enable users to switch between the U.S. version and the U.K. version.
Photo: Guardian News and Media Limited
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Financial Times Launches How to Spend It App
The Financial Times app was recently pulled from iTunes by Apple because of a subscription dispute. However, the Financial Times has launched a new app for its luxury magazine, How To Spent It. The magazine is published weekly with the weekly with the Financial Times Weekend Edition.
The app contains content from over 60 editions of How To Spend It magazine. It also contains
blogs, news, columns and offers posted daily. The app will also shared one item from a gift guide each day. The free app can be found here.
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Playboy Charging Just 60 Cents For October 2011 Retro Issue
Playboy is charging just 60 cents for its retro 60s themed October 2011 issue. The issue ties in with the launch of NBC's The Playboy Club tv series. Actress Laura Benanti is pictured on the cover wearing a retro Playboy outfit.
Reuters reports that retro look and price match the year 1961 when the Playboy Club was founded. Hugh Hefner told Reuters that, "It's hard to put into words the fact that, obviously, everything changed for me in that time frame."
Photo: Playboy
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The Boston Globe Launches Subscription-Only Website at BostonGlobe.com
The Boston Globe announced that launch of a subscription-only website at BostonGlobe.com today. The new site combines the newspaper's print stories with breaking news. It will cost $3.99 a week for a digital-only subscription. Existing print subscribers will not have to pay extra, but they will need to register.
The Boston Globe will continue Boston.com as a free website. The Globe says Boston.com will offer "breaking news, blogs, photo galleries, sports coverage, and a limited selection of stories from the paper."
Globe publisher Christopher M. Mayer says, "We've never had The Boston Globe have its own front door in the digital space, It's always been integrated with Boston.com. This was an opportunity to build something brand-new and to have it front and center and really do justice to the brand promise The Boston Globe offers to its readers."
The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993. The New York Times implemented a paywall in April, 2011 that lets readers read a maximum of 20 articles per month for free, while charging a subscription to users who want access to more content and become digital subscribers.
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ESPN Cuts Ten Year, $15 Billion Broadcast Deal With NFL
EPSN has cut a long-term ten year broadcast deal with the NFL that will last through the 2021 season. The New York Times reports that ESPN will pay $15.2 billion for the broadcast rights, which is about $1.9 million a year.
Bloomberg reports that ESPN will also get the rights to broadcast the NFL draft and the Pro Bowl. ESPN will continue to broadcast Monday Night Football which averages a large 10.5 million households each week.
ESPN also landed the rights to broadcast games in 3-D, which could be big deal in the future as more consumers buy 3-D enabled televisions. You can read the press release here.
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Barnes & Noble Expands Nook Newsstand, Adds Time Inc. Titles
Barnes & Noble announced it is expanding the digital newsstand for its Nook color device. New titles that have been added include Fortune, People, Sports Illustrated, Time, Parents and Fitness magazines. Barnes & Noble boasted in a press release that it now offers more top 100 magazines than any other digital newsstand service. Time Inc. plans to make all 21 of its U.S. titles available for the Nook color by the end of this year.
The Nook magazines are free to those who already subscribe to the print editions. Non-subscribers have to buy single issues. There is a two week free trial available.
Jonathan Shar, Vice President and General Manager of digital newsstand at Barnes & Noble, says, "We're proud to work with leading periodical publishers to deliver an unmatched selection of bestselling digital magazines to NOOK Color customers. With more than 200 of the top periodicals available in NOOK Newsstand for NOOK Color, Barnes & Noble continues to provide customers with the best digital periodical collection."
Photos: Barnes & Noble/Business Wire
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New York Press Folds, Lives on as Part of Our Town Downtown
Manhattan Media has ceased publication of the New York Press, an alternative newspaper. The New York Observer reports that the New York Press name will live on as the arts section of Our Town Downtown, a weekly publication Manhattan Media is bringing back on September 1st.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Our Town Downtown will continue online. They quote Tom Allon, Manhattan Media president and CEO, as saying, "Alternative journalism has gone online."
The New York Press has been published since April 13, 1988. You can see a timeline here.
Photo: Manhattan Media
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Maxim iPad App Returns to iTunes at Higher Price
Maxim's iPad app left Apple's App store earlier this month. Maxim has since tweaked the app and brought it back to iTunes at a higher price, $5.99 an issue instead of $3.99. Maxim turned to Mag+ as its digital publishing provider for the app. The new issue features actress Rachel Nichols on the cover.
Maxim's iPad app can be found here. Maxim is promising readers more photos, video and interactivity for the higher price. Magazine publishers are still toying with iPad issue pricing. It is far from certain where the dust will settle on the right price for individual tablet magazine issues.
Mag+ has a blog entry about the new iPad app here.
Photo: Mag+/Maxim
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Gaddafi Turns Into Sand on Time Magazine Cover
Artist Tim O'Brien created an amazing sketch of Gaddafi disappearing for the upcoming cover of Time magazine. Gaddafi's head slowly becomes sand on the cover. This is a much better idea than just putting X over the former leader's face. The former dictator of Libya is not dead, but his control over the country has ended. The headline on the magazine says, "The World After Gaddafi." The issue includes articles by Fareed Zakaria and Bobby Ghosh.
Photo: Tim O'Brien/Time
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American Airlines Adds Content From Frommer's to AA.com
American Airlines has partnered with Frommer's Unlimited, to provide destination content on AA.com. AA.com now features travel-related information from Frommer's for more than 170 domestic and international destinations.
Frommer's destination information on AA.com includes an overview of the city, along with recommendations and details about upcoming events in the area. Select cities feature content about popular restaurants, shopping, nightlife and other attractions.
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Scott Kelby Launches iPad Magazine Called Light It
Scott Kelby, president and CEO of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP), has announced a digital magazine for the iPad. The publication, Light It: The How-To Magazine for Studio Lighting and Off-Camera Flash, can be found here on iTunes.
The premiere issue of Light It is free. Light It will be published 8 times a year and future issues will be available via the Light It app for $2.99 each.
Joining Scott Kelby as co-editor is Matt Kloskowski, an author, NAPP Photoshop Guy, and Photoshop and Lightroom instructor. Kloskowski is also a weekly co-host with Kelby of The Grid, a podcast all about photography.
Kelby says, "Our goal was to create an iPad magazine that not only looks like a print magazine, but works the same way. It's clean. Simple. Intuitive. You don't need to learn how to read it. At the same time, we added the ability to go beyond print, with features like a double-tap to see any photo full size, and the ability to pinch to zoom-in to see a photo's detail. It works the way you'd think it would...like a magazine. Only better."
Photo: Scott Kelby
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Cosmopolitan Publishes First E-Single
Cosmopolitan magazine has partnered with Open Road Integrated Media for its first e-single. The digital book, Cosmo's Sexiest Stories Ever, contains three short stories by Jennifer Weiner, Jane Green and Meg Cabot.
The e-single will cost $0.99 and will be sold on Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Sony Reader Store and other ebook stores. You can read descriptions of the three stories here.
Photo: Cosmopolitan/Open Road
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WSJ Magazine Growing in Size, Ad Pages
Actress Rachel Weisz covers the September 2011 issue of WSJ magazine. The Wall Street Journal launched the glossy magazine in 2008.
The magazine has suffered setbacks. The founding editor, Tina Gaudoin, left the magazine in 2010. Things are different in 2011. The magazine is now expanding in size.
WWD reports that WSJ Magazine had 124 total pages and 57 ad pages in its September 2011 issue, which are both records for WSJ. It is also a 52% jump over last year's September issue.
Photo: Wall Street Journal
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Food Network Magazine's Rate Base is Growing Rapidly
Things are going well for Food Network Magazine, which is a joint publishing effort from the Food Network and Hearst Magazines. Min online reports that the magazine's rate base will increase by 100,000 to 1.4 million starting with the first issue published in 2012.
The magazine has a rate base of 400,000 in 2010, so it has increased three-fold in subscribers since last year.
Folio notes the Food Network magazine was also the biggest ad page gainer in 2010, when its ad pages jumped 78%.
Photo: Hearst Magazines
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THQ Cuts 200 Jobs
THQ announced it is in the process of transitioning its portfolio away from licensed kids titles and movie-based entertainment properties for consoles. THQ will also discontinue development of the MX vs. ATV franchise.
THQ president and ceo Brian Farrell said in a statement, "With this realignment, we are narrowing our focus to high-quality owned IP with broad appeal that can be leveraged across multiple platforms, and to work with the best talent in the industry. By right-sizing our internal development capacities for our console portfolio, our five internal studios are focused on delivering high-quality games with talented teams driving the execution of those titles to market. As we have outlined in our business strategies, we are making shifts to reduce movie-based and licensed kids' video games in our portfolio, which underscores our strategy to move away from games that will not generate strong profits in the future."
THQ also recently shut down its Digital Warrington and Kaos Studios.
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New Print Magazine Covers Social Media
The Social Media Monthly is a new print magazine that covers the online world of social media. The magazine was launched by The Cool Blue Company, a DC-based technology group. The publication bills itself as "the world's first printed magazine to focus exclusively on the evolving technology area of social media."
The print magazine can be found in Barnes & Noble stores in the U.S. It would be ridiculous for a social media magazine to only be available in print, so the magazine does have a digital e-zine version and an app in the iTunes store. You can order subscriptions and single issues on the magazine's website.
The cover of the new magazine was designed by artist Yiying Lu. She is the artist who created the Twitter Fail Whale image. The cover also has a removable wall graphic designed by Yiying Lu.
Photo: The Cool Blue Company
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Dallas Morning News Ceases Publication of Quick
The Dallas Morning News has ceased publication of Quick, a free entertainment tabloid. The last edition was published on August 4. The Dallas Morning News launched the tabloid in 2003.
Jim Moroney, publisher of The Dallas Morning News, says, "Quick has been a valuable part of our strategy to reach different consumer audiences through a portfolio of complementary niche products. It has served its entertainment-focused readers and advertisers well since its introduction in 2003. Today, we are very well positioned to reach many of the same consumers through products including dallasnews.com, Arts & Life, Guide, GuideLive.com, FD Luxe and our mobile applications. Our robust portfolio will continue delivering to our advertisers the high quality, targeted audiences that drive growth for their business."
Quick also has an online component at quickdfw.com.
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Moshi Monsters Magazine is the Bestselling Children's Magazine in the UK
The Moshi Monsters Magazine is most popular children's magazine in the UK. The magazine has reached a circulation of 113,748 according to ABC making it the top kids' magazine and one of the top 70 magazines in the UK.
Emma Munro Smith, co-editor of Moshi Monsters Magazine, says, "It's incredible to have become the best selling children's magazine in the UK and to have achieved such large numbers in a previously declining market. We're delighted with the results and with the incredible feedback we get from our fans... and there's still so much more to come!"
Moshi Monsters are virtual pet monsters that are growing in popularity. The website has 50 million registered users worldwide. There are also real Moshi Monster products including toys, books, trading cards and more.
Photo: Mind Candy
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Abercrombie & Fitch Willing to Pay Jersey Shore Stars Not to Wear Its Clothes
Abercrombie & Fitch is taking the rare move of trying to completely dissociate itself from a major television show. Abercrombie & Fitch does not want its brand associated with MTV's Jersey Show or its cast members. They have even offered a "substantial payment" to The Situation and other Jersey Shore cast members if they will stop wearing Abercrombie clothing.
It is an interesting move from Abercrombie & Fitch. The may have determined that the people likely to buy Abercrombie & Fitch clothes are not fans of The Jersey Shore. It could help the brand win new customers who are turned off by MTV's reality show. Here is the official statement from Abercrombie & Fitch:
We are deeply concerned that Mr. Sorrentino's association with our brand could cause significant damage to our image. We understand that the show is for entertainment purposes, but believe this association is contrary to the aspirational nature of our brand, and may be distressing to many of our fans. We have therefore offered a substantial payment to Michael 'The Situation' Sorrentino and the producers of MTV's The Jersey Shore to have the character wear an alternate brand. We have also extended this offer to other members of the cast, and are urgently waiting a response.
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Short Lived CondeElevator Twitter Account Causes a Stir
A Twitter account, called CondeElevator, caused a stir last week. The account quickly garnered over 30,000 followers and promised hot media gossip from employees of Conde Nast's magazines. The Twitter account had some funny tweets, but there really was no interesting gossip on it at all. The New York Times shared a few of the tweets from the account.
The account ended on August 11th with the tweet, "Girl or Guy #1 [in elevator alone]: This got really crazy. Love my job. Better stop. #sorry."
Gawker tried to narrow down who was running the account, but there isn't much information to go on.
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Newsstand Sales for Celebrity Weekly Magazines Plunge
The Wall Street Journal reports that newsstand sales for celebrity weekly magazines plunged in the first half of 2011 according to the latest data from the Audit Bureau of Ciculations. Here is a list of some of the celebrity magazines that suffered newsstand sales drops.
Some of the celebrity magazines did manage to offset newsstand loses with an increase in print subscriptions, but the publications are still smarting from the newsstand losses. A New York Post article says people getting updates directly from celebrities on Facebook and Twitter could be having an impact on newsstand sales.
Adweek reports that Hispanic and Gaming magazines gerew during the first half of the year.
You can see a list of the top circulation print consumer magazines through June 2011 here.
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Hearst UK to Cease Publishing Cosmopolitan Bride and She Magazines
The Guardian is reporting that Hearst Magazines UK is shuttering Cosmopolitan Bride and She. The decision to close the titles follows Hearst's acquisition of Elle UK and Red.
Arnaud de Puyfontaine, Hearst Magazines UK CEO, told the Guardian he plans to find new jobs for the staff of the magazines within the company. He also says the competition has "never been fiercer" in these magazine categories.
Cosmopolitan Bride will cease with the October/November issue and She will cease with the September issue.
Photo: Hearst
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AOL Launches Editions for iPad
AOL has launched Editions, which it describes as a free daily magazine for the iPad. Editions is a 30 to 40 page iPad app that arrives each day. The new app puts AOL into competition with existing iPad news reading apps, such as Flipboard, The Daily and Zite. Editions can be found here on iTunes.com.
Fifteen topic sections are available for Editions users to choose from. Users can modify these sections to focus on specific subjects. Localized news and weather options are also available. The service offers a calendar that can be synched with Facebook and iCal. You can also share articles you like on Facebook or Twitter or by email. Take a look:
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The Onion Testing Metered Paywall on Non-U.S. Visitors
Paid Content is reporting that The Onion is testing a metered paywall on its website for non-U.S. visitors. The metered site allows non-U.S. visitors to read five stories for free within a 30-day period. After that The Onion wants to charge readers $2.95 monthly or $29.95 a year. The meter is powered by RR Donnelley.
The model is similar to the metered paywall recently added by The New York Times. The Onion wrote about the New York Times metered plan in an article that called the idea a bold business move, which would switch the online newspaper to "a cash-for-manufactured-goods-based model from the standard everything-online-should-be-free-for-reasons-nobody-can-really-explain-based model."
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Schofield Media Group Shutting Down
Trade publisher Schofield Media Group LLC is closing down. The company will lay off 195 employees. Some of the trade publishers' publications include Construction Today, Manufacturing Today and Furniture and Interiors.
Boston Business Journal reports that the publisher's financial problems came from a "sudden, unexpected loss of financing from Wells Fargo Bank."
BtoB reports that the company's UK properties were not affected by the closure.
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Idealab Founder Expects Google+ to Grow Rapidly
There is no question that Google's new Google+ social network is off to a fast start. Early rumors say 4 to 5 million are already using the service. Bill Gross, Founder and CEO of Idealab, thinks this is just the beginning. He expects Google+ will go from 0 to 100 million users faster than any other service in history.
The service is great. It is timely. People are engaging with it like crazy. There are rumors that there are already 4.5m people. That might be high. It might be as low as 1m, or even lower, but my guess is that it's more than 1m people already. That already is probably the fastest growing service (0 to 1m) ever. Now it's not completely fair, since when Facebook started, and when Twitter started, etc. those were tiny companies, and Google is huge. However, the product is extremely well executed, and a lot of people are smitten.
You can read Gross's post here.
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Follow The Write News on Social Media
You can keep up with the latest media and publshing news from WriteNews.com by following us on
Facebook and Twitter. Our Facebook page is located here and our Twitter page is @writenews.
Writers Write, Inc., the publisher of internetwritingjournal.com, also runs blogs covering
blogging, books, business, gaming, health, music, science and sports.
You can find the Facebook and Twitter accounts for our sites at wwfeeds.com.
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Amazon.com Buys Book Depository, a UK Online Bookseller
Amazon.com Inc. has agreed to acquire The Book Depository, a UK online bookseller. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Amazon.com competes with the Book Depository in the UK with its Amazon.co.uk service. The Wall Street Journal reports that the acquisition is subject to regulatory approval.
The Bookseller reports that the The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is going to investigate the merger.
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Gannett Cuts 700 Jobs
Gannett is cutting 700 newspaper division employees according to a memo from Gannett US Community Publishing division president Bob Dickey to newspaper employees. The cuts amount to 2% of Gannett's total workforce at its U.S. community newspapers.
Paid Content reports that USA Today is not impacted by the 700 job cuts, but it could face cuts in the future if advertising does not pick up.
The Wall Street Journal's report on the Gannett layoffs includes a graph that shows the shrinking headcount at the company since 2006. There were nearly 50,000 employees at Gannett in 2006 and about 32,600 at the end of 2010.
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Meredith Corp. Shutters ReadyMade Brand
The Wall Street Journal reports that Meredith Corp. has decided to shut its ReadyMade brand. This will include laying off 75 employees and closing ReadyMade magazine. Meredith purchased ReadyMade in 2006.
The Des Moines Register reports that Meredith is closing the magazine because of continued weakness in the home advertising market. Art Slusark, Meredith's spokesman, also told the Register that the magazine is "not profitable."
Update 6-24-11: DIY Life has an interview with Andrew Wagner, the former Editor in Chief of ReadyMade.
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Trailer for Page One: Inside the New York Times
Here is the trailer for Page One: Inside The New York Times. The documentary film by Andrew Rossi promises a unique behind the scenes look at the New York Times newsroom and media desk. The film premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. It is expected to be released in theaters later this year. Take a look:
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AOL's Patch Local News Service Nears 7 Million Views
Online Media Daily reports that AOL's Patch.com, a collection of local news sites, has nearly reached the 7 million mark. The site has been growing rapidly this year. The growth rate is 194% according to AOL. Patch.co mis also expected to have 1,000 sites by the end of this year.
AOL announced in March, 2010 that it planned to pump $50 million into Patch. AOL added its 100th Patch site last year in August. Patch is currently in about two dozen states.
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AutoTrader Classics Ends Print Edition, Continues Online
Bizjournals.com reports that print version of AutoTrader Classics is coming to end. The magazine for classic car enthusiasts will continue online at autotraderclassics.com.
AutoTrader.com President and Publisher said in a statement, "The continued movement of both consumers and advertisers to online forms of media makes this the right time to shift the focus of AutoTrader Classics to an online only brand and maximize the potential of this part of our business. With a strong online only brand, we believe AutoTraderClassics.com can continue to grow while effectively serving our customers' needs for the long-term."
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Playboy Makes All Issues Available Through iPad
CNN reports that Playboy is making all of its magazines available to iPad users. $8 a month will give iPad owners access to every issue of Playboy published since 1953. The service, dubbed iPlayboy, can be found at /i.playboy.com.
Image: Playboy Enterprises
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Google Ending Newspaper Archive Project
The Atlantic reports that Google is ending its ambitious quest to provide an archive of printed newspapers. The archive currently contains scanned pages from 2,000 newspapers.
Search Engine Land obtained a statement from Google that it won't be adding and new features or functionality to the service. Google also is "no longer accepting new microfilm or digital files for processing."
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Scott Moyers Returns as Publisher of Penguin Press
Ann Godoff, President and Editor in Chief, The Penguin Press, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA), is bringing back Scott Moyers as Publisher. Susan Petersen Kennedy, President, Penguin Group (USA), made the announcement. Moyers was Senior Editor when The Penguin Press was founded in 2003.
Susan Kennedy said, "We had every confidence that when The Penguin Press launched its first list the imprint would grow into a significant contributing entity within the Group. The imprint has been profitable every year. With Scott Moyers rejoining Ann's outstanding publishing team, it is certain that The Penguin Press will continue to grow and be a home for serious thinkers."
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Red Bull Launches Glossy Lifestyle Magazine
USA Today reports that the Red Bull energy beverage is entering the realm of publishing. They have launched The Red Bulletin, a glossy, lifestyle magazine that is already published in nine countries. It launches in the U.S. with the June issue.
The Red Bulletin will launch with 75,000 copies on newsstands. A single issue will cost $4.99 and a subscription will cost $12 for 12 issues. You can also find it online here.
Photo: Red Bull GmbH
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New York Times to Add User-Generated Wedding Videos
Beet.tv reports that the New York Times is adding user-generated videos to its wedding section. The Times is asking couples to send in 1-3 minute videos for possible publication on nytimes.com. This is just another way newspapers are changing.
An article about how to submit a wedding announcement can be found here on nytimes.com.
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Jim Lehrer Stepping Down From PBS Newshour Anchor Role
Jim Lehrer announced that effective June 6 he will end his 36 years of anchoring or co-anchoring the PBS Newshour. Lehrer will still appear on many Friday evenings to moderate the weekly analysis of Shields and Brooks; syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks.
Lehrer says, "I have been laboring in the glories of daily journalism for 52 years ... 36 of them here at the Newshour and its earlier incarnations ... and there comes a time to step aside from the daily process, and that time has arrived."
You can find a video of Lehrer's announcement here.
Photo: PRNewsFoto/PBS Newshour
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YouTube Launches Top 100 Music Chart
YouTube announced today that it has launched the YouTube 100, a chart that measures song traffic. The chart will be published weekly. It can be found at youtube.com/music.
Jennifer Lopez is on the top of the YouTube 100. Other major artists in the top ten include Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars and Nicki Minaj. A surprise in the top ten is Rebecca Black and her "Friday" song.
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New Yorker Erases Osama Bin Laden
The New Yorker erased Osama bin Laden for its cover about the death of the terrorist. The cover was illustrated by Gurbuz Dogan Eksioglu. Time magazine's cover had a bloody X over the terrorist's face.
The Washington Post has a collection of more dead Osama bin Laden covers here.
Photo: New Yorker
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Publishers Partner for Bookish Website
Three large publishers - Hachette Book Group, Penguin Group USA and Simon & Schuster - have partnered for a new site launching this summer called Bookish. Bookish is a reading destination designed to connect people connect with their favorite authors and books. The publishers say the site was designed to answer the question, "What should I read next?"
The site will include content from the AOL Huffington Post Media Group. The publishers say Bookish will remain editorially independent and will cover multiple genres.
Paulo Lemgruber is CEO of Bookish. Previously, Lemgruber developed and ran digital businesses for Comcast and Reed Elsevier. Charlie Rogers, former as Editor-in-Chief, Digital Media at NBC Universal, will be the Editor-in-Chief of Bookish.
Lemgruber says, "We've assembled an incredibly entrepreneurial and dynamic team at Bookish that embraces the most cutting-edge trends in publishing and technology. With our team's startup expertise and credentials, as well as our ability to leverage the knowledge of publishers, retailers and authors, Bookish is innately positioned to fuel people's passion for books."
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Washington Post Launches Personal News Aggregator Called Trove
The Washington Post Company has launched a news aggregator site called Trove. The site compiles headlines from over 10,000 sources. One big downside to Trove is that it requires a Facebook login for people to use the website. Most people don't want to have to login just to get the news. Trove is also available through apps, see here. Next Media Animation created a video for the Washington Post to explain Trove. You can watch it here.
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Wall Street Journal Launches SafeHouse, WikiLeaks Rival
The Wall Street Journal has launched a WikiLeaks rival called SafeHouse. In a tweet, the WSJ called its WSJ SafeHouse a "a secure way to share confidential documents with us." The website says it will keep your identity anonymous or confidential, if required.
It is understandable that the Wall Street Journal wants access to leaked documents, but it is not clear that people will feel as secure sending them off to an newspaper owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
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Time Magazine Draws Red X Over Osama Bin Laden
Time magazine's latest cover has Osama bin Laden with a red X drawn across his face. Time has also used the red "X" to indicate the death of other despicable people in the past, including Hitler, Saddam Hussein and Abu Musab al-Zarqaqi. The Washington Post reports that Time has been preparing for Osama bin Laden's death since 2001. The cover artist, Tim O'Brien, explains the cover here.
Osama bin Laden was killed in a raid by U.S. special forces in Pakistan. Osama had been living in a secure hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
Photo: Tim O'Brien/Time, Inc.
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F+W Media Acquires Tyrus Books, Creates F+W Crime
F+W Media, Inc. announced it will enter the fiction market with the acquisition of Tyrus Books. F+W will use the acquisition to launch F+W Crime in partnership with Benjamin LeRoy. LeRoy, founder of Bleak House and Tyrus Books, will join F+W as publisher of F+W Crime.
F+W Crime will launch in June and will release as many as 200 ebook-only titles in 2011, with additional select Fall 2011 print releases.
LeRoy said in a statement, "I am thrilled with the opportunity to head up F+W Crime, as it provides an opportunity to continue the growth of Tyrus Books and to invest my efforts into the development of Prologue Books. F+W is on the cutting edge of the digital book revolution as evidenced by ventures like Digital Book World. A company with a demonstrably forward-thinking track record, F+W is a perfect partner."
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Media Invade London for Royal Wedding
The media have invaded London for the Royal Wedding. Over 5,000 foreign journalists are in London for the big day. CNN reportedly has 400 people in London last week. NBC's Today program has over 60 people there. 2 billion people are expected to watch the wedding, which explains the media frenzy. In addition to all the media coverage, the Royal Wedding will also be streamed live on YouTube. Take a look:
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Report: Style.com to Launch Print Magazine
AdWeek is reporting that Conde Nast's Fairchild Fashion Group is planning to launch a print magazine based on the Style.com website. The site was the old home of Vogue, before Vogue.com was launched.
AdWeek says the glossy magazine will launch after fashion week in September. It will have Style.com in its title. The magazine is being developed by Fairchild Editorial Director Peter Kaplan and Style.com Editor-in-Chief Dirk Standen.
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Traditional Home Launches Online Magazine Called Trad Home
Traditional Home has announced the launch of Trad Home, a new online shelter publication. Trad Home, co-created by the editors of Traditional Home and Lonny, will post two issues this year, in May and October.
The May issue of Trad Home is available on tradhomemag.com. The issue will be live for six months.
Michelle Adams, editor in chief of Lonny, says, "The launch of Trad Home marks a major milestone in the growth and expansion of Lonny magazine. This is an exciting time in the industry as larger corporations like Meredith begin to recognize the relevance of online media, allowing collaborations such as Trad Home to come to light. We're looking forward to redefining the meaning of 'traditional' and sharing our vision with our current readers and the millions of new readers this collaboration will attract."
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MailOnline Passes Huffington Post in Traffic
MediaWeek reports that new data from ComScore indicates the the MailOnline.com website has passed the Huffington Post in traffic. This makes MailOnline.com the second most popular newspaper site.
In February, ComScore has MailOnline's traffic as 39,635,000 unique visitors, while the Huffington Post had 38,429,000.
NYTimes.com easily crushed them both with 61,964,000 unique visitors. The Times numbers could fall with its new paywall, but they would have to really drop for either the MailOnline or the Huffpo to catch up to them.
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2011 Pulitzer Prize Awards for Journalism
Here is a list of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize awards in the journalism category.
You can see a list of the Letters, Drama and Music winners here.
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Tokypop Closing North American Division
Manga publisher Tokypop is shutting down its North American Publishing division and closing its Los Angeles offices on May 31, 2011. The closure follows layoffs at Tokyopop earlier this year. Tokypop will retain a German-based division.
Stu Levy, founder, Tokyopop, posted a message here on the Tokyopop website. In the message Levy said, "Together, our community has fought the good fight, and, as a result, the Manga Revolution has been won -manga has become a ubiquitous part of global pop culture. I'm very proud of what we've accomplished - and the incredible group of passionate fans we've served along the way (my fellow revolutionaries!)."
CBR has more details on the Tokypop's closure here.
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New York Times Implements Paywall
The New York Times paywall is now in place. People who already subscribe to the New York Times will get full access to nytimes.com. Non-subscribers will be able to view a maximum of 20 articles a month. Beyond 20 articles and for open access to the site, users will be asked to become digital subscribers. Rates for a subscription range from $15 to $35 a month. Information about the subscription plan can be found here. There is also a lengthy faq here on nytimes.com.
The faq says articles linked from Facebook, Twitter, blogs and search engines can still be read even the user has already reached the 20 free articles limit.
Yes. We encourage links from Facebook, Twitter, search engines, blogs and social media. When you visit NYTimes.com through a link from one of these channels, that article (or video, slide show, etc.) will count toward your monthly limit of 20 free articles, but you will still be able to view it even if you've already read your 20 free articles.
Critics think the New York Times paywall will reduce traffic to nytimes.com without a big enough increase in revenues to make up for the lost traffic. It will be more clear how effective the paywall is after a couple months have gone by. Many users of nytimes.com that do not subscribe have probably not even reached their monthly maximum of 20 articles yet.
Photo: New York Times
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Google Launches Think Quarterly Online Magazine
Google has launched a quarterly online magazine called Think Quarterly. The free 64-page first issue can be viewed online or downloaded as a PDF file. The magazine features technical articles written by Google employees and guest writers. The first issue covers the subject of data. Filtering data is obviously of huge important to a company like Google. The website indicates that Google has plans for future issues in May, July and October.
Photo: Google
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Houghton Mifflin Harcourt CEO Resigns
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt CEO Barry O'Callaghan has resigned. Reuters reports that O'Callaghan will stay on as a senior adviser and Chief Financial Officer Michael Muldowney will become HHM's temporary CEO.
As CEO of Riverdeep, O'Callaghan guides the company through a merger with Houghton Miflin in 2006 and then an acquisition of Harcourt from Reed Elsevier in 2007. The Irish Times notes that O'Callaghan's exict from HHM comes about a year after the company was involved in a major financial restructuring.
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Forbes Launches Forbes Ukraine
Forbes has announced tthe launch of Forbes Ukraine. The first issue is on newsstands now in the Ukraine. The local-language edition of Forbes magazine was published through a licensing agreement with United Media Holding (UMH). It is Forbes' fourteenth international edition to date. It will be published monthly with a circulation of 30,000. Vladimir Fedorin, who most recently held a senior editorial position at Forbes Russia, will serve as the editor in chief.
Miguel Forbes, president, Forbes Television and Licensing, said, "The Forbes family is so excited to enter the Ukraine, and work with UMH to offer our style of journalism to a such a dynamic market."
Photo: Forbes/Business Wire
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LGD Publishing to Launch Apple to Oranges
Len Dugow, president and chief creative officer of LGD Communications, has announced the launch of LGD Publishing. One of LGD's first publications is Apple to Oranges magazine. Apples to Oranges will debut on Friday, April 15th when it gets inserted into the New York Post. This full-color glossy magazine about Florida living will have a circulation of 114,610 (ABC Audited). It will be distributed to the zip codes of the paper's highest income households, including Manhattan, Brooklyn, Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Len Dugow says, "Apples to Oranges will provide a powerful vehicle for South Floridians to reveal their luxurious lifestyle to New Yorkers. I intend for the content to provide a platform that shares a quality of life that is not only culturally enriching but also equally satisfying in every way that is meaningful. Having lived in New York for 20 years prior to moving to South Florida, I am positively sure of this fact."
Photo: LGD Publishing
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Journalists Arriving in Libya to Cover Uprising Against Gaddafi
Journalists are arriving in Libya to cover the protests against leader Muammar Gaddafi. Foreign journalists have not allowed in Libya, but with protesters freeing part of the country they are finding it much less difficult to get in. Travel in other parts of Libya still under Gaddafi's control, such as Tripoli, will likely not be as easy and could be very dangerous.
Yahoo News reports that CNN's Cairo bureau chief Ben Wedeman is the first Western journalist to broadcast live from within Libya. He is also tweeting what he is seeing, @bencnn.
The Guardian also has an article about journalists arriving in Libya to cover the rebellion.
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Uptown Media Launches Uptown Professional
Uptown Media Group, the publisher of Uptown magazine, has announced the creation and launch of Uptown Professional, a quarterly career-focused magazine for the global urban professional. The publication also has a website at uptownpromag.com. In addition to career aspirations, Uptown Professional will also cover related business lifestyle topics. The first issue will be poly-bagged with the march Uptown Magazine.
Robert Ingram, Publisher of Uptown Professional, says, "Uptown Professional offers relevance, relationships and most importantly, solutions. Our goal is to assist forward-thinking companies and executives and help them navigate the challenging paths of recruitment, retention, marketplace and development in a new and more diverse workplace."
The inaugural issue features a detailed look at the top 100 African American, Latino and Asian business executives in the US. Leaders profiled include Eugene Kelly/Colgate-Palmolive, Greg Hinton/U.S. Cellular, Thomas Harvey/AT&T, Rodney Adkins/IBM, Ingrid Saunders Jones/Coca Cola, Van Sapp/ PepsiCo, Kenya Jackson/Target, James Bell/Boeing, Don Thompson/McDonald's, Rohini Annand/Sodexo, Jimmie Paschall/Marriott, Moheet Nagrath/Procter & Gamble and Linda Jimenez/Wellpoint among others.
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The Write News
News, features and resources for media and publishing professionals.
My First Trip into a Debate Spin Room
I was granted media credentials by CNN to report on the GOP presidential debate last night in Jacksonville for the Drudge Retort, the first time I've had the opportunity to cover a debate. The University of North Florida squeezed around 400 journalists into a campus ballroom, putting online media together in one corner. I was sandwiched between the Huffington Post and The Guardian. A misprint on a sign led the British journalist Toby Harnden to think that Matt Drudge had come up from Miami to attend. When Harnden came over looking for the international newsman of mystery, I had to break it to him that instead of Drudge, he'd found me. He did not mask his disappointment. The debate began with the National Anthem, which inspired only one in four of the journalists around me to stand up, though some of them were foreigners and are thus excused. A woman down my row from the conservative American Spectator rocketed out of her seat with patriotic super-speed. During the debate, the second-loudest laugh was when Newt Gingrich began answering Wolf Blitzer's praise-your-wife question by complimenting the other candidates' ladyfolk instead. "I think all three of the wives represented here would be terrific first ladies," he said. The guy can't help himself. He just likes wives. The loudest laugh was in the final answer of the night, when Gingrich referred to Saul Alinsky. Journalists laughed so hard at the mention of the name you'd think a drinking game was going on. After the debate, I walked one floor downstairs to the spin room, where each candidate sent spin doctors to explain how his guy just mopped the floor with those other no-hopers. The first to arrive was former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, sporting an impeccably tailored suit and a Mitt Romney lapel button to identify his allegiance. The reporters crowded 20 deep around him, and I quickly found myself experiencing body contact that's a sin to Rick Santorum. I retreated to the peaceful solitude around Ron Paul's spinmeister, his national press secretary Gary Howard. I asked him this: The University of Chicago asked 37 economists if it was a good idea to return to the gold standard. All 37 said no. If returning to the gold standard is such a good idea, why is it that no mainstream economists agree with Rep. Paul? Howard challenged me to identify the economists. "I need to know who these economists are," he said. "They could all be Keynesians." Another reporter asked Howard how Paul, the leading vote-getter among Republicans under 30 despite being the oldest candidate in the race, had so successfully targeted young voters. "I think they targeted us," Howard replied. After asking questions of Bill McCollum and J.C. Watts, I approached Fred Thompson but something he was asked by another journalist caused him to skeedaddle. A reporter for Mother Jones blogged, perhaps jokingly, "I asked Thompson to speak about Gingrich's stance on the regulation of reverse-mortgages. He didn't respond." A lot of the media kept asking process questions -- "how'd your guy do?", "will he win Florida?", "will he drop out if he doesn't?", blah blah blah -- so I stuck to issues. The crowd thinned around Pawlenty, so I asked him about Lynn Frazier, the Jacksonville woman who had lost her job and could not afford health benefits. I thought this was the best question in the debate and the least adequately answered. The Republicans running for the White House love to talk about repealing President Obama's health reform but aren't saying much about what they'd do afterward for the 1-in-6 Americans who are uninsured. Frazier explained her circumstances and asked the candidates, "What type of hope can you promise me and others in my position?" The responses she received didn't offer anything more concrete than getting a tax deduction on purchasing insurance for herself as an individual. Paul's answer was particularly bleak. "Well, it's a tragedy because this is a consequence of the government being involved in medicine since 1965." I guess the uninsured need a time machine. When I asked Pawlenty if Frazier should be happy with the answers she received, he said yes because Romney will bring down the costs of health insurance as president. "We need to make health insurance more affordable," he said, mentioning the tax deduction again. I followed up by asking about people who can't obtain insurance at any price because of pre-existing conditions, one of the main problems addressed by Obama. He replied, "Mitt Romney will be making it so people aren't excluded by pre-existing conditions." After this, I horned in on a conversation Bay Buchanan was having about Newt Gingrich's body language during the debate. The first time Romney took shots at Gingrich, he stared daggers at him and Gingrich wouldn't make eye contact. After watching Gingrich silently debate his own shoes while Romney scolded him, I thought it was going to be a long night for the Speaker. "That was extremely weird," said Buchanan, who is way hotter than her brother Pat. When around 45 minutes had passed, the last of the spin doctors all left, like people at a family gathering who realize if they stay any longer they'll be asked to help clean up.
Dumb Reasons to Form Your Political Beliefs
A reader to National Review Online says that he became a conservative because of how his fellow college students at Kent State University responded to President Reagan's shooting: I came back to my dorm to see the TV lounges filled with students fervently wishing for the president not to survive the surgery. The worst of will was being expressed toward "Ronnie Ray-gun," to use just one of the epithets. Right then, I knew that, whatever side I belonged on, it wasn't the one where people were wishing for the death of the democratically elected president. For the first time, I started to pay real attention to American politics, and to investigate what American conservatism really was. I don't comment often on right-wing sites, but I made an exception here because conversion stories like this one always seem a bit ridiculous to me. I was 13 when Reagan was shot in March 1981 and vividly recall following the news at my grandmother's house after Frank Reynolds of ABC broke in with a bulletin during One Life to Live [1]. I deplore the sentiments of people who wanted the president to die. But as I asked on NRO, does the reader not recognize the same irrational hatred directed at President Obama today on the right that was directed at Reagan back then on the left? The nine responses I've received answer my question. None of them thinks Obama is hated today the way Reagan was hated back then. As one person stated, "Death wishes for political opponents is something that's almost entirely confined to the left." I'm a save-the-abortion-rights-of-gay-whales liberal, but I would never make a statement as blinkered as that against conservatives. One of the most foolish things in politics is the belief that your side is reasonable and fair while the other side engages in all of the bad acts. There are numerous examples of Obama hatred today as rabid as the Reagan haters in college who converted the reader to conservatism. There will be plenty of jerks who wish death on the next elected president, too. These folks are easier to find today than in 1981 -- just read any newspaper's poorly policed comment section or the feedback on rabid political blogs. Left vs. right isn't the only meaningful divide in our politics. There's also assholes vs. everybody else. If the formative moment in the establishment of your ideological beliefs is the time you heard repugnant things said about the current president, you're just as likely to have become a liberal as a conservative. It just depends on when you heard them. 1: If anyone knows what Brad Vernon told his sister Samantha about Asa Buchanan's late wife Olympia, let me know.
Highway Deaths Amuse Justin Timberlake
The San Francisco Chronicle is running a story on a terrible highway accident in Indiana that killed seven people in a minivan Thursday night. A tractor trailer slammed into the van, possibly after it hit a deer and slowed down or stopped, and only three of the 10 passengers in the van survived the crash. The story is illustrated by a photo of Justin Timberlake and host Matt Lauer laughing it up on the Today Show: As you might expect, commenters aren't happy that Timberlake and Lauer find the crash funny.
New York Post Smears Occupy Wall Street Mom
The New York Post is running a story today about Stacy Hessler, a 38-year-old Florida mom who's gone from her family while she takes part in the Occupy Wall Street protests at Zucotti Park. Hessler is raising four children at home with her husband in DeLand, Fl., but she came to New York City to join the protests on Oct. 9 and has no plans to leave: I have no idea what the future holds, but I'm here indefinitely. Forever. ... Military people leave their families all the time, so why should I feel bad? I'm fighting for a better world. The story makes it sound like she's just ditching her family, especially the nudge-nudge part about "keeping herself warm at night" in a tent with a male protester. The right winger Jonah Goldberg calls her mom of the year on National Review Online. When I read the Post story this morning, I used snap judgment skills honed in a decade of blogging to conclude that momma's getting her freak flag on. But her Facebook wall tells a different story. She's extremely involved in her childrens' schools and sports and has posted hundreds of photos of the kids engaged in family outings. Hessler made this post when she decided to turn her week-long stay into something longer: I have a plea for my friends. I need your help and support. I want to stay occupying wall st. I feel my presence is very important in the support of non-violent communication and sanitation(keeping the park clean) I am willing to work tirelessly on these efforts. I need help with getting my kids to activities and stepping up with the things I help lead, such as one small village, jr roller derby, bee-attitudes, 4H, for his glory co-op. Please respond if you are willing to help my kids so I can stay here and help this movement. I have a train ticket for tomorrow that I want to change but I need to know I have support from my community back home for my family in order to change the ticket. No less than 12 of her friends are offering to help out. Sound like a bad mom to you? As Hessler's story is fed into the media sausage mill, I hope some reporters do a much better job telling it than Kevin Fasick and Bob Fredericks in the Post.
Full Disclosure: TechCrunch is Screwed
"We have a traditional understanding of journalism with the exception of TechCrunch." -- AOL chief executive officer Tim Armstrong Around five years ago, Microsoft fueled a controversy by giving $4,000 Acer Ferrari 1000 laptop computers running Windows Vista Ultimate to some popular tech bloggers. A lot of bloggers -- particularly those who did not receive incredibly overpriced luxury branded laptops -- raised such a ruckus that Microsoft eventually asked for them back. Bloggers who wouldn't give them up were encouraged to hold a contest giveaway. I was reminded of this controversy when I read TechCrunch writer M.G. Siegler's post this morning about how the news site's impartiality would not be affected by TechCrunch founder Mike Arrington actively investing in companies they report on: The notion that Mike, or anyone else, investing in a company would dictate some sort of giant conflicted agenda is laughable. Literally. If Mike tried to get me to write some unreasonable post about a company he had invested in, I would laugh at him. But he would never do that. Ask Loic Le Meur. Ask Kevin Rose. Ask Shervin Pishevar. Ask Airbnb. Ask countless others. He didn't get to where he is by being an idiot. ... The magic at TechCrunch happens because the writers have very little oversight. Instead, the emphasis is placed on hiring the right writers in the first place and putting them through a trial-by-fire to see who emerges. Those that have, my peers, are the best at what they do. Siegler's defense is exactly the same as those Ferrari bloggers. Every journalist knows she is personally capable of rising above conflicts of interest to report without fear or favor. Getting to do it on a $4,000 laptop tricked out like a midlife crisis sports car is all the sweeter. But let's say Arrington's new investment fund bankrolls Heello, the Twitter clone that 300,000 people were fascinated by for exactly 12 minutes last month. Let's say Siegler thinks Heello belongs in the TechCrunch deadpool. Will he report that story with the same enthusiasm he would give another startup that isn't fattened by Arrington's filthy lucre? There are far more lousy startups out there than Siegler has time to cover. It would be easy to make Heello a story he didn't quite get around to writing. The way a story gets reported isn't the only place journalistic bias rears its head. There's also the decision about whether to cover something at all. Even if those fire-tested TechCrunch writers give impartial coverage to Arrington's ventures and all of their direct competitors, there's another way his investments bite them in the ass. People will be too cynical to believe in that impartiality. If you accepted that laptop from Microsoft in 2006, for the rest of time you face a choice every time you write about the company: You can disclose that gift again or risk having a snarky bastard in the comments make it sound like you intentionally covered it up. Siegler now faces the same disclosure issue over and over again, and he didn't even get a laptop.
Villains & Vigilantes Creators Sue Game's Publisher
An epic battle is underway over one of the oldest super-hero roleplaying games, but sadly it won't be settled by muscle-bound men in tights. The creators of the game Villains & Vigilantes, Jeff Dee and Jack Herman, have filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Scott Bizar, the longtime publisher of the game. The suit, filed July 27 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, claims that Bizar has no right to publish the game or any related products and illegally profits from their sale. In June 2010, Dee and Herman started Monkey House Games, LLC and announced they would be publishing a new version of the game, which has been copyrighted in their names since its first edition. Dee told Ain't It Cool News that they had never been informed by Bizar that Fantasy Games Unlimited, Inc., ceased to exist in 1991, which he said caused the publishing rights to revert to them: We started to become unhappy in the late 1980s when FGU stopped advertising V&V, taking it to conventions, or even soliciting distributors. When it became clear that this situation wasn't going to change, we started looking for ways to get our game back. But for years, it looked hopeless. The contract seemed to give Scott Bizar enough loopholes so that he could keep it in force perpetually with little effort, and attempts to purchase the publishing rights from him were met by outrageously high price tags. Our contract was with Fantasy Games Unlimited, Inc. -- which, we recently discovered, was "dissolved by proclamation" by the state of NY in 1991 for failure to pay state taxes. It no longer exists. And the contract clearly stated that if FGU, Inc., ever ceased to exist, then the publication rights reverted back to us. Bizar's a high school teacher in Arizona who kept his old games in print and ran a game store in Gilbert, Ariz., that closed in 2007. He told an interviewer in 2000, "My principal trade is now teaching not publishing. When you're over 50 and married with a child you cannot allow yourself the same delirious adventures as when you're 20 or 30. ... I no longer promise to fight as hard as I did in 1987, when the distributors refused to sell FGU products because they were not presented in boxes like TSR products." Dee's a game developer whose credits include the TWERPS and Quicksilver roleplaying games, the Warchest board game, and the computer game The Sims: Castaway Stories. In 2005, he released Living Legends, a super-hero game intended to be a sequel to Villains & Vigilantes. Herman's a writer published in comics such as Elementals, Robotech and Just Imagine and the computer games Ultima VI and Wing Commander II. For the past 12 months, both Monkey House and Bizar have been actively publishing and marketing Villains & Vigilantes and related products. Bizar's sole proprietorship, also called Fantasy Games Unlimited, has brought on new game developers. After Monkey House attempted to register a Villains & Vigilantes trademark on June 16, 2010, Bizar did the same a month later, leading to a case before the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board that began in March. The filing of this suit will likely cause that case to be suspended pending the result of litigation. Brent Rose, the Tampa attorney representing Dee and Herman, told me in email that the suit was filed after other means of resolving the dispute were attempted. "There were cease and desist letters issued by both sides," he said. "We requested arbitration or mediation or even just a teleconference to just try and work things out before filing our federal lawsuit, but our written requests were either ignored or refused."
Villains & Vigilantes was created by Dee and Herman and first published in 1979 by Fantasy Games Unlimited, Inc., a corporation founded by Bizar. The game, one of the first to extend Dungeons & Dragons-style play into the super-hero genre, was popular in the early '80s and spawned a comic book series and other spin-off products. But by 1987, Fantasy Games Unlimited had run into financial difficulties with distributors and its business activity slowed to a crawl.
Matt Haughey on Running a 'Lifestyle Business'
There's a great interview in Willamette Week about my friend Matt Haughey, who has turned MetaFilter into a successful small business that employs around 3-5 people and gets 25 million hits a month.
Haughey, who was one of the founders of Blogger, left Silicon Valley for McMinnville, Ore., several years ago. The interviewer does a nice job of picking up on the phrase "lifestyle business," which is used in the dot-com world to insult startups that make a sustainable amount of money for their staff but don't get deeply into debt trying to become the next Facebook. To those who believe he should've made MetaFilter into something huge, he says:
I'm OK with this lifestyle business. It's a put-down for a lot of people, especially in Silicon Valley. I think it's the best thing in the world. You don't have to kill yourself. I've been at startups where we worked 16 hours a day and didn't get anything out of it. It's stupid. Geeks who know how to program and make things should be able to make a small thing that runs forever and make $100,000 a year and live off that. I mean, what is wrong with that? It's an awesome goal.
I never got that message anywhere in the tech community. Like, what is wrong with making a decent living in doing something you love forever? And then people put that down as a "lifestyle business." Or ask, "How are you going to change the world or make the next Facebook?"
It's like nobody sings unless they want to be Britney Spears. That's stupid -- we should all sing in bars three nights a week if we like it and get paid as professional musicians.
I gravitate towards lifestyle businesses as well, despite well-intentioned friends and relatives who believe I really should be a dot-com billionaire by now. I recently spoke by phone to someone who was meeting prospective investors for a "$20 million idea" instead of continuing a dot-com business that made yearly profits in the mid six figures.
All I could think about during the call was how sweet it would be to run that existing business.
The Good, Bad and Ugly of Joe McGinniss
I've had a mixed history with author Joe McGinniss. His true-crime book Cruel Doubt was a laughably bad attempt to blame Dungeons & Dragons for a 1988 murder. His soccer book The Miracle of Castel di Sangro may be the best sports book I've ever read. McGinniss has a biography of Sarah Palin coming out in the fall. I was looking forward to it, since his move-next-door stunt reminds me of funny things he did in Castel di Sangro. But I'm looking forward to it less after reading this paragraph from his Palin book, which he shared on his blog: Sarah Palin practices politics as lap dance, and we're the suckers who pay the price. Members of our jaded national press corps eagerly stuff hundred dollar bills into her g-string, even as they wink at one another to show that they don't take her seriously. That's a lot of sexist awfulness packed into 45 words.
People Who Aren't Offended by Weiner
In the din of voices casting judgment on Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) for having consensual extramarital cybersex with six women, none of whom have complained that they were harassed or offended, a few people in the media share my complete lack of outrage over his sex life. For my part I couldn't care less what sort of pictures or messages Weiner has been sending around the Net, and it's an imposition to be required to care; to be unable to avoid the topic. I find that I have no interest in Congressman Anthony Weiner's sex life or virtual sex life whatsoever. And I've heard enough tearful on-camera contrition to last me the rest of my life. I don't want to hear Weiner's apology. It's got nothing to do with me, tells me nothing I want to know; the cable news media, conservative and liberal, would do the public a favor if they would agreed to a blanket tearful-apologies ban effective this instant. If adultery happens in 41% of marriages, if the guy next door is hiring prostitutes, if Brett Favre's penis scored nearly 2 million views, it's not the politicians that are the problem, it's Americans, who sit in turned-on judgment of those who dally sexually while doing so themselves, who dream of getting off in the same way but don't allow themselves to do so, who devote their work days to looking at the latest leaked cell phone pics of genitals that belong to someone more famous than themselves. There are few things more sickening -- or revealing -- to behold than a D.C. sex scandal. Huge numbers of people prance around flamboyantly condemning behavior in which they themselves routinely engage. Media stars contrive all sorts of high-minded justifications for luxuriating in every last dirty detail, when nothing is more obvious than that their only real interest is vicarious titillation. On MSNBC, the cable-news "home page" of my political tribe, one commentator said that one of the things Weinergate shows is that powerful politicians assume they can get away with things that regular people can't. If they do assume that, theyâÂÂre wrong. It would be more accurate to say that they can't get away with things that regular people can. Look around you. Consider your friends, your work colleagues, your relatives, maybe even yourself. It's likely that a nontrivial proportion of them have some sexual secret (at least they think it's a secret) in their lives. As far as I can tell -- we've all got a depressingly big sample size -- a politician's sexual fidelity in marriage, or his sexual behavior generally, doesn't reliably tell us anything about the integrity he demonstrates when acting in his official capacity. Nor is our moral culture elevated when we focus on these scandals. It is degraded, both because a large amount of the interest is prurient, and because by focusing on the sexual behavior of egocentric alpha males who spend a lot of time traveling far from home (that is to say, politicians) we may even be fooling ourselves into thinking that sexual impropriety is more common than it is, and thereby normalizing it.
Anthony Weiner and the Infidelity Police
Megan McArdle, a commentator for The Atlantic, believes that it's the valid role of the media to dig into our private lives to see if we've kept our wedding vows: I don't think that cheating on your wife, or lesser betrayals like sexting, are minor marital pecadillos, of no more public interest than whether you remembered to pay the gas bill or unload the dishwasher. I don't think it's the government's job to punish infidelity, but that doesn't imply that society has no interest in whether people keep their vows. Marriage is a valuable social institution. There are good reasons that society should buttress it. ... [T]here's something a little too fifties about the "All men do it, so why should we care?" approach to this. I'd like to think that enforcing the norms which hold that infidelity is really, actually wrong is worth taking a few hours out of a slow news cycle. Before the next politician gets caught with his pants down, there's something I'd like to put on the record. After many years of being a moralistic scold, I have lost faith in the idea that this kind of stuff has any bearing on whether someone is a good leader. A public figure can be admirable in public life and scurrilous in private. As long as the sex involves consenting adults and the person would not deny others the pursuit of the same happiness, it's none of our damn business. It's ridiculously intrusive for McArdle to think that there's a compelling societal interest in policing marital fidelity. Her premise is founded on the assumption that extramarital sex is universally wrong. I think most of us would say that it is, especially if our partner or our relatives are in earshot. But if you read a sex advice columnist who encourages complete candor, like Dan Savage or Dear Prudence, you find numerous people who've made different arrangements. A marriage operates by its own rules, most of which outsiders never learn -- even if they're close to the couple. One of the drawbacks to holding married people to account is that we don't what these rules are, and finding them out would be incredibly invasive. When they file their first story on a sex scandal, how do reporters know they're not maligning a person for sex outside of marriage whose spouse accepts the arrangement and engages in it too? There are people who do that sort of thing -- and some of them aren't even Europeans. There's a funny, profane speech on YouTube by Savage, who thinks an insistence on absolute lifelong monogamy breaks up marriages that could otherwise thrive. "We need to think of monogamy the way we think of sobriety. You can fall the fuck off the wagon and sober back up," he says. "I'm a deeply conservative person. I believe these things because I want people's marriages to survive for the long haul." This is from a guy who has spent the last 20 years hearing from people about their actual sex lives. It should come as no surprise that he takes a more tolerant view of sexual transgressions than media talking heads who tut-tut in disapproval with each bimbo eruption. Expecting the media to dig into the fine print of somebody's marital contract is disturbing. McArdle and her husband Peter Suderman are both journalists at prestigious national publications whose marriage was covered in the New York Times, so they're limited public figures. If they become embroiled in a sex scandal, would McArdle agree that it's my job as a journalist to buttress marriage by subjecting them to a thorough probing? McArdle's argument that the media has a valid role enforcing societal norms is even worse. Homosexuality has been far outside the norm until recent years. Was this ever a sufficient justification to reveal that a public official was gay? If you have any empathy at all, it's excruciating to see the press take a blow-by-blow look at somebody's sex life. I cringed at questions Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) was called to answer during his press conference Monday. As much as he invited that treatment by lying, I think many people would lie to prevent private sexual conduct from being scrutinized, especially if there's some guilt involved. Everybody has aspects of our sex lives we wouldn't want to explain to the world on live television. For most of my late teens I made sweet, sweet love to a throw rug I nicknamed Valerie Bertinelli. Related links:
Andrew Breitbart Was Right About Weiner
Today, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) admitted that he sent a picture of his bulging crotch over Twitter to a female college student in Seattle and accidentally made it public. Obviously, my earlier post was completely wrong. This is my correction. At the outset, I'd like to make it clear that I have made terrible mistakes that have hurt the people I care about the most, and I'm deeply sorry. I'm deeply ashamed of my terrible judgment and actions. I am deeply sorry for the pain this has caused my wife, a newspaper journalist who hates reporting errors like Charlie Sheen hates interventions. When I started looking into this scandal, I found numerous reasons to doubt the veracity of Dan Wolfe (PatriotUSA76), the Twitter user who claimed to have found the photo posted by Weiner before it disappeared. Wolfe's Twitter account -- before he deleted it -- demonstrated deep obsession and irrational hatred for the congressman and his wife Huma Abedin over a period of six months. Based on my understanding of how Twitter works, I did not believe the story he told about finding it. When Breitbart's site reported the original story, he had not checked out Wolfe at all, as he admitted to Tommy Christopher of Mediaite in a phone interview: Once we published our story about Dan Wolfe, Andrew called me again, and it was clear from the conversation that he had genuine concerns about Wolfe as a source, and that he had been unaware of his prior activity on Twitter. Because Wolfe's background was so dubious, Breitbart associate Lee Stranahan has been investigating Wolfe for days. He found numerous reasons to doubt him. On Saturday, Stranahan wrote: Is Patriot a man or a woman? A group of people? ... Nobody I've encountered except "Patriot" knows. That is a fact. Nobody knows. There's a reason for that. The facts gathered so far tell me one thing I'm sure about: Patriot is a liar and a manipulator. I'm 100% sure on that. None of this means that Rep. Weiner isn't hiding something. Like he did in the Shirley Sherrod incident, Breitbart did not begin to check out his source until after running his original story and talking it up on every cable news channel that would have him. This is not how journalism is supposed to work. But as I read all the coverage of this scandal the past weekend from news sites on the left, right and middle, it seems to be the emerging standard. First get it out. Then check it out. Though he demanded (and got) an apology today from Weiner, Breitbart has never apologized for his July 2010 story that called Sherrod a racist based on maliciously edited video he received from a highly questionable source. I think he should have apologized for that, as I am now apologizing to him for calling his Weiner piece "a bogus story being pimped by the biggest charlatan on the right." The conclusions I reached were proven untrue. I am sorry for my enormous boner.
Ladies, You Need to Look Good for Your Man
I'm reading Molly Ivins: A Rebel Life, a biography of the sorely missed Texas liberal columnist by Bill Minutaglio and W. Michael Smith. When Molly was eight months old, her father Jim Ivins was serving on the USS Gallup in the Coast Guard during World War II. He wrote this in a letter home to his wife Margaret: I think your new stationary is solid, but how about a picture of you lately? I think you have a complex about your looks. When you put your mind on it you are one hell of an attractive girl. No woman looks good unless she worked on it and you don't work on it enough. I want you to be a stunner, babe, and you can be. ... The Chinese woman of the upper classes, they say, has only one aim in life -- to make herself attractive to her husband. Not a bad idea, hey? Ivins went on to be a corporate attorney and general counsel for the Texas oil company Tenneco, raising his family in the wealthy River Oaks section in central Houston. In 1998, Molly Ivins wrote this about him in her column for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: (I started this column at approximately 8 p.m., April 19, knowing that my father had advanced cancer and anticipating that sometime in the next six months an obituary column would be required. I was planning to send him this column on the theory that he would like to know exactly what I thought of him. About 8:20, seven sentences into the column, I received a phone call informing me that my father had put a bullet through his brain. I am shocked but not surprised. And I continue.)
Blog Visitor Planning Cruise Ship Suicide
I discovered yesterday that a recent commenter to my blog is contemplating suicide. In response to a post about cruise ship passengers who are lost at sea, a visitor wrote this comment on May 24: i am tentatively planning a suicide at the end of a cruise i am to take around the holidays...i will reconnect with my family, have some wonderful times, and at the pinnacle of positive memories having been made, I plan to dive or slosh or whatever into the water, leaving all the garbage behind, m decision, my way. Just because the reason is not apparent to you does not indicate it does not exist. ppl who know me call me "sunshine" and believe i am always happy, when in reality i am the opposite. if u have never been in the depths, dont bother to write about how it had to be murder. Some of us just hate it here. if u hate your job, u leave, hate your house, you move, hate your life, u leave. it should be a personal choice The comment was signed "madness" and posted by a Cincinnati Bell DSL user who found my site by searching Google for the words suicide off cruise ship. He or she has not returned since.If anyone has advice for how to handle this situation, I'm eager to hear it. Unless the holidays in question were the Memorial Day weekend, there's still time. I looked for news stories about cruise ship overboards the past week and didn't find any.
Weiner Story Another Breitbart Scam
Correction: Weiner story not another Breitbart scam. On Saturday evening, conservative activist Andrew Breitbart published a story suggesting that Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) sent a photo on Twitter of his underwear-clad penis to a female college student in Seattle. This story, like others pushed by Breitbart in service of his right-wing agenda, appears to be factually questionable. Weiner had more than 40,000 Twitter followers at the time the alleged tweet was sent, but only one of those users either responded to it or shared it: Patriotusa76. That account belongs to Dan Wolfe, a self-described "conservative Reagan Republican" whose Twitter history reveals that he's obsessed with Weiner. Wolfe created the account Jan. 6 and has posted hundreds of messages about the congressman and his wife Huma Abedin. His first 19 messages were all about the Weiners, as were around 175 of his first 400 Twitter messages. Wolfe's primary use of Twitter has been to post extremely crude criticism of the Weiners and correspond with a small group of other right-wing users who share his sentiments. Among his messages, more than 200 of which were addressed to Weiner at his @RepWeiner account so he'd see them, were claims that Weiner is gay, that his wife is Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's lesbian lover, that she's a Muslim who sympathizes with Al Qaeda terrorists and that she's so ugly she should wear a burqa. Here's a typical message he posted about them: @goatsred LOL! Now there's an image not far from the reality! He's out looking for wiener while his "wife" is with her husband, Hildabeast One of the technical aspects of how Twitter works is that you can't make a message disappear simply by deleting it quickly after you send it. Twitter messages are received and stored instantaneously by numerous Twitter clients and websites around the Internet. A user such as Weiner, even if he had deleted a message sent accidentally only seconds after it was transmitted, would not be able to stop copies of it from being saved. Tens of thousands of users receive his Twitter messages. Yet in this situation, no one other than Wolfe responded on Twitter to the supposed crotch tweet. It was not present on Weiner's Twitter account when Breitbart's story was published. The only person who can vouch for it ever being posted at all is the rabid antagonist of the congressman. The photo referenced in the alleged tweet was hosted on YFrog, an image-hosting service where people can post photos to be shared on Twitter. The photo did exist on Weiner's account for a brief time until it was deleted, presumably by him or someone on his staff. YFrog has a huge security vulnerability that makes it possible to post photos to someone else's account without their password. If you know the person's email address on YFrog, you can send a photo to that email address and it will show up on that site under their account. Godfrey Dowson of the Cannonfire blog tried this out, sharing his YFrog email address gdowson153.gudom@yfrog.com and encouraging readers to send a photo to it. One of them did, and it appeared on Dowson's account. Considering this vulnerability, I think the most likely scenario for what took place is that someone posted the crotch photo on the congressman's YFrog account without his permission using the security vulnerability and it never appeared on Twitter. Wolfe shared this link as if it had been posted on Twitter, either because he was involved or because he monitors Weiner's YFrog page closely. To believe Andrew Breitbart, Weiner sent a picture of his crotch over Twitter to thousands of people, but only one responded to it -- a person who has devoted his entire online life to hating that congressman and his wife. The media has once again fallen for a bogus story being pimped by the biggest charlatan on the right. Related:
Tell Me What to Tell Congress
I'm in Washington D.C. as part of the Long Tail Fly-In, a group of around 60 small web publishers assembled by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). As a publisher who uses context-based advertising on the Drudge Retort and other sites, I was invited to meet with members of Congress to talk about why this form of advertising is important to online media. I attended this event last year and met aides for Reps. Diane DeGette (D-Colo.), Michael Castle (R-Del.), Bill Young (D-Fl.), Charlie Melancon (D-La.) and Mike Rogers (R-Mich.). I also elbowed Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas) hard in the schnozz in one of the tiny elevators in the Rayburn building, but I don't think he knew I was with the IAB -- so no harm, no foul. This year the odds are pretty good I'll be talking to a member of Congress, since 18 members of the House or Senate have scheduled time with us. That's where you come in. I'd like to hear from people who are running full- or part-time businesses that are fueled by Google AdSense and other third-party ad services that provide contextual ads. I'd like to know how you started the business and whether it will be viable if new privacy laws make it impossible for ads to be targeted to users using cookies and other web technology. I wouldn't be able to run the Retort or my other sites without AdSense, one of two ad brokers I'm currently using on the site. I tried a half-dozen other ad providers before Google got into that business, and none of them generated enough revenue to be able to afford server hosting, much less any of my time. If you're running an online site with these kinds of ads, I'd like to hear from you so I can crib your stories tomorrow on Capitol Hill.
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