Best of BTB: Recycle, Remix, Resell

From the title, you might think we attended an environmental conference for a session looking at waste management as a strategy to drive incremental profitability. Instead, the program was a part of CONTEC 2014, held just before the opening of the Frankfurt Book Fair....

In Dehli, Globalocal Hits The Books

After the US and the UK, India is the world’s third largest publisher of English language books. Driving that distinction is a young population eager for education as well as entertainment. Of the country’s 1.2 billion inhabitants, more than half are under 25 years...

Belling The Amazon Cat

The lawyers amused themselves and their courtroom audience with a variety of picturesque, even playful images to describe the behavior of global leaders in technology and media. Apple’s encouragement of illegal price-fixing by publishers, said the US Deputy Solicitor,...

Open Access Is A Business Now

According to a recent industry report from Simba Information, Article Processing Charges (APCs) – the fees that publishers collect from authors for making their work available under “Open Access” rules – are expected to grow 80% from 2014 to 2017. Indeed, the report...

The Battle For Media Democracy

Under the United States Constitution, the First Amendment protects free speech from government restriction or interference. Yet government has a significant oversight role for a variety of media. In his new book, America’s Battle for Media Democracy, Victor Pickard...

What Apple Wants From Santa

When lawyers for Apple enter the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan next week, they will carry a brief that in its content is as hopeful as a child’s extravagant holiday wish list. Indeed, the attorneys for the computer and smartphone maker would seem to...

The Researcher’s Dilemma

Say the word research, and what do most people think of?  Well, teenagers, at least, and many, many older people who should know better think of Google, of course – or maybe Wikipedia.  But if your idea of research is a key word search online and a tap of the return...

HarperCollins CEO Is “Person of the Year”

As December opens and the year approaches its end, ‘tis the season – for awards. In the publishing industry, Publishers Weekly is handing out the latest round of ribbons and medals. The magazine’s list of notables for 2014 in the book trade includes Fiona McRae,...