1. Chapter 3
Books: The Durable Medium
Chapter Outline
• History
• Industry
• Controversies

3. Mass Media in a Changing
World
Second Edition

4. Who will produce content?
• Should authors get paid for the work they produce?
• Should pay come from publishers? If so, then upfront or
by copy sold?
• Should government subsidize writing of books?
• Will publishers make content available?
What will be the means of distribution?
• How much will consumers pay?
• Who will control means of production, distribution?
Big Questions

5. What will be the overall business model
going forward?
• How is the film industry adapting?
Newspapers? Music?
• Is there a role for advertising?
What is the cultural impact?
• Of mega-publishers? Of the Internet?
• How will content be affected by new
business models?
• Is there a role for craft publishers?
Big Questions

6. • Bertelsman AG (Germany)
• Pearson (England)
• News Corporation (Australia)
• Time Warner (United States)
• Holtzbrinck (Germany)
Big Issues
Five publishers dominate U.S. book sales

7. • Kindle
• iPad/tablets
• Audiobooks
Big Issues
Technology
Standardization
• Universal PDFs? Proprietary formats?
• Kindle/Amazon
• Apple iBooks

8. Big Issues
Other Issues

9. Early Forms
• Papyrus
• Parchment
• Asians used rice paper with
carved, reusable wooden blocks.
A Brief History of Books

10. The Printing Revolution
• Johannes Gutenberg and moveable
metal type
A Brief History of Books

11. The Printing Revolution
• Printing changed the world from one of
oral culture to written-word culture.
• This was an example of technological
determinism.
A Brief History of Books

12. The Book In America
• 1530s: Spanish establish first press in the
Americas. Produced texts for teaching Spanish to
Indians in Mexico City.
• Many early colonial publishers were escaping
repression in England, where the king carefully
controlled any type of publication.
• Printers ran bookstores, where intelligentsia met.
• In 1731, Benjamin Franklin helps to open first
public library.
A Brief History of Books

13. A Brief History of Books
• Universal Education
• Industrial Revolution
• Books and Slavery
• Paperback Books

14. A Brief History of Books
Conglomeration and Globalization

15. A Brief History of Books
Top Publishers of U.S. Books

16. Milestones in Book Publishing timeline

17. A Brief History of Books
New Forms of the Book
• Audiobooks
• E-books
• hypertext fiction

18. Understanding Today’s Book
Publishing Industry
Types of Books
• Trade books
• Educational books
• Reference books
• Professional books
• Specialty

19. Understanding Today’s Book
Publishing Industry
The Players (authors)
• Few in number. Most have a day job.
• Many come from newspapers or magazines.
• Many finished books are not published.
• Ghost writers.

20. Understanding Today’s Book
Publishing Industry
• acquisition editor
• developmental editor
• copy editor

21. Understanding Today’s Book
Publishing Industry
What does a publisher do?
• Editing
• Promotion
• Distribution
• Financing

22. Understanding Today’s Book
Publishing Industry
The Bookseller
• Independent “mom and pops”
• Megastores
• Online

23. Understanding Today’s Book
Publishing Industry
The Reader
• Bibliophiles
• Casual readers
• Required readers
• Illiterates
• Alliterates

24. Controversies

25. Controversies
Book Censorship

26. Controversies
The Blockbuster Syndrome

27. Chapter 3
Books: The Durable Medium
Chapter Outline
• History
• Industry
• Controversies