Digital publishing news for September 26, 2013
FishBowl NY is reporting that Lloyd’s List, the world’s oldest newspaper will stop its print edition and go all digital on December 20th. Lloyd’s List has been publishing since 1734. Chris O’Shea writes, “The paper’s editor, Richard Meade, explained that Lloyd’s List was going all-digital because a survey of its readers revealed that less than two percent of its readers preferred reading it in print.” With almost 3oo years of publishing under their belt, I think it’s a smart move to do what the people want.
$1.99 Is A Terrible Price For e-Books
Publishers Weekly has an interesting report on Kobo Writing Life (KWL) self-publishing platform and the pricing data that was uncovered after a year of using the platform. Calvin Reid writes, “99¢ KWL titles sell twice as many copies as those at $1.99.” $2.99 priced books sold four times than $1.99 titles. Publishers should experiment with pricing to find their sweet spot.
Bezos On The Future of Newspapers
The Today Show has new video interview with Jeff Bezos and he’s talking publishing and the future of newspapers. In the interview he says that The Washington Post may not have a print edition, but it could take decades. He goes on to say “I think printed newspapers on actual paper may be a luxury item.” Lots of forward thinking speculation from a man that certainly keeps both eyes open.
USA Today Studying Paywalls
USA Today President Larry Kramer stated that they were exploring the idea of a paywall. Poynter reports, “Reached by email, Kramer told Poynter, “No plan exists. We’re studying it.” Kramer also told Poynter that they plan on removing some of their iconic white box stands from various locations. USA Today is also planning on raising the price of their newspaper to two dollars an issue.
Can Bit Coin Save Publishing?
In a fascinating article from Genesis Block, Jonathan Stacke writes a compelling argument for how bit coin could save the publishing industry. Stacke writes, “Micropayments of just a few cents per piece would offer greater incentive to consistently produce content worth paying for rather than optimize for headlines and SEO, since the probability of someone returning to a site where they didn’t receive ample value is low. Micropayments also reduce or eliminate the incentive to subvert the paywall, since the time to find a way around it may actually be economically more expensive than the few cents spent on the article. Enabling this are two companies that recently launched, offering bitcoin paywalls to solve this problem.”
New Editor in Chief at Eating Well
minOnline is reporting that Jessie Price has been named editor in chief at Eating Well. Steve Cohn writes, “That Price is a former cook at restaurants in Colorado and California makes her “epicurean endemic.”
