Functions of Books Transmission of Culture (religious texts, etiquette books, even travel guides) Transmit Ideas and Knowledge (textbooks and non-fiction Books especially do this) Entertainment
Problems Facing Industry How to print books cheaply How to get as many number of people to buy these books Attempts at solving problem: Printing press, dime novels, mass market paperbacks, print-on-demand, eBooks, Oprah
eBooks eBooks A recent survey finds one 1 of 5 of us has read an e-book in the past year. Sales were $441.3 million in 2010
Dime Novels Dime Novels The first paperback book, sold for 10 cents Introduced in 1860 Helped increase literacy
Mass-market Paperbacks 1939: This form of book arrived in US when Pocket Books published books that sold for 25 cents at drugstores and supermarkets
Print-on-Demand Books Began in late 1990s Made authors less dependent on book publishing companies Example of successful author: Teri Woods Also allows book companies to revive out-of-print books
Teri Woods Teri Woods • Legal secretary and single mom in Philadelphia Over 20 publishers rejected her book, True to the Game 1999: Printed it herself, sold out of car trunk—300,000 copies sold 2002: self-made millionaire New York Times bestsellers (2007, 2008); reinvigorated the “urban fiction” genre
Publishing Success Stories Harry Potter series (got adults and children reading fiction more; final book 14 million copy first print run just in US; films) Da Vinci Code 50 Shades of Grey (After only two months, the first book sold 765,000 copies, three times faster than The Da Vinci Code)
Newspapers
Major Trends Affecting Newspapers: Executives and editors coming from outside of newspaper industry Online subscriptions not catching on The need to figure out alternative revenue sources How to cover local news with shrinking staffs Need to understand audience better
What is News? “Man bites dog” not “dog bites man” Recent events, discoveries or trends Pseudo events: press conferences, rallies, marches
Hard News vs. Soft News Hard News: The when, what, how, why and where (ex. Hurricane Sandy struck NYC) Soft News: The follow-up story to the hard news OR human-interest stories (ex. NYC’s Food Trucks Hit the Streets to Help with Sandy Recovery)
The History of Journalism in 4 Key Developments: Penny Press Objectivity Yellow Journalism Muckracking
Penny Press: Newspapers sold for 1 cent In order to attract large audiences… Publishers toned down opinions. Looked for dramatic stories Hired reporters to find stories Dramatically increased advertising
Objectivity & the AP Objectivity: a principal in journalism that says reporters will not be biased in how they report a story Associated Press (started in 1848, exists today): a service where papers and radio can get information that is impartial
Yellow Journalism: When stories are sensationalized and/or either partially or completely untrue. William Randolph Hearst & Joseph Pulitzer: competing newspaper men who practiced yellow journalism in early 1900s
Muckracking: • Journalists who “rake up mud” (or muck), meaning they stir up trouble • Investigative, usually long, in-depth articles exploring corruption or other issues • By early 1900s, Joseph Pulitzer was a muckracker (established Pulitzer Prize)
The Rise of Electronic Journalism: Newspapers began to lose their popularity with the rise of radios in 1920s, followed by TV in the 50s. 1947: Meet the Press debuted 1950s: Today show debuted
Filling the News Hole: In 1980, 1 of 50 newspaper front page stories about celebrities (today: 1 of 14) 24-hour news channels have travel shows, documentaries, celeb coverage and their hosts become “celeb personalities” WHY? To compete with other papers, other channels and the Internet
Assignment due in class 2/19/13 Write a one-page essay giving a defense to why print newspapers (not online news) is necessary and should not go away. Must include 2-3 examples taken from newspapers this week. Use or reject claims in the textbook to support your argument. Do not email final assignment, hand in a hard copy in class.