Author's Qualification and The Uncertain Future of Paywall

                  The reading for this week covers a lot of issue in relation to the topic of ‘transition from scrolls to  e-readers and contemporary events’. I notice that two of the reading deals with the procedure that must be followed by a particular author to publish his/her work at a publishing company like Pan Macmillan Australia and MIT Press. The flowchart below will explain the process in brief.

            In general, the system is appropriate and properly-designed in ensuring the quality and originality of the author’s work. Some of the compulsory information that are required from the author are education background, previous research carried out, and other preceding publications. In my point of view, this information is really important to determine whether the proposed work would be accepted or rejected.The mind map below briefly described the criteria necessary information that are required by The Mit Press(MIT Press Service Area 2001).

Figure 1- Compulsory information required by the MIT Press

         Other than that, the other interesting issue explored in the reading is the proposal of introducing paywalls to news websites. Recently, Richard Murdoch, the CEO of News Corporation reveals that the visitors to his news websites will be charged. This idea was criticised by Alan Rusbridger , the editor  of The Guardian ,a British national daily newspaper. Rusbridger argue that paywall would not bring much benefit to News Corp. It lead the company to a ‘sleepwalk of oblivion’, reduce online readership and have to compete with free news websites such as Sky Tv and BBC(Busfield, S. 2010).

Image 1-Snapshot of Newscorp Website which is the proposed paywall site by Richard Murdoch

Image 2 - Snapshot of BBC-free homepage. Note that there is  an advertisement on the top of the page.

            I am totally agreed with Rusbridger.  In my point of view, there are several drawbacks of paywall.To begin with; this would discourage the public to access news websites. In the world of digital revolution, a large number of people in developed countries access digital media in pursuit of current issues. Obviously, charging the public for information would leave them clueless about recent national and global news update. On top of that, diminishing online readership would result in withdrawal of digital advertising contract. This is a serious issue since the income from advertising make up  a fraction of the total revenue for News Corp.

          To sum up, the sector of book publishing and printing have undergo significant transformation, as well as the publishing procedure and requirements. Besides, charging the public for accessing digital mass media would bring detrimental effects to the industry.  

Reference :-

MIT Press Author Services Area 2001,accessed 18 March 2011                                  <http://mitpress.mit.edu/authors/Author-Questionnaire.pdf>

Busfield, S (2010) ‘Guardian editor hits back at paywalls’, The Guardian, accessed 18 March  2011 <http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jan/25/guardian-editor-paywalls>

E-book : How does it shape the world of publishing



             In recent years, technological advancement had brought about abrupt changes and transforms the world of publishing to a state that has never been imagined before. Perhaps the greatest concern about this issue is the emergence of tablet PC and e-book such as Apple iPad, Amazon Kindle , Samsung Galaxy Tab and NOOK e-reader. In my point of view, both conventional paper-printed books and e-book have its own advantages and setback.



Amazon Kindle DX,Kindle 2, NOOK and iPad 



            To begin with, there are several good sides of e-book. Undeniably, it is more portable since a whole bundle of literature is compiled together as digital data rather than a collection of paperbacks.  Thanks to a great capacity of e-book memory, students do not have to carry heavy textbook around anymore. Besides, through the wireless function available on most e-book, we can gain access to digital media, such as websites, blogs, and social network sites.  On top of that, this feature also enable instant search about a particular topic to be accomplished instantly. However, not all people can afford for an e-book reader. For example, an iPad will cost you about $500, whereas the price for Amazon Kindle is around $260. Not only that, e-book seems to challenge the conventional process in the publishing and printing sector. This would pose economical threat to a lot of party, for instance author, publisher, and retailer that earn a living on the current publishing system.

Book vs e-book. Note how thick books are compared to the Amazon Kindle

             On the other hand, paperback book and paper-based publishing would not be affected by the automatic deletion of illegal publications by the content owner. This situation had been experienced by Amazon Kindle’s owner in July 2009 which left them shocked and speechless (Daughton 2009). Furthermore, we have more authority towards our hard copy book as it can be lent to anybody or sell it when it is not needed anymore. In contrast, an electronic form of book is constrained by regulations that prohibit any form of distribution, lease or trade (Daughton 2009). In spite of this, as has been mentioned before, it is not really practical to carry a whole chunk of book around which concerns the issue of lacks of portability for paperback books.

The Australian's digital version on Samsung Galaxy Tab



             In conclusion, the process of publishing has entered a new era with the invention of e-book. It has also affects the other sector related to publishing such as business, education, and newscast. Hopefully, e-book will bring about positive outcome in those areas in the foreseeable future.     

Reference:

Naughton, J 2009 , The Observer, The original Big Brother is watching you on Amazon Kindle , weblog, accessed 10 March 2011 , < http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jul/26/amazon-kindle-book-deletions >