MMC 2000Test #2Continued Chapter 4: NewspapersConstructing the News:News: what is determined to be newsworthy.News Values:-Timeliness-Conflict-Impact-ProminenceGatekeepers- decide what is/isn't news importance.Who are the Gatekeepers? Editors, Corporate Owners, Writers, Politicians.Ultimately, news is influenced by a construction process:-Two competing interest-Advertisers/Commercial concerns-Story formula-Selection/use of sources-Resource of Constraint (# of ads, # of news articles)-Emphasis of Deviance-Pack mentality (if this is covering that then we should too)Newspaper industry today is struggling-Steady decline in printed newspaper because you can also access online which is a lot easier and cheaper than buying actual printed newspaper.Newspaper Industry Today:-More than 9,800 newspapers operating in U.S. today.-77% are published on a weekly basis.-About 250 newspapers specifically targeting to African Americans.-About 130 cities have at least one bilingual newspaper.-Thanks to passalongs (giving someone else your newspaper) there are about 200 million views of newspapers.-In 2011 there were 1,382 dailiesChapter 3: BooksA short history of books: -Created after Gutenberg invented the printing press.-Only religious books made it to colonial america because of cost, and illiteracy of immigrants.-Immigrants that came to America had little time for leisurely activity like reading because they worked from sun up to sun down.Books in America:-(1638) First printing press in America called Cambridge Press-(1644) First book printed in the colonies called, “The whole book of Pslam” aka “Bay Pslam book”-(1732) “Poor Richard’s Almanac” written by Ben Franklin. Sold 10,000 copies annually. Topics about poetry and the weather and other topics.***A variety of material wasn’t printed because colonial governors were loyal to the King. (Reason James Franklin was jailed, remember?) The Early Book Industry:-After Independence was won, printed books became a way of life in every big city (political, cultural)-Linotype: technology that allowed the mechanical rather than manual setting of print type.-Offset lithography: printing from photographic plates instead of metal casts.-Dime Novels: also called pulp novels -books that were really cheap (only a dime hence the name “Dime Novels”)-Penguin Novels: Published by Allen Lane. Paper back books published during the Great Depression that made it possible for a lot of people to purchase books because it cost less to buy the paperbacks. -Robert De Graff: Created small inexpensive pocketbook paperbacks that only cost 25 cents that were books that had become successful in hardcover. These books were sold everywhere; bookstores, train stations, newsstands. Cultural Value of Book:-Books help make us unique.-Books are agents of social and cultural change.-Books are the window to our past.-Books are sources of personal development.-Books are the mirror of culture.Censorship: Targets for censorship because of social change.Aliteracy: when people have the ability to read but choose not too. They censor themselves from the books and they do not read for pleasure.Daily reading for 18-24 yr olds increased to about 25 minutes per day.Scope and Structure of the Book Industry:Categories of Books:-Book Club Editions-El-hi (Elementary school/High school)-Higher Educations (textbooks)-Mail Order-Mass Market Paper Books-Professional Books-Religious Books-Standardized tests-Subscription Reference books-Tradebooks (hard/soft) cover including (fiction/nonfiction)-University Press BooksConvergence: E-publishing: the publication of books online. Books today are not composed of paper pages.Fun facts:-By summer 2011, 105 E-books purchased for every 1 regular book.-X-mas day 2009 first day E-books exceeded print books.-10% of book Industry is E-books.Amanda Hocking: Wrote “Girl with the dragon tattoo” could not find someone to print her paper copy or hard copy. Turned her book into an E-book and sold millions of copies and ended up getting a release for a movie too.Print on Demand (POD): Books only printed when ordered, that way there are never a ton of extra copies laying around.Remainders: unsold books returned to publisher to be sold at a lower price.Instant books: Books printed right after an event. ex. Will and Kates love story written and published only a few days after their engagement. 9/11 memorial books published afew days after the terrorist attack.E-Readers: Digital books with the appearance of regular books.Platform Agnostic Publishing: digital and hardcopy books available for any and all reading devices.Conglomeration: - Smaller booksellers were bought out by bigger companies.- Cottage Industry: publishing companies use to be small corporations.- Subsidiary rights: a scale of a book, its contents and even its characters to film makers. - Change in book retailing: mom and pop stores had employees who were expert books lovers. Those were all bought out by chain stores like Barnes and Noble or Books-a-Million with employees who might also be books lovers, but really just in it for the job.- Also able to buy 30% of our books at places like Target, Walmart and Costco.- 80% of sales come from 8 major companies.Pros and Cons of Big Books Companies:PROS: CONS:-Big companies = More money - Profits determine who gets published-More Authors -Profits over Professionalism-Better Print -Blockbuster mentality (aka they seek out the big names in the book industry rather that the no name authors with good books.-Choose books based in subsidiary rights.Chapter 5: MagazinesThe Early Magazine Industry: - 1741 Andrew Bradford (Philadelphia) published “American Magazine: or a Monthly view of the political state of the British Colonies.”- Ben Franklin created the “General magazine” & “Historical Chronicle for all BritishPlantations in America”- Ben Franklin also started the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1729. It was also known as the “Saturday Evening Post.” The magazine also continued for 148 more years.- Early Magazines aimed at the literate elite and had short stories, poetry but did not become a mass medium until after the civil war.-Magazines prospered in the post civil war era.Other Successful early magazines: Harpers (1850), Atlantic Monthly (1857)Women Suffrage with Magazines: Women's suffrage was big after WWII and many of the magazines were aimed towards women. (Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping)Postal Act of 1879: Mailing magazines
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