BTW News Briefs

Random House Announces New Business Model for Online Viewing of Books

On the day that public domain titles became available online via Google Print's controversial book scanning and digitalization project, Random House announced a new business model for online viewing of its titles. The company noted in a November 3 news release that it planned "to work with online booksellers, search engines, entertainment portals, and other appropriate vendors to offer the contents of its books to consumers for online viewing on a pay-per-page-view basis." In the face of the scope of Google's proposed book scanning efforts (which also include works not in the public domain), the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers on behalf of five publishers have sued Google over its plans for Google Print.

The Random House release noted, "Random House recognizes that digital search, display, and distribution will be increasingly important for books over time, and that while readers will want digital access in various formats, publishers and authors must be properly compensated and protected as such markets develop."

Random House said that it will be negotiating separate agreements with vendors regarding online viewing of book content, but it did outline in the release some "key components" for the business model: books will be available for full indexing, search and display; no downloading, printing, or copying will be permitted; and a publisher-determined "free sample" of page views (up to a typical threshold of five percent of a book's total length) will be permitted. Under the plan, vendors will establish pricing to consumers, and payments may be collected by vendors "through any appropriate means," providing that the proper title-by-title reporting is provided to Random House.

The company release noted that that Random House will respect the wishes of authors who do not want their works included in pay-per-page-view programs. In a prepared statement Richard Sarnoff, president of the Random House, Inc., Corporate Development Group, said, "We believe that it is important for publishers to be innovative in providing digital options for consumers to access our content, especially in light of the emergence of ubiquitous Internet access and improved display technologies that can support sustained reading."

Documentary Criticizing Wal-Mart to Open in Theaters

Brave New Films, a new production company, will theatrically release Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price in independently owned theaters in New York and Los Angeles on Friday, November 4. The film uses interviews with former Wal-Mart employees, activists, and overseas workers to support claims that the Wal-Mart business strategy is disadvantageous to its employees and their communities. "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price is the story of one company using its power to destroy the fabric of American life, and it is important to us that as many people as possible see it," said filmmaker Robert Greenwald in a press release. Greenwald also directed Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism. The producers of the documentary plan to show it at about 1,000 churches, synagogues, and other religious sites nationwide on November 13 in an attempt to force changes in Wal-Mart's business practices. The film will be available on DVD on November 15.

Wal-Mart contends that Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price is factually incorrect. The world's largest retailer is plugging another documentary that positively portrays the company, Why Wal-Mart Works: And Why That Drives Some People C-R-A-Z-Y. The film focuses on working families who have benefited from their involvement with the company. Brothers Ron and Robert Galloway financed the $85,000 film, with Wal-Mart's limited cooperation, reported USA Today. It is also due out November 15 on DVD.

Anne Winters Receives 2005 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize

On November 1, the Academy of American Poets and The Nation magazine announced that Anne Winters' The Displaced of Capital (University of Chicago Press) had been selected for the 2005 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize. The prize is an annual award of $25,000 for the most outstanding book of poetry published in the U.S. in the previous year. Winters' book was chosen from more than 160 submissions. The jurors for the award were Louise Gluck, Robert Pinsky, and Alan Shapiro. For more information, go to www.poets.org/.

Online Purchasing Expected to Outpace 2004 Holiday Season

As reported by CNET, an additional 2.5 million U.S. consumers will log on to the Internet this holiday season to bring overall online sales revenue to over $18 billion, according to a new prediction from Forrester Research. The expected increase would be a 25 percent jump over last year. Other research firms are speculating that the amount of online spending may be even higher despite the high cost of fuel, CNET said. Many bricks-and-mortar retail stores are using their online channels to attract shoppers, and are offering free shipping as an added benefit to customers.