Amazon takes it from Macmillan because it has no choice

We want you to know that ultimately, however, we will have to capitulate and accept Macmillan’s terms because Macmillan has a monopoly over their own titles, and we will want to offer them to you even at prices we believe are needlessly high for e-books.
A statement from Amazon • On its decision to back down from the removal of Macmillan’s e-books over a disagreement on pricing. Amazon removed all of Macmillan’s books on Friday, only to put them back up today. Amazon has insisted on a $9.99 price for Kindle books, but Macmillian wants to charge more. Amazon is optimistic that other major publishers won’t follow suit. We’ll see where optimism gets them. source

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No agreements have been reached to date. Sam, as well as the rest of the management team, remain actively engaged and committed to Tribune. The restructuring is still in progress and it is premature to speculate about the company’s final ownership structure.
A statement from a Tribune Company spokesman • In response to reports that Sam Zell, who orchestrated a leveraged buyout of the company only to see the investment go bankrupt, would be ousted from the company. He’s under a lot of pressure from creditors, who are owed $8.6 billion in debt. And beyond that, he screwed an entire chain of newspapers in less than two years, causing thousands of people not in Chicago to lose their jobs because he bought the company with money he didn’t have. • source

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We will not participate in events where promises are made that in exchange for money The Post will offer access to newsroom personnel or will refrain from confrontational questioning. Our independence from advertisers or sponsors is inviolable.
Marcus W. Brauchli • Executive editor of The Washington Post, talking about a report in Politico about a series of “salons” to offered lobbyists access to Washington Post journalists in exchange for their soul … er, money. The first meeting was reported to be at the publisher’s house July 21, and was going to have Post reporters, Obama administration officials and Congressmen. Word is that the flyer for the event leaked early and without proper vetting, and it was likely a marketing person’s vision. In other words, someone’s getting yelled at in a boardroom right now. (Disclosure: ShortFormBlog editor Ernie Smith is affiliated with The Washington Post’s Express, but the blog itself has no ties to The Post, nor does it express the opinions of the company.) • source

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Tonight we’ll be putting the paper to bed for the last time. But the bloodline will live on.
Editor and Publisher Roger Oglesby • During the announcement, which was made today. As you might imagine, it wasn’t exactly a fun day for them today. • source

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Ah Facebook, where would we be if you weren’t constantly effin’ with your site? source

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31 Jan 2010 20:53