the political science of publishing

[Terry Ehling <ehling@cornell.edu>]

Joe Esposito salutes Election Day stateside with a trenchant,
front-line analysis of publishing's three-party system:

http://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2010/11/02/the-publishing-partisans-conservatives-reformers-and-upstarts/

"With the political season upon us in the U.S., this is a good
time to reflect on how publishers align themselves almost along
political grounds on the topic of the role of digital media.

"Which political party is best suited to lead our nation forward?
I think the Conservatives are finished:  when they get access to
the near-equivalent of a university library with a couple
mouse-clicks, even their protests will become increasingly shrill
('But there will always be books!' Yeah, right.)  The Reformers
want to co-opt the disruptive energy of the Internet and have it
serve a mission that is still culturally recognizable.  The
Upstarts, on the other hand, want to unleash the disruptors and
have them create a New Jerusalem.  To some extent, whom you
believe is a direct outgrowth of who you are."

terry ehling
scholarly publishing strategist
cornell university
ithaca [ny] =A014850
ehling@cornell.edu