By Mike Springer If Shannon Fitzgerald had to choose one word to describe what today’s young people expect from media content, it would be: Authenticity. “They are so smart and so savvy,” says Fitzgerald, the new Vice President of Series Development at MTV. “They sniff out BS really quickly now.” In her view, young people feel empowered by social media …
Entertainment Companies Launch ISBN-like System for Film and TV Content
By Hannah Johnson Yesterday, a coalition of entertainment companies, including MovieLabs, CableLabs, Comcast and Rovi Corporation, announced the launch of the Entertainment Identifier Registry (EIDR). The EIDR is meant to serve as a global cataloging system for movies, television and other media content by providing a unique ID and metadata for each piece of content. The press release cited the …
Is Digital Spanish-language Content a Missed Opportunity for the Americans?
By Edward Nawotka Today’s lead story discusses the burgeoning Spanish-language market for digital content. During BookExpo America earlier this year, we offered several articles discussing the state of Spanish-language publishing in North America, where the Hispanic book buying market is estimated at about $1 billion, of which 30-35% of those sales are in Spanish-language books. At the time, we wondered “Whatever …
What are Digital Publishing’s “Durable Goods”?
By Edward Nawotka Today’s lead story explains that for publishers to survive and thrive, they must focus their effort on producing content people are willing to pay for — by and large this means products that offer “sustainable value.” The term can mean a lot of things to a lot of different people. My car, for example, offers me sustainable …
Do Google and Wikipedia Rob Students of a Real Education?
By Ed Nawotka In today’s editorial, Ron Mobed of Cengage Learning argues that digital tools and content turbocharge traditional education. Within the piece, he cites a 2009 UCLA study that “found that students learn better when they become engaged in a trial-and-error method to find information, rather than simply use Google or Wikipedia to reveal answers.” Translation: when students have …