MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Ebooks and the Price War featured on Jim Lehrer News Hour

The Hooded Claw · 11-02-2009, 07:03 PM

My favorite newscast is The Jim Lehrer News Hour on PBS....Tonight they had a segment on the coming of ebooks. Rather than focusing on the technology, they focused on the changes it is making. They showed a short video report that showed the Kindle and Sony Ereader, and mentioned the Nook, then visited an independent book store and interviewed some shoppers.

Then they went to an interview format, and interviewed a lady from a site called booksquare.com (Never heard of her or it, but she was informed and made worthy comments) and Lev Grossman of TIME magazine. They had a good discussion, focusing mostly on the effects of the price war on retailers, publishers, and writers, and talking about how ereading technology is in its infancy. Most of the material wouldn't have shocked anyone who reads in these forums, but I was pleased to see it discussed in a mainstream media outlet, even one that doesn't get as much prominence as the big cable news networks.

My two favorite tidbits from the report were a sign on the front of the independent bookstore:

"Use your Kindle or your cellphone at your own risk"

and a comment by Lev Grossman that "We are in the Pre-Cambrian era of electronic publishing."

This was just shown minutes ago on PBS in my area--Check your local listings and you may be able to see it tonight. Otherwise if you want to see it, The program usually posts their reports on their website a few days after they are broadcast:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/

11-02-2009, 07:03 PM	#1
The Hooded Claw Connoisseur Posts: 70 Karma: 6050 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Oklahoma! Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Android phone with Kindle app, Kindle 4 in reserve	Ebooks and the Price War featured on Jim Lehrer News Hour My favorite newscast is The Jim Lehrer News Hour on PBS....Tonight they had a segment on the coming of ebooks. Rather than focusing on the technology, they focused on the changes it is making. They showed a short video report that showed the Kindle and Sony Ereader, and mentioned the Nook, then visited an independent book store and interviewed some shoppers. Then they went to an interview format, and interviewed a lady from a site called booksquare.com (Never heard of her or it, but she was informed and made worthy comments) and Lev Grossman of TIME magazine. They had a good discussion, focusing mostly on the effects of the price war on retailers, publishers, and writers, and talking about how ereading technology is in its infancy. Most of the material wouldn't have shocked anyone who reads in these forums, but I was pleased to see it discussed in a mainstream media outlet, even one that doesn't get as much prominence as the big cable news networks. My two favorite tidbits from the report were a sign on the front of the independent bookstore: "Use your Kindle or your cellphone at your own risk" and a comment by Lev Grossman that "We are in the Pre-Cambrian era of electronic publishing." This was just shown minutes ago on PBS in my area--Check your local listings and you may be able to see it tonight. Otherwise if you want to see it, The program usually posts their reports on their website a few days after they are broadcast: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/ Last edited by The Hooded Claw; 11-02-2009 at 07:05 PM.