mobile publishing

Twenty-Five-Year Drop in U.S. Publishing Jobs

Gilan Gertz, MSW Leave a comment
The Changing Publishing Business Has Lost Reams of Jobs

The Changing Publishing Business Has Lost Masses of Jobs

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently published a snapshot of publishing industry jobs. According to the BLS’s graph, the industry has taken a beating over the past twenty-five years. The sectors hit the hardest were books, newspapers, and periodicals.

Book publishing, an industry that saw numerous consolidations in recent years, lost a considerable amount of jobs. In 1990, there were 85,900 jobs in book publishing. By 2016, only 61,500 jobs remained. Periodical publishing jobs also suffered because of poor sales. The industry boasted 146,800 jobs in 1990, but by 2016, that number had dipped to 93,600.

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Americans Still Know How to Read—On Smartphones

Gilan Gertz, MSW Leave a comment
People Read Long News Articles on Smartphones

People Read Long News Articles on Smartphones

A new study by Pew Research found that Americans are reading more long news articles on their phones than ever before. As smartphones improve their capabilities, their owners increasingly use them to access and read lengthy news articles, a phenomenon once considered unlikely. It turns out that attention spans can last longer than a few seconds, and online readers can stick with a long article until the end. Smartphones have whetted Americans’ appetite for meaty news articles.

Pew found that news articles longer than one thousand words hold smartphone readers’ attention for a lengthier period of time than short news articles. People are more engaged with the longer articles: they scroll, click through, and read for an average of 123 seconds per long article. In contrast, they remain engaged for an average of fifty-seven seconds in shorter stories. Continue reading →

Publishers Using Messaging as Social Platforms

Gilan Gertz, MSW Leave a comment
Messaging apps are constantly at hand

Messaging apps are constantly at hand

It’s clear to see how broadly technical companies grew their partnerships with publishers in 2015. Every major tech company has developed a platform to showcase publishers’ content: Snapchat Discover, LinkedIn’s Pulse, Facebook Instant Articles, and Apple News have become part of the news landscape. Now, with the news that messaging apps have outstripped social networks in terms of monthly active users, expect to see tech-publishing partnerships that spread content through messaging apps.

Publishers have shown their willingness to relinquish full control over their content in return for tech companies’ support. The immense reach and influence that companies such as Google and Facebook command make it worthwhile to give up control over distribution. As long as their content is seen, publishers are less concerned about which platform is presenting the content.

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