Publishing in the Information Age

With the increasing use and penetration of digital information technologies throughout its processes and products, the publishing industry is undergoing a fundamental and irreversible transformation. Provided here is a comprehensive single-volume study of that transformation which demonstrates how publishing managers can best take advantage of the opportunities the profound changes will bring. In 15 clearly-written chapters, the seven key elements of publishing, the 7M's, are detailed. An enumeration of critical core concepts and over 30 figures and tables assist in this timely analysis that is essential reading for all stakeholders in the future of publishing.

This eloquent and masterful book details how the recent advancements in digital information technology mark a fundamental and irreversible transformation in the publishing industry. The clearly presented and highly readable text provides a much-needed, concise, easy-to-grasp introduction to this new world of digital publishing, the opportunities it presents, and what it means for managers in the industry, including the fundamental shift from format-based enterprises (e.g., book publishers) to firms that are developers and managers of intellectual properties in multiple forms which best meet their customers' information needs. Throughout the study, the author, a media executive who has held managerial positions in major book publishing, cable television, and software firms, focuses on the business strategies that both traditional print-based and new media publishing firms must implement to adapt and thrive in this rapidly evolving and complex environment.

After an introductory chapter that reviews the major symptoms of change in the current publishing industry environment, the author examines the Information Age and the new information industry as the foundation for his analysis. He then presents his new framework, the seven Ms of publishing, that serves both as the structural backbone and main thesis of the study. The central 11 chapters of the book detail these seven Ms: the five value-added Ms of Material, Mode, Media, Means, and Market; and the two infrastructural Ms of Management and Money. The author supports his analysis with over 30 figures and tables that vividly depict the key points of the study. He also delineates 45 core concepts of publishing in the Information Age within the seven Ms. The final chapter of the book presents the author's vision of the digital publishing enterprise and the paradigm of promise for managers and other stakeholders in the future of publishing.