Competitors and Collaborators: The New Age in Agenting Editorial by Jason Allen Ashlock

NEW YORK: In December, five of the largest magazine publishers in the United States -- Time Inc., NewsCorp, Conde Nast, Hearst, and Meredith Corp -- announced a joint venture. In an effort to take control of their own fates, the five will become equal partners in developing a new e-reader for magazines. These longtime competitors and fierce leaders of media empires, each working to win the attention of a finite number of eyes, emerged from behind their castle walls and met on common ground -- an unprecedented cooperative effort born of an understanding that it was simply too risky to go it alone.

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Discussion:

Is Publishing in the Recession More or Less Competitive?
By Edward Nawotka

As Jason Allen Ashlock points out in our lead article today, "Facing an uncertain future, we would all do well to identify our common interests and seek new forms of collaboration." Is this indeed true? Has the recession prompted you to collaborate in ways you would not have otherwise considered? Or has the the recession and the challenges posed by the digital revolution pushed you to be more aggressive that before?

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