For the Record

Analysts Offer Publishing Outlook:

A new report by veteran publishing consultants Cliff Guren, Thad Mcllroy and Steve Sieck explores "the impact of COVID-19 on the U.S. book publishing market," according to Andrew Albanese of Publishers Weekly. The authors believe that "the implications of COVID-19 on the book publishing sector are both subtle and deep," with "hugely lopsided sales by category, reflecting short-term social realities more than structural industry developments." The group also advises publishers to "treat bookselling as digital-first, physical-second" endeavor amid the emergence of other online-first strategies, while "tables could be turning" in the longtime diminution of digital formats by public and academic libraries due to the nature of the pandemic.

Historians Call for Impeachment:

More than 300 historians and other scholars "have signed an open letter calling for the impeachment and removal of President Trump, saying his continuation in office after encouraging supporters to march on the U.S. Capitol posed 'a clear and present danger to American democracy and the national security of the United States,'" Jennifer Schuessler of The New York Times reported Monday. The signatories include such Pulitzer winners as Ron Chernow, Stacy Schiff and Steven Hahn, who also is a former co-chair of the Pulitzer Prize Board. "This is an attempt to speak not just as citizens, but from our understanding of the history of American democracy and the Constitution," said David Greenberg, a Rutgers University historian who helped to draft the letter. "When you study American history as a matter of course, the outrageousness of Trump’s action can seem all the more striking."

Hong Kong Police Block Website Under National Security Law:

Hong Kong police "have invoked the national security law for the first time" to block HKChronicles, "a local website dedicated to publishing first-hand accounts of the anti-government protests in 2019 and the personal details of officers and pro-Beijing figures," Cannix Yau and Christy Leung of the South China Morning Post reported Saturday. Under the law, which went into effect last year, the special administrative region's police commissioner "can order ISPs to block access to electronic information deemed likely to constitute a crime endangering national security" upon the approval of the secretary for security. The site's database "covers first-hand accounts of alleged police brutality against demonstrators, the personal details of officers and pro-Beijing figures, as well as information on 'yellow ribbon' protester-friendly businesses and 'blue ribbon' ones that support police."

Osterreicher: Law Enforcement May Request Capitol Evidence:

National Press Photographers Association General Counsel Mickey Osterreicher says he expects that federal law enforcement agencies "will ask or demand that news organizations and individual journalists who documented the siege of the U.S. Capitol turn over their unpublished images and videos," Al Tompkins of Poynter reported Friday. "Since these actions involve federal crimes, journalists will quickly realize that we have no federal shield law," he said, adding: "Police and prosecutors do not get to see our notes or our unpublished work. We do not want to be seen as an arm of law enforcement. It puts journalists in a dangerous position when police wanted to see photos of protestors." According to Osterreicher, prosecutors "backed down from their demands once journalists posed a legal battle" in more than a dozen cases last year. 

British Competition Watchdog Probes Proposed Google Changes:

The United Kingdom's Competition and Markets Authority "has launched an investigation into Google’s proposals to remove third-party cookies and other functions from its Chrome browser following concerns the move could curb rival digital advertising," Tanishaa Nadkar of Reuters reported Friday. The investigation, which was prompted by complaints from the Marketers for an Open Web coalition of technology and publishing companies, "will assess whether the proposals could cause advertising spend to become even more concentrated on the ecosystem of Alphabet’s Google at the expense of its competitors." In a statement, the technology company said it "[welcomes] the CMA’s involvement as we work to develop new proposals to underpin a healthy, ad-supported web without third-party cookies."

Hawley Book Dropped by Simon & Schuster:

Simon & Schuster announced Thursday that it would it would cancel the publication of Sen. Josh Hawley's (R-Missouri) forthcoming book about the impact of technology companies, "citing what it referred to as his role in Wednesday’s violent mob attack on the U.S. Capitol," according to Nick Visser of HuffPost. "We did not come to this decision lightly," the publisher said in a statement. "As a publisher it will always be our mission to amplify a variety of voices and viewpoints; at the same time we take seriously our larger public responsibility as citizens, and cannot support Senator Hawley after his role in what became a dangerous threat to our democracy and freedom." Following the announcement, Hawley "vowed to take his grievances to court." (Pulitzer Prize Board Co-Chair Aminda Marqués González is the vice president and executive editor of Simon & Schuster's flagship imprint, while former Pulitzer Administrator Dana Canedy is senior vice president and publisher of the imprint.)

Caro Transfers Files to New-York Historical Society:

As he continues to work on the concluding volume of his biography of Lyndon Johnson, 1975 and 2003 Biography winner Robert Caro is personally overseeing the transfer of his personal files to a permanent exhibition at the New-York Historical Society, according to Dan Barry of The New York Times. The archives contain hitherto unseen work, including interviews with "all the key aides to Fiorello La Guardia" that did not make it into "The Power Broker" and scrapbooks from his days as a student at the Horace Mann School. "Everything I wanted, consciously or subconsciously, was suddenly being voiced by the woman across the table," Caro said of the acquisition by the society's president, Louise Mirrer.

Tampa Bay Times Moves Printing Amid Layoffs, Pay Cuts:

Tampa Bay Times parent company Times Publishing "will outsource printing of its newspapers starting in March and will close its own production facility in St. Petersburg" under a three-year agreement with Gannett, according to a Wednesday report. Although 90 full-time and 60 part-time workers will lose their jobs after the transition to the Gannett plant in Lakeland is complete, the media company "intends to expand its own operations team in Lakeland and has said some jobs could go to Times employees." While the decision will not affect newsroom operations, full-time employees whose jobs are not affected "will take a temporary pay cut of 10% for up to six months" during the transition. Times Publishing Chairman and CEO Paul Tash, a former member of the Pulitzer Prize Board, will reduce his own salary by 20% during the period.

Adler Announces Retirement:

Past Pulitzer juror and Reuters Editor-in-Chief Stephen J. Adler "will retire in April 2021 after 10 years at the head of the award-winning global newsroom," Chris Roush of Talking Biz News reported Wednesday. "I will miss the daily, hourly, and minute-by-minute Reuters adventure and will surely miss all of you," Adler said in an internal memo. "But it is the right time for me to pass the baton. I’m greatly looking forward to writing, teaching, advocating for press freedom and media literacy, and finding my way toward unexpected new challenges." During his tenure at the wire service, Adler oversaw seven Pulitzer-winning projects, the introduction of stricter safety standards and mental health initiatives. "Steve has played an integral role in transforming Reuters into a contemporary, diversified media organization built around a world-class newsroom, which he has led to new heights," said Michael Friedenberg, the news organization's president.

Washington Post Video Journalists Arrested:

Washington Post video journalists Zoeann Murphy and Whitney Leaming "tweeted on Wednesday night that they’d been arrested during the unrest at the U.S. Capitol," according to Lindsey Ellefson of The Wrap. "Some days are like this. Body armor, helmet, getting arrested while filming a siege on the Capitol," said Murphy, who attached a video of herself being detained by a law enforcement officer. The journalists ultimately were released under a curfew exemption classifying journalists as essential workers. "Our journalists were just doing their jobs and should never have been arrested in the first place,” a spokesperson said to Ellefson. “However, we're pleased that police quickly released them.”