Nature, along with many other publications, runs a regular feature reprinting clips from 50 years ago. This one from 22 June 1957 caught my eye:
"Far from causing a decline in reading, as was once predicted, it is now becoming evident that television has led to a greatly increased sale of books dealing with topics which have proved popular on the screen. This is perhaps most evident in archaeology, but it is becoming noticeable in other fields too. The growing sport of undersea swimming has reinforced the demand for books about sea life, the publication of which has received a further fillip from the film and television successes of Hans Hass and Jacques Cousteau. We cannot blame the publishers for trying to satisfy this demand, but we can blame them for publishing books seemingly written in haste merely to profit from this fashion.”
The messages are clear and still relevant.
New technology does not necessarily kill old technology and can in fact enhance it.
Publishers are profit-chasing idiots (or at least blameworthy profiteers) and always have been.
I'm off to France next week. I notice that the Blackberry has been deemed a subversive instrument by the French Government. I trust that British citizens will still be allowed to carry such a dangerous object. If not, this could turn into a French prison blog.
I notice that the UK Treasury-funded report on the creative economy has just been published. It is very long but I will find time to read it, if only for the pleasure of establishing the ratio of waffle to content. I'll try to summarise its recommendations for you in due course but perhaps some of readers of this blog would like to have a go too...