http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/the_reviews_will_only_be_half_as_bad Critical Mass brings news that Publishers Weekly has cut the pay rate for their reviewers by exactly 50%. They sent out this e-mail: Dear Reviewer, We are under constraints to reduce our expenses and must reduce the fee we pay to reviewers. Any reviews assigned after June 15 will be billed at $25 per review. However, you will be credited as a contributor in issues where your reviews appear. Please know that we value the work you do for us. Your astute reading and writing are what make our magazine so valuable in the industry and we regret this necessary... Copyright 2008 Thu, 15 May 2008 12:00:00 -0800 Fri, 16 May 2008 06:02:21 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss First they came for the movie reviewers, then they came for the book reviewers...

]]> PopTart http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/the_reviews_will_only_be_half_as_bad#c1025704 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/the_reviews_will_only_be_half_as_bad#c1025704 Books Thu, 15 May 2008 12:33:48 -0800 Jeez, my girlfriend writes reviews for a small-town biweekly and gets more than this. How long does it take to read a book and write up a review? Divide 25 by the amount of hours and you don't even get minimum wage. They're really banking on people giving a shit about having a review published in their publication. Is it really that prestigious?

]]> JC http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/the_reviews_will_only_be_half_as_bad#c1025739 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/the_reviews_will_only_be_half_as_bad#c1025739 Books Thu, 15 May 2008 12:52:33 -0800 As criticism, PW reviews are grossly overvalued even at $25. But as commercial items, they get a hell of a lot of play. Most Amazon pages have the PW review on them (usually twice, which is irritating).

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/the_reviews_will_only_be_half_as_bad#c1025833 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/the_reviews_will_only_be_half_as_bad#c1025833 Books Thu, 15 May 2008 14:02:44 -0800 What fnarf said. I wonder how much the upper management of PW makes, and are they getting raises this year? And how much does PW earn simply from each posting on Amazon alone?

]]> lori http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/the_reviews_will_only_be_half_as_bad#c1026256 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/the_reviews_will_only_be_half_as_bad#c1026256 Books Fri, 16 May 2008 06:02:21 -0800