Have you read all of the Seattle Times series on Amazon.com's business practices? You really, really should. It's excellent reporting, and it's important to see all this stuff in one place. And now other outlets are picking up on interesting angles, too. Salon takes a look at Amazon.com's grant-giving practices and explains the uneasy feelings of those who have received grants:
Of more than a dozen grantees Salon interviewed, some completely disassociated Amazonâs charity from its business practices. Others were more conflicted, but saw nothing to gain by dwelling on the source of the funds or turning their cash-strapped offices into an Ethics 101 seminar. Others saw Amazonâs grant giving as something to be feared: An evolutionary skill developed by a natural and intelligent predator growing ever stronger off the blood of its prey.
âThe grants are a blatant attempt to buy goodwill from an industry that theyâve ravaged,â said one veteran indie publisher who asked not to be identified because heâs involved in an Amazon-funded project. âThey are a rapacious, horrible company from top to bottom. But they have all this excess capital, so $25,000 here and there is nothing to them. And itâs working. People say, âOh, look, theyâre funding a translation prize, what could be wrong with that?â Yet everything about them is still evil.â
You should read the whole thing.