Follow up from yesterday's post

Thank you to everyone who reached out to us regarding their individual situations with the press pass issue.   We appreciate your patience and will respond to everyone individually that has contacted the BEA team either here, on the BEAN, e-mail or Twitter as quickly as we can. The Easter & Passover holidays makes it tough to accomplish anything over the weekend.  


One thing I need to address now is a piece of misinformation that has been widely circulated.  Please note, anyone planning for the BEA Bloggers Conference (BBC) expecting to attend BEA - - the issue of qualifying for a free press pass has no impact on your plans whatsoever.  The BBC badge ALWAYS included a full access pass to BEA - period.   BEA Special Events like the Author Breakfast are an additional fee - that also has always been the case.  


The only debate is for anyone (blogger or traditional media) seeking a free press pass.  We recognize the error in the delay in notifying people - we were wrong, we are very sorry about this and will rectify.  We are also happy to revisit anyone's credentials that feel they should qualify.  This is how the process has always worked, there have been no changes to the procedure of who qualifies for a press pass.


Thank you again for your patience, I hope you able to enjoy a safe and pleasant Holiday weekend. 

Defining Issues – The BEA Press Pass (+ bonus travel tip)

I want to take this opportunity to clarify our press registration policy.  We welcome all members of the press to BEA, which includes bloggers who provide an invaluable contribution to continuing dialogue about books and authors.  That said, we turned down a number of press applications yesterday and unfortunately we notified some individuals of their status well past the 2 week benchmark for evaluation that we stated in our original communication.  For that we are very sorry and we apologize to those individuals (and are working with those individuals to resolve amicably in a way that will make sure they are able to still attend BEA). 

Meanwhile, I wanted to take this opportunity to outline our press guidelines which have always been in place and which we will post to the website for anyone and everyone to see.  Our goal is simple:  to maintain the highest standard of excellence for both our exhibitors and our attendees in everything that we do.  It is with this in mind that we established the following criteria:  

• No one under 18 years of age is allowed at BEA unless they are accompanied by a member of the publishing industry. (This pertains to anyone registering to attend BEA.)
• Professional editorial coverage of BEA in trade magazines, electronic media (TV, Radio, etc.), blogs, periodicals, etc.
• Subject Matter & Focus
• Content Update Frequency
• Community & Traffic (total impressions, circulation for magazines/newspapers, demographics, etc.)

All returning independent and freelance journalists must supply links to stories written AND published in mainstream media outlets as proof of their journalistic qualifications; independent and freelance journalists attending BEA for the first time must provide letter of assignment from mainstream media outlet.  We hope this clears up any confusion and sincerely apologize for the delay in conveying notice.   

 

On a separate travel note - someone forwarded me a tip for cheap hotels.  I have not used this, but very much trust the person who sent this along:

On SkyAuction.com....an online auction for travel, I have purchased numerous things.  It is a legitimate site and there are some good bargains there from time to time.  

One of the things that I have purchased are nights at the Wyndham Garden Hotel at the Newark Airport.... as shown below.  Simply put...the price is right.  A room only cost me $11 + $32 = $43 total.....which isn't bad at all.  Now, I have 'won' two separate auctions for rooms at the Wyndham Newark Airport... that it can be for up to 12 nights....and anytime until Dec. 2012. 

E-Reading reseach as reported by Shelf Awareness today

Nothing surprising here, although it is encouraging that the stats indicate that digital continues to prove to be a format option and not a replacement for the printed book.  Books still work great. 

Pew Research Center Study: Americans Are E-Reading

One-fifth of American adults (21%) say they have read an e-book during the past year, according to the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project study, which also noted a marked increase in e-readership following the holiday season. In mid-December 2011, 17% of American adults had reported they read an e-book in the previous year. The study, which was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, found that about 43% of Americans age 16 and older read long-form digital text (e-books and magazines) and many said they are reading more because the material is in a digital format. Among respondents, the average e-book consumer read 24 books (the mean number) in the past 12 months, compared with an average of 15 books by a non-e-book consumer. The study also noted that 88% of those who read an e-book during the past year also read a printed book. Overall, 72% of adults read a print book, compared to the 21% who read an e-book and 11% who listened to an audiobook. Among the 14% of Americans age 16 and up who read both print books and e-books, readers preferred e-books when they wanted to get a book quickly (83%), when they were traveling or commuting (69%) and when they were looking for a wide selection (53%). However, print editions were strongly preferred when it came to reading to children (81%) and sharing books with others (69%). Other significant findings from the Pew Internet Project survey: Owners of e-reading devices are more likely than all Americans 16 and older to get book recommendations from people they know (81% vs. 64%) and bookstore staff (31% vs. 23%). In addition, compared with the general public, owners of e-reading devices who use the Internet are also more likely to get recommendations from online bookstores or other websites (56% vs. 34%). Amazon's Kindle Fire grew in market share from 5% in mid-December to 14% of the tablet market by mid-January. Apple's iPad dominates the market, with a 61% share, as of this past February. Among those who do not own tablet computers or e-book reading devices, the main reasons people said they do not own the devices are: 1) they don't need or want one, 2) they can't afford one, 3) they have enough digital devices already or 4) they prefer printed books.