Dear Friends,
This came to me through the ABAA list, and I
think it will interest most of you. I cannot
vouch for every argument in Mr. McChesney's
letter, but it is not a hoax. "Small and midsize
publications" must include many art magazines,
perhaps all of them. Anyone who wants to wade
through the extremely technical aspects of the
new rates will find them at
http://www.usps.com/ratecase/.
This is yet another element in the new and
disastrous postal regulations that, among other
things, eliminate all foreign surface rates, even
to Canada and Mexico. The new, obligatory air
rates on packages over 4 pounds will go up from a
third more to double and nearly triple the
current surface rates. Perversely, the larger the
shipment, the greater the rate of increase. The
shipping costs of a heavy but inexpensive set of
books or periodicals can easily exceed their
retail value. Any readers outside the US who
considering a bulky purchase from inside the US
might want to place their orders well before May
14.
Cordially,
Laurence McGilvery
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>Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 15:17:26 EDT
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>Subject: [ABAA Discuss] Help Save Small Magazines
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>This is forwarded from ExLibris
>
>Roger Wicker
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>(510) 655-3413 Fax (510) 655-4238
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>From: Richard Menec <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: [EXLIBRIS-L] Help Save Small Magazines
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>http://booksinternationale.pbwiki.com/FrontPage
>
>(please distribute)
>
>from Bob McChesney -
>
>The news media are covering the tragic murders in Virginia this morning, and
>as they do an extraordinarily significant story is slipping through the
>cracks.
>
>On very rare occasions I send a message to everyone in my email address book
>on an issue that I find of staggering importance and urgency. (My address
>book includes pretty much everyone who emails me in one form or another, and
>I apologize if you get this message more than once.) This is one of those
>times.
>
>There is a major crisis in our media taking place right now; it is getting
>almost no attention and unless we act very soon the consequences for our
>society could well be disastrous. And it will only take place because it is
>being done without any public awareness or participation; it goes directly
>against the very foundations of freedom of the press in the entirety of
>American history.
>
>The U.S. Post Office is in the process of implementing a radical
>reformulation of its rates for magazines, such that smaller periodicals will
>be hit with a much much larger increase than the largest magazines.
>
>Because the Post Office is a monopoly, and because magazines must use it,
>the postal rates always have been skewed to make it cheaper for smaller
>publications to get launched and to survive. The whole idea has been to use
>the postal rates to keep publishing as competitive and wide open as
>possible. This bedrock principle was put in place by James Madison and
>Thomas Jefferson. They considered it mandatory to create the press system,
>the Fourth Estate necessary for self-government.
>
>It was postal policy that converted the free press clause in the First
>Amendment from an abstract principle into a living breathing reality for
>Americans. And it has served that role throughout our history.
>
>What the Post Office is now proposing goes directly against 215 years of
>postal policy. The Post Office is in the process of implementing a radical
>reformulation of its mailing rates for magazines. Under the plan, smaller
>periodicals will be hit with a much larger increase than the big magazines,
>as much as 30 percent. Some of the largest circulation magazines will face
>hikes of less than 10 percent.
>
>The new rates, which go into effect on July 15, were developed with no
>public involvement or congressional oversight, and the increased costs could
>damage hundreds, even thousands, of smaller publications, possibly putting
>many out of business. This includes nearly every political journal in the
>nation. These are the magazines that often provide the most original
>journalism and analysis. These are the magazines that provide much of the
>content on Common Dreams. We desperately need them.
>
>What the Post Office is planning to do now, in the dark of night, is
>implement a rate structure that gives the best prices to the biggest
>publishers, hence letting them lock in their market position and lessen the
>threat of any new competition. The new rates could make it almost impossible
>to launch a new magazine, unless it is spawned by a huge conglomerate.
>
>Not surprisingly, the new scheme was drafted by Time Warner, the largest
>magazine publisher in the nation. All evidence available suggests the
>bureaucrats responsible have never considered the implications of their
>draconian reforms for small and independent publishers, or for citizens who
>depend upon a free press.
>
>The corruption and sleaziness of this process is difficult to exaggerate. As
>one lawyer who works for a large magazine publisher admits, It takes a
>publishing company several hundred thousand dollars to even participate in
>these rate cases. Some large corporations spend millions to influence these
>rates. Little guys, and the general public who depend upon these magazines,
>are not at the table when the deal is being made.
>
>The genius of the postal rate structure over the past 215 years was that it
>did not favor a particular viewpoint; it simply made it easier for smaller
>magazines to be launched and to survive. That is why the publications
>opposing the secretive Post Office rate hikes cross the political spectrum.
>This is not a left-wing issue or a right-wing issue, it is a democracy
>issue. And it is about having competitive media markets that benefit all
>Americans. This reform will have disastrous effects for all small and
>mid-sized publications, be they on politics, music, sports or gardening.
>
>This process was conducted with such little publicity and pitched only at
>the dominant players that we only learned about it a few weeks ago and it is
>very late in the game. But there is something you can do. Please go to
>www.stoppostalratehikes.com and sign the letter to the Postal Board
>protesting the new rate system and demanding a congressional hearing before
>any radical changes are made. The deadline for comments is April 23.
>
>I know many of you are connected to publications that go through the mail,
>or libraries and bookstores that pay for subscriptions to magazines and
>periodicals. If you fall in these categories, it is imperative you get
>everyone connected to your magazine or operation to go to
>www.stoppostalratehikes.com.
>
>
>We do not have a moment to lose. If everyone who reads this email responds
>at www.stoppostalratehikes.com , and then sends it along to their friends
>urging them to do the same, we can win. If there is one thing we have
>learned at Free Press over the past few years, it is that if enough people
>raise hell, we can force politicians to do the right thing. This is a time
>for serious hell-raising.
>
>And to my friends from outside the United States, I apologize for cluttering
>your inbox. If you read this far, we can use your moral support.
>
>>From the bottom of my heart, thanks.
>
>Bob
>
>
>Robert W. McChesney
>www.mediaproblem.org
>www.freepress.net
>Department of Communication
>University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
>
>Richard
>==============
>Richard Ménec
>http://booksinternationale.pbwiki.com
>
>***NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this
>material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a
>prior interest in receiving the included information for research and
>educational purposes.***
>==============
>
>_______________________________________________
>Discuss mailing list
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>http://mailman.rockingstone.nl/mailman/listinfo/discuss
--
Laurence McGilvery
Post Office Box 852
La Jolla, California 92038-0852, USA
(858) 454-4443
www.mcgilvery.com
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