Why It's Still Good to Have Gatekeepers

THE rise of e-readers has already introduced big changes for both publishers and readers. Electronic publications can be turned out faster than the paper kind, and the devices allow for more flexible formatting and pricing. We have already seen, for example, a rise in short books and free-standing articles presented as one-off downloads, as in Amazon's Kindle Singles. One contemporaneous example is Sasha Issenberg's "Rick Perry and his Eggheads". Originally part of a longer book about the science and analytics of political campaignsâ??called "The Victory Lab" and due next yearâ??the chapter about the Texas governor was brought forward and published electronically just days after Mr Perry announced that he is running for president.