Comments on: Should Random House and other big publishers send their people home?

By: Deran

Deran — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:46:58 +0000

“Less money for real estate, more for writers, editors and designers? ”

I seriously doubt it. If there are “cost” savings, any additional money will go to the media conglomerates that own the publishers.

By: exvaxman

exvaxman — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:13:42 +0000

Back in the 80′s I automated a magazine publisher so that editors could do things at a terminal and the autocomposition and layouts would be done/produced/printed in NJ because of the lower costs there. Nothing new.

By: Greg M.

Greg M. — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:29:04 +0000

Telecommuting goes beyond the publishing industry. I’ve worked from my Seattle home for five years to an office in Washington, DC. I’m a database developer and just don’t need to sit in a cube with the rest of the IT staff to get my job done.

I’m sure commercial real estate owners and developers will fight to keep big buildings going with big clients, but many jobs, like those in publishing, can be done from home, satellite offices, or telecommuting centers.

By: Steve Jordan

Steve Jordan — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:10:57 +0000

This can, in fact, be said for most of the occupants of office buildings in every major city (I have on many occasions).

But will publishers listen? Pubs are still attached to too many of the trappings of office, including the fancy and/or prestigious digs… they just don’t want to come down from their castle towers. So, will they see reason? Probably not until they are forced out by circumstances (for instance, bankruptcy).