Howdy! I've been following the US Department of Justice vs Penguin Random House Trial, regarding Penguin Random House' legal ability to merge with Simon & Shuster. Since the case isn't been televised or live streamed, I've kept track via live-tweet threads. While the first such reporter kept his thread consolidated, not everyone unofficially reporting on the trial has done so, making following the trial somewhat confusing. That's why I've compiled the list of threads in consecutive order here. Or attempted to, more like.
Also, navigating twitter threads is way harder on the desktop version than on the mobile. I tried to use the twitter advanced search tools to condense these but, unfortunately, it crashed. So.
John H Maher: @JohnHMaher:
Works with Publishers Weekly, according to Twitter bio
All these tweets are in a beautiful tidy thread. It's super easy to use the like feature like a bookmark so you know where you left off. We can all learn from this man.
*John H. Maher was credibly MeToo'd on Twitter & promptly deleted his account. Unfortunately, I can't get these to load in the Way Back Machine either (02/22/23).
Bethanne Patrick: @TheBookMaven
Book reviewer with LA Times, according the Twitter Bio
She definitely meant well and started threading later in her tweets. Trouble is, there is little consistency with how desktop twitter shows threads on the timeline. Mobile might be easier to deal with. I think these are in order. Idk. I did my best. Either way, what she relayed was informative.
DOJvPRH day 7
DOJvPRH day 8
DOJvPRH day 9
Edward Nawotka: @EdNawotka
Bookselling and International Editor with Publishers Weekly, according to Twitter bio
Not gonna lie, a small part of my secular soul was praying this reporter would turn his live feed into a thread. Though, for my purposes, individual tweets OR one long consistent thread are so much easier to list than a dozen small threads—in case you were wondering how confident I am in the above & below lists (hint: I'm not). While this reporter means well, at multiple points, they just started replying to the same tweet, their tweet, trying to thread, which added to the confusion. Then he began a thread as a reply to a comment to a thread he was tweeting. Either way, super grateful he was there reporting at all.
I'd be more judgemental but I quit Discord after the first time someone politely explained to me that tagging the person I was speaking to was basically shouting at them, after I'd been doing that for like five minutes. These social media apps are hard.
DOJvPRH Day 10, I think:
https://twitter.com/EdNawotka/status/1559940030415732740
He keeps replying to this tweet, so the thread is out of order.
DOJvPRH Day 12, I think:
https://twitter.com/EdNawotka/status/1560644137363333120
Sorry for not updating all weekend! When he said "Will thread," I took him at his word
https://twitter.com/EdNawotka/status/1560646198893383682
This is mostly a thread, but sometimes he accidentally replied to tweet other than the last one in the thread, so it gets weird to follow
Alex Shepherd: @AlexShepherd
Works with New Republic according to Twitter bio
My hero. All these tweets are in a beautiful tidy thread. It's super easy to use the like feature like a bookmark so you know where you left off. We can all learn from this man. For the final day, these tweets are more succinct.
I wish I was a determined enough person to screenshot, link, and post these in the correct order, but alas. I am lazy. Definitely follow these folks though. Obviously, they know what they're talking about.
Further Reading:
Publishers Weekly:
If you'd like to read the above insanity in a more organized fashion, Publisher's Weekly has your back.
(regarding this trial) Ending Where We Started
(regarding this trial) DOJ v. PRH: All Our Coverage
(regarding this trial) DOJ v PRH: Agents Have Their Say
(regarding the consolidation of publishing) Over the Past 25 Years, the Big Publishers Got Bigger—and Fewer
(regarding a potential competitor against the Big 5) Disney Reimagines Its Book Business
Vulture:
(regarding this trial) The Biggest Plot Twists in the Simon & Schuster Antitrust Trial
Irish Times:
(regarding the last well publicized trial in publishing) Joan Collins brings publishers to book as chapter on celebrity novelist closes
Anyway, thanks for stopping by. Hopefully these lists were mostly in order and moderately helpful! I plan to keep adding relevant tweets and articles to this post, as opposed to writing a new one. I drop a new blog post every Monday. Toodles!
#DOJvPRH #DOJVSPRH #DOJvPRHSS #DOJvsPRHSS #publishingntrial #monopsony #penguinrandomhousetrial #big5trial #bigsixtrial #bigfourtrial