daniel prazer

The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple reps have been meeting with publishers ahead of its expected release of its tablet on Wednesday. Which could be amazing news — absolutely amazing — for the struggling publishing industry.

Apple representatives have been in New York this week talking to the largest trade publishers, according to industry executives. They said Apple had proposed an arrangement under which publishers would get to set the price of their books, with Apple taking a 30 percent commission and the publishers keeping the rest. Steve Dowling, an Apple spokesman, declined to comment on what he called “rumors and speculation.”

Depending on whether Apple sets an upper limit on pricing, its model could be much more appealing to publishers, who resent how Amazon has aggressively discounted their books. Typically, Amazon charges $9.99 for new releases and best sellers, a price that other e-book vendors, including Sony and Barnes & Noble, have effectively been forced to follow.

Apple revolutionized the electronic music market with the iTunes store, and with the New York Times preparing to charge for content, I can’t help but think the iTunes model can blow the lid on this awful publishing industry — both traditional book and newspapers. With the sheer size of the tablet versus the iPhone, you could buy and comfortably read newspapers online. Think a portable version of Politico‘s digital print version.

When I worked in the newsroom and had access to the AP Photo feed, there were certain photos labeled Graphic Content. Most of them showed bodies, or people in near-corpse states, and they were hard as hell to look at — the kind of photographs you can’t unsee.

But they told their stories better than the more family-friendly shots.

I’ve long been a fan of the Boston Globe’s Big Picture feature. Gorgeous high-res shots from around the world. This one’s titled Haiti six days later.

People run toward a U.S. helicopter as it makes a water drop near a country club used as a forward operating base for the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010. Relief groups and officials are focused on moving aid flowing into Haiti to survivors of the powerful earthquake that hit the country on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

If you’re an adult, you need to see it. You need to click the photos that are labeled graphic content. You need to see what you’re not seeing elsewhere. Then you need to help. I’m a huge fan of Doctor’s Without Borders, who lost some staff in the earthquake, and the UN’s World Food Program, who are getting emergency rations to the people who need them. Please. Give.