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'A new gatekeeper'

28 February 2011

'The balance of power has permanently, irreversibly shifted from the media companies to the tech firms. But unless a media company is able to build a better tablet or a better phone or convince customers to return to paper magazines and newspapers, nothing changes the fact that the publishing industry has lost control of its most valuable asset: distribution.

It was always the printing presses and the delivery trucks, not the words themselves, that were the seat of the publishing industry's power. The audience has moved elsewhere, and this emigration has birthed a new gatekeeper.'

Pete Cashmore founder and CEO of Mashable, in his weekly column about social networking and tech for CNN.com.

Let's imagine some bolder moves from the publishing industry. Perhaps multiple publishers could band together in opposition, starving the App Store of content until better terms can be negotiated. Or maybe they could seek to challenge Apple on antitrust grounds. Either might prove effective in leading to slightly better terms for publishers.