Colleagues -- MediaCommons, a digital scholarly network focused on the field of media studies, is happy to announce the launch of MediaCommons Press, a new feature dedicated to the publication of open scholarship in open formats. MediaCommons Press (http://mediacommons.futureofthebook.org/mcpress ) hopes to promote the digital publication and discussion of texts ranging from article- to monograph-length, both single- and multiply- authored, in forms ranging form the traditional to the experimental, serving all areas of scholarship in media studies. As co-coordinating editor of MediaCommons, I'm putting my money where my mouth is, so to speak, and serving as the test case for MediaCommons Press: our first major publication opened for discussion is my book project, Planned Obsolescence: Publishing, Technology, and the Future of the Academy (http://mediacommons.futureofthebook.org/mcpress/plannedobsolescence ). The book will be published next year by NYU Press, but is now available online, for open peer review. Planned Obsolescence focuses on the social and institutional changes that will be required within the academy for digital scholarly publishing to succeed -- changes that will affect authors, reviewers, presses, libraries, and indeed the structure of the university itself. One of the book's key arguments is that the peer review of digital texts must be an open, conversational process, one that draws on the wisdom of a far greater number of readers than the usual two or three anonymous reviewers, and one that focuses on discussion among the reviewers, and between the reviewers and the author. I hope you'll come by and join in the discussion, both on the book itself and on its linked community blog (http://mediacommons.futureofthebook.org/mcpress/plannedobsolescence/blog ). And I also hope you'll consider joining in by publishing with us. MediaCommons has developed into a thriving community network in media studies, and we're now taking the first steps toward transforming that network into a viable, community-based scholarly publishing system. -- Kathleen Fitzpatrick Associate Professor and Chair, Media Studies, Pomona College Co-coordinating Editor, MediaCommons ------------------------------------------------------------- This message has been scanned by Postini anti-virus software.