Publishers Weekly had an interesting report on how some booksellers are upset at an unexpected target: National Public Radio.
When the NPR website highlights certain books, the 'Buy this book' link directs users to Amazon.com. Presumably, tbe network gets a commission if a user buys something on Amazon via the link on NPR's website. A non-profit on which I am on the board of directors has a similar agreement with Amazon.
However, independent book sellers naturally aren't thrilled about this.
Collectively, independent booksellers support NPR to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. On top of that, a number of booksellers provide book selections to their local affiliates and occasionally nationally on NPR.
The main NPR affiliate in this area, WAMC Northeast Public Radio, isn't much different.
WAMC regularly provides an on-air forum to independent booksellers. And they do have links to the many independent bookstores that underwrite their programming. But links to books featured on their The Book Show program also take users to Amazon.
They do so while encouraging users to 'Support WAMC with your Amazon.com purchase,' though if I were a bookstore underwriter, I might wonder why I'm supporting WAMC with my dollars.
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