As indicated in earlier interim posts, Penguin Random House ceo took the stand for much of Thursday in the A3 antitrust trial. The DOJ’s John Read led the questioning for the first time, and much of his questioning of Dohle was based on, and bounded by, a number of key documents — which meant Dohle’s answers were more direct than many of his predecessors in the trial. The point of the exercise, from the government’s perspective, was to introduce documents that reinforce some of the main arguments they have been trying to establish, for Dohle to confirm and offer context […]
Day Three: From Glam Budgets to Midlist and Back Again
The third day of the A3 trial had the full spectrum of trial situations, from a morning in which Simon & Schuster ceo Jonathan Karp continued his extensive testimony and the world was introduced to “glam” budgets — along more lively and quotable back and forth with Judge Florence Pan — to a distinctly glamless afternoon of videotaped depositions, explanations of charts and a brief battle over the admissibility of some tweets. Some of the Karp testimony we already covered in Wednesday’s newsletter, since we were trying to present the fullest and most balanced account we could on certain points. […]
Day Two: Judge Pan Rules
The most important takeaway from the second day of the A3 antitrust trial echoes a point we made the first day, which is that Judge Florence Pan is clearly very smart, learning quickly about publishing, and not allowing herself to be distracted by posturing from either side of the dispute. In the opening session on Tuesday morning, at the end of testimony and cross-examination from literary agent Ayesha Pande, Judge Pan had inferred, “Is it correct that if Simon & Schuster and Penguin Random House were merged, it wouldn’t have affected any of the deals?” (The answer was, yes.) Then […]
Karp On the Stand: Deals Details, “Justification Memos,” Project Typeface, The Rubicon, and More
A number of Lunch devotees may have had this same recurring dream in which you are in court (in your pajamas, naturally) and executives, editors and agents are lined up to discuss, under oath, the details of their auctions and acquisitions. Or maybe it’s just a pitch for a “Deals Court” reality show? But Tuesday afternoon in Judge Florence Pan’s Courtroom 12, that was part of what unfolded, as the DOJ’s Jeffrey Vernon walked through a number of competitive situations in which S&S and PRH were the final two bidders for projects of scale. (In the fantasy version of Deals […]
“Freelance Writer” Stephen King On the Stand
“My name is Stephen King; I’m a freelance writer.” So began what is likely to be the most entertaining testimony of the A3 trial, even if it seems unlikely to have great bearing on the case. (Though Judge Pan was clearly as charmed as everyone else to have the renowned author on the stand. When he was dismissed, smiling, broadly, she said, “It was a real pleasure to hear your testimony.”) King noted he was testifying voluntarily, because, “I think that consolidation is bad for competition; that’s my understanding of the book business.” As he recalled, “When I started there […]
It’s Actually Day One: Pietsch Testimony and Opening Arguments
The A3 antitrust trial went quickly from the excitement of the long-anticipated event — with cameras set up outside awaiting the non-arrival of Stephen King, due Tuesday, and long security lines for the many visitors — to the slow tedium of an actual trial, establishing a foundation with witnesses and trying to provide a crash course in the basics of book publishing. The good news for both sides — and all sides — is that Judge Florence Pan clearly lives up to her reputation as a rising star heading for the Court of Appeals. Throughout the day, she showed clear […]