
Publishing
Home Publishing
How are Publishing products manufactured ?
Publishing is defined as “The business of issuing printed matter for sale or distribution.” With the development of electronic forms of publishing, such as the internet and email, the importance of the physical product – the printed matter – although it remains important, is diminishing. Increasingly publishing is about the distribution of content and information, whether the distribution is done physically or electronically” (Wordnet, 2007).
Further sources refer to the word “publishing” and it is understood to include:
- Print media publishing (mainly newspapers and magazines),
- Book publishing, and
- Electronic publishing
However in the development of a sector skills plan for the publishing industry, print media has been dealt with separately by another consultant, at some stage the data collected of the two i.e. book publishing and print media should probably be integrated.
The South African Publishing Industry
The publishing industry in South Africa employs an estimated 3200 people in permanent employment and a further 22000 (contract, freelance and temporary workers). In terms of South Africa's Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) of all economic activities, most of the publishing industry value-chain falls under Major Group 32. This group includes elements of SIC 323 (manufacture of paper and paper products); SIC 324 (publishing); SIC 325 (printing and service activities related to printing) and SIC 326 (reproduction of recorded media). In addition, a hypothetical and generic publishing value-chain would include elements of the retail sector (e.g. book-stores and news agents) as well as the originators of text and images (e.g. writers, illustrators and photographers).
