Um, has everyone in media lost their mind when it comes to media aimed at African Americans? Last week brought us the New York Times “smart, informed” gift guide for people of color. This week, publishing staple Publisher’s Weekly cover is devoted to “new books and trends in African American publishing,” which in and of itself is not such a bad idea. Alas, the same cannot be said for the cover. At all.

The October issue of Publishers Weekly is quite forward-thinking for such an old world product. One glance at this edition’s cover — an artistic recreation of the magazine’s Twitter page — and it’s clear that this isn’t your great-great-grandfather’s Publishers Weekly. Actually, it’s the Viral Issue and it’s online and on newsstands now — what’s inside might surprise you.

Looks like Reed Elsevier’s plan to sell part of its US trade magazine arm is back on after plans to do so were cancelled last December. Titles up for grabs include: Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, B&C, Multichannel News, TWICE (This Week in Consumer Electronics), and Jewelers Keystone Quarterly. Here is the internal memo from RBI [...]