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Overview
Big Media has lost its monopoly on the news, thanks to the Internet. Now that it's possible to publish in real time to a worldwide audience, a new breed of grassroots journalists are taking the news into their own hands. Armed with laptops, cell phones, and digital cameras, these readers-turned-reporters are transforming the news from a lecture into a conversation. In We the Media, nationally acclaimed newspaper columnist and blogger Dan Gillmor tells the story of this emerging phenomenon and sheds light on this deep shift in how we make -- and consume -- the news. Gillmor shows how anyone can produce the news, using personal web journals (called weblogs or blogs), Internet chat groups, and email. He sends a wake-up call to newsmakers -- politicians, business executives, celebrities -- and the marketers and PR flacks who promote them. He explains how to successfully play by the rules of this new era and shift from "control" to "engagement." And he makes a strong case to his fellow journalists that, in the face of a plethora of Internet-fueled news vehicles, they must change or become irrelevant.At its core, We the Media is a book about people. People such as Glenn Reynolds, a law professor whose blog postings on technology and liberty garnered him enough readers and influence that he became a source for professional journalists. Or Joe Trippi, who almost took Howard Dean to the presidential nomination using Net-enabled grassroots politics. Or Iraqi blogger Zayed, whose Healing Irag blog scooped Big Media. Or "acridrabbit," who inspired an online community to become investigative reporters and discover that sad tale of the dying Kaycee Nichols' was a hoax. Give the people tools to make the news, Gillmor asserts, and they will. Journalism in the 21st century will be fundamentally different from the Big Media that prevails today. We the Media casts light on the future of journalism, and invites us all to be part of it.
Synopsis
Grassroots journalists are dismantling Big Media's monopoly on the news, transforming it from a lecture to a conversation. Not content to accept the news as reported, these readers-turned-reporters are publishing in real time to a worldwide audience via the Internet. The impact of their work is just beginning to be felt by professional journalists and the newsmakers they cover. In "We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People," nationally known business and technology columnist Dan Gillmor tells the story of this emerging phenomenon, and sheds light on this deep shift in how we make and consume the news.
"We the Media" is essential reading for all participants in the news cycle:
Consumers learn how they can become producers of the news. Gillmor lays out the tools of the grassroots journalist's trade, including personal Web journals (called weblogs or blogs), Internet chat groups, email, and cell phones. He also illustrates how, in this age of media consolidation and diminished reporting, to roll your own news, drawing from the array of sources available online and even over the phone.
Newsmakers politicians, business executives, celebrities get a wake-up call. The control that newsmakers enjoyed in the top-down world of Big Media is seriously undermined in the Internet Age. Gillmor shows newsmakers how to successfully play by the new rules and shift from control to engagement.
Journalists discover that the new grassroots journalism presents opportunity as well as challenge to their profession. One of the first mainstream journalists to have a blog, Gillmor says, "My readers know more than I do, and that's a good thing." In "We the Media," hemakes thecase to his colleagues that, in the face of a plethora of Internet-fueled news vehicles, they must change or become irrelevant.
At its core, "We the Media" is a book about people. People like Glenn Reynolds, a law professor whose blog postings on the intersection of technology and liberty garnered him enough readers and influence that he became a source for professional journalists. Or Ben Chandler, whose upset Congressional victory was fueled by contributions that came in response to ads on a handful of political blogs. Or Iraqi blogger Zayed, whose Healing Irag blog (healingiraq.blogspot.com) scooped Big Media. Or acridrabbit, who inspired an online community to become investigative reporters and discover that the dying Kaycee Nichols sad tale was a hoax. Give the people tools to make the news, "We the Media" asserts, and they will.
Journalism in the 21st century will be fundamentally different from the Big Media that prevails today. We the Media casts light on the future of journalism, and invites us all to be part of it.