By Dan Gillmor
First Edition
July 2004
Pages: 320
ISBN 10: 0-596-00733-7 |
ISBN 13: 9780596007331
(Average of 1 Customer Reviews)
This book is OUT OF PRINT. Please consider the latest edition.
Book descriptionGrassroots 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.
Full Description
- 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, he makes the case to his colleagues that, in the face of a plethora of Internet-fueled news vehicles, they must change or become irrelevant.
Register your book | Submit Errata | Online Book | Author's Site/Blog | Copyright/CIP Data
Browse within this book
Cover | Table of Contents | Colophon
No time right now?
Email these links
Customers interested in this book may also be interested in:
Book:The Cathedral & the Bazaar Musings on Linux and Open Source by an Accidental Revolutionary Read more |
Book:Peer-to-Peer: Harnessing the Power of Disruptive T Harnessing the Power of Disruptive Technologies Read more |
Book:Database Nation The Death of Privacy in the 21st Century Read more |
 Article:A Conversation Between Dan Gillmor and Jay Rosen Read more |
Book details
First Edition: July 2004
ISBN: 0-596-00733-7
Pages: 320
Average Customer Reviews: (Based on 1 Reviews)
Featured customer reviews
Review of "We the Media", August 12 2004
This book describes a shift
in the way news evolves
and in the roles of the players:
journalists, newsmakers and the former audience.
Generally the shift is characterized
by a breakdown in the roles of the players
and by a more participatory form of journalism.
This shift is largely driven by technologies
that encourage participation such as
blogs, mailing lists, and wikis.
The author does a very good job
of telling us:
(1) how this shift came about,
(2) what some of the opportunities
and challenges are and
(3) where he thinks all this is headed.
If you care about
the direction journalism is moving,
this would be a very good book to read.
For more detail, you could check out
my somewhat longer review.
Media reviews
"For those who have not been paying close attention to the Internet, We the Media provides a valuable tour of its most active edges, both in its technology and its culture."
--David DeJean, Nieman Reports, Spring 2005
"[Gillmor's] book, We the Media, has become something of a bible for those who believe the online medium will change journalism for the better."
--Financial Times, January 2005
"Best for All Computer Users: You need only to read my November 60-Second Window to understand how important the contents of this book are. For the first time, bloggers have been awarded press credentials to cover the national political conventions -- and herein, Gillmor presents the story of the grassroots media revolutions. Great stuff!"
--Fred Showker, Design-Bookshelf.com, January 2005
"Gillmor, a newspaper columnist and blogger, offers a balanced, pragmatic perspective. Far from coming across as contemptuous of traditional media, he instead offers several suggestions for how they can thrive in the new era. Importantly, he also identifies vital challenges and limitations facing new-style journalism."
--Carl Sessions Stepp, American Journalism Review, January 2005
"If you want to really understand the significance of blogging as a new media alternative, read We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People, written by the incisive Dan Gillmor...sage analyst of the blogging phenomenon and veteran blogger himself..."
-David Kirkpatrick, Fortune, November 2004
http://www.fortune.com/fortune/fastforward/0,15704,767537,00.html
"I've just finished reading Dan Gillmor's new book, 'We the Media,' and recommend it heartily to you. Gilmore is a national columnist for the San Jose Mercury News and writes a daily weblog for SiliconValley.com. He argues persuasively that Big Media is losing its monopoly on the news, thanks to the Internet - that 'citizen journalists' of all stripes, in their independent, unfiltered reports, are transforming the news from a lecture to a conversation. He's onto something."
--Bill Moyers, in a speech to the Society of Professional Journalists, September 2004
"I've been reading a new book by Dan Gillmor called 'We the Media'...The main point of 'We the Media' is [that] journalism is a conversation in this era of the citizen journalist working in dialogue with other citizen journalists. Gillmor touts the blog movement as a primary sign of this new participatory journalism, but he notes that blogs are only one visible sign of something much larger...Gillmor could be anticipating the power of citizen journalists, rather than noting their arrival."
--Christine Boese, CNN Headline News, September 2004
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/TECH/09/15/cyber.journalist/
"This is a gripping snapshot of a period of profound change; and since the book was finished, at least half a dozen incidents have taken place to further prove his point...Anyone plotting the future for a media organisation - or any organisation that deals with the media - would be foolish to do so without first reading Gillmor's book."
--Simon Waldman, The Guardian, November 2004
http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,12084,1343739,00.html
"Gillmor is the rare mainstream journalist with a keen understanding for the myriad and emerging technologies of the computer age."
--Scott Canon, Kansas City Star, October 2004
"I first learned of [We the Media] because I am mentioned in it...Before I read the book, I thought it was gratifying to be mentioned in a book -- any book. Now that I have read Gillmor's book, I realize that I am very lucky to have been mentioned in this book. It's required reading for anyone interested in grassroots journalism, of which blogging is a significant part. The book has numerous facets, and is hard to summarize fairly. Primarily, it is about how the ever-developing technology of the internet, and programs and devices that feed into it and work with it, make possible a new citizens' media...The possibilities are endless -- as long as we don't allow the forces of repression to limit us."
--Patterico.com, December 2004
"It's terribly easy to feel pessimistic about the mainstream media right now...Yet Dan Gillmor, in his new book
--Angie Drobnic Holan, City Paper (Baltimore, MD), October 2004
"Over the past decade, journalists have written--often exuberantly--about how the Internet has dramatically changed scores of industries, from the travel business to buying homes to finding the best medical treatments. Now the Internet is unleashing its destructive magic on the news profession itself. Gillmor argues persuasively that the influx of new voices in the world will bring about more insightful and critical reportage."
--Elizabeth Corcoran, Forbes, September 2004
"...[an] incredibly powerful--and empowering--discussion of how the world of social software is changing the face of journalism and media."
--Ed Brill, Edbrill.com, September 2004
http://www.edbrill.com/ebrill/edbrill.nsf/dx/09142004084038AMEBRJ2X.htm?opendocument&comments
"In an entertaining, informative and very readable form, We the Media explains how technology is changing the business of journalism and it is a business...big business. Dan gives some great examples of how one-to-many traditional journalism is rapidly being transformed to many-to-many media."
--Andy Marken, PlanetUtica.org, September 2004
http://www.planetutica.org/html/andy_marken.html#WeTheMedia
"I am a prolific reader, on and offline, but have rarely read a business/industry book that has made a memorable impact ... [Dan] Gillmor is one of the most respected journalists and thinkers about new media, has long written for the San Jose Mercury News and keeps his own provocative blog. It is, therefore, no surprise that he has written the most important book about how the media world is changing - not tomorrow, but right now ... The stories are as amusing as they are provocative ... Gillmor's artistry is in writing in a language that the digerati will find technical enough, but will never lose us regular civilians...With his keen reporter's eye, but with no polemic, there is a clear description of worlds that are playing out with inevitable ramifications to the future of news and information and elsewhere...There is nothing in this book that makes us in traditional media or journalism comfortable, which is why everyone in this business - from content creation to advertisers trying to find ways to reach these audiences - should pay careful attention. We have entered a world where the individual matters most. If, as Gillmor raises, 'a scarcity of airwaves ... turns out to be an artifact of history and outmoded technology,' that anyone can soon download or upload whatever they want when and how they want it, all bets are on the table."
--Chris Schroeder, MediaPost, August 2004
http://www.mediapost.com/dtls_dsp_News.cfm?newsID=265357
"This is certainly the most important journalism book of this year, for it aptly details a gathering storm that is about to sweep away everything we thought we knew about the news."
--J.D. Lasica, Mindjack.com, August 2004
http://www.mindjack.com/books/wethemedia.html
"Very simply, 'We the Media' should be required reading in journalism schools for students and professors. I'm serious. If you're a publisher, editor, or an actual breathing reporter, and you want to get up to speed on what is happening to your profession, you need to read this book...If you're interested in becoming a more active participant, in learning more about the role the once-passive, now-proactive audience is playing in creating, editing and filtering media, then you probably want to read this book too. We're all journalists now."
--Slashdot, August 2004
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/08/03/0858230
"Forget everything you thought you knew about journalism and read this book."
--Doc Searls, coauthor of The Cluetrain Manifesto
"As a columnist, Dan Gillmor has been on the cutting edge of technology reporting. Now in 'We, the Media,' he is on the cutting edge of how technology is altering journalism. It is common for media critics to moan about how Big Media is harming journalism, and this book rightly joins the chorus. But it takes this debate to another place, vividly demonstrating how technology can help save journalism by democratizing information and how it is distributed, while allowing an ongoing conversation between reporter and citizen. Gillmor digests an array of sometimes stray events and facts and connects these in surprising fashion, leaving the reader with a sense that he or she has snuck a peak into the future."
--Ken Auletta, author of Backstory: Inside the Business of News
"Dan Gillmor, himself perched at the nexus of blogging and journalism, has important things to say about how technology (and its enthusiastic adopters) has joyfully uncloistered the media."
--Steven Levy, author of Hackers and Crypto
"'We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People for the People' by Dan Gillmor is a rich, insightful, valuable book about the state of the news and information media...Even for someone familiar with blogs, publishing and broadcasting, 'We the Media' is thorough, refreshing and interesting. For someone new to blogging, or for someone who wants an exhaustive examination of the issues and ramifications, this book will be crucial."
--Bookzen, August 2004
http://bookzen.blogspot.com/
"I am going to have to confess to something here. Before I started reading 'We The Media: Grassroots Journalism By The People, For The People'...I had my mind all set up that it would be some more rubbish spit out by a hack journalist...Then I sat down and read this book. I was instantly drawn in, not only because I had started my own blog in July, but because the book challenged me to think about the role of bloggers in society. I do not agree with everything Mr. Gillmor has written, but...a truly good book is one that challenges your notions, makes you think about them, and offers you the chance to enter into conversation about them...For business large and small, this book needs to be read to understand that a blog is not a toy of the fringe....For students of journalism and new media, this book should be required reading....For bloggers of all kinds, whether they consider themselves to be journalists or not, need to read this book."
--Business Controls Caddy, August 2004
http://www.controlscaddy.com/A55A69/bccaddyblog.nsf/plinks/CBYE-64CTZA
"Internet technology is changing the nature of journalism at least as profoundly as broadcast technology has already done. Dan Gillmor is one of the true pioneers of this field, and he is ideally positioned to explain the good, bad, and still-unfolding implications of fully participatory journalism. 'We the Media' is entertaining, informative, practical-minded, and idealistic--plus being provocative just often enough to keep the reader engaged."
--James Fallows, author of Breaking the News
"'We the Media' is probably the most important book of the year, and I hope it plays a pivotal role in the emergence of effective citizen journalism. Democracy in the era of disinfotainment monopolies badly needs what Dan Gillmor so clearly explains: a method, a model, a reason, a rationale, and a solid set of ethics for the future of many-to-many journalism. Gillmor, a seasoned journalist who has always been a discerning observer of new technology trends, brings together the fundamental principles of journalism, the crisis in the public sphere, and the promise of many-to-many media."
--Howard Rheingold, author of Smart Mobs
"In an era of weblogs, hyperlinks and a billion distributed reporters, the news will never be the same. No one knows this better than Dan Gillmor, and his fascinating account will convince you that the change is happening faster - and running deeper - than anyone expected."
--David Weinberger, coauthor of The Cluetrain Manifesto
"If you run a business, or hold a job, or care about civic life, you owe it to yourself to get in on the good news of 'We The Media'. Dan Gillmor, a leading practitioner of news as we'll all know it soon, shows how we can all play a far more active and interesting role in the publishing that documents our days and shapes our lives."
--Bill Mitchell, The Poynter Institute for Media Studies
"Clear-eyed, hype-free and for all that prescient and inspiring. 'We the Media' is Gillmor's heroic effort to bridge the tech-obsessed polyannas like me and the skeptical grownups whose hardened attitudes won't admit of this stuff. He's done us all a service by writing it for us."
--Cory Doctorow, co-editor of boingboing.net and author of Eastern Standard Tribe
"'We the Media' is a must-read for anyone who cares about the media and democracy. After years of listening to his readers, Dan Gillmor has learned first-hand how the Internet is transforming the way information is gathered and spread. Gillmor uses his personal experiences to show how technology is ushering in a new era of citizen-powered journalism."
--Jonathan Dube, Publisher, The American Press Institute's CyberJournalist.net; Managing Producer, MSNBC.com
"One day Dan Gillmor had a realization: my readers know way more than I do. Now he has pursued the consequences of that thought for the field of journalism, and the result is this wholly fascinating book. I's about a revolution in news driven not by technology itself, but by people armed with the tools to participate in The Media. That's a power shift. Gillmor introduces us to a new creature: the former audience, which is today an information producer, connected to itself like never before. His tour of the Internet landscape is a reporter's tour. He avoids hype. He tells stories by finding the people who lived them. And he locates what is dark and disturbing about the new media world, while stating clearly its promise. Gillmor knows that most of his colleagues in the traditional media have not had their moment of realization. Readers of this book will have theirs, many times over. But the best thing is: he didn't write it for journalists, or professors. He wrote it for you, and the people you're newly connected to: that's we...the media."
--Jay Rosen, Chair, NYU Department of Journalism
"It is almost impossible to understand the dynamics of a revolution when it's swirling around you. Yet, in the midst of today's great digital, citizens, media whirlwind of a revolution, Dan Gillmor not only understands it, he lives it and also explains it in great detail. It is a must read."
--Leonard Witt, President, The Public Journalism Network
& Robert D. Fowler Distinguished Chair in Communication at Kennesaw State University
"Dan Gillmor says he listens to his readers because they know more than him--an adage that every working journalist ought to heed. But after reading 'We the Media' it's clear that anyone looking to understanding the emerging contours of people-driven journalism has a lot to learn from Gillmor."
--Micha Sifry, freelance journalist, blogger (www.iraqwarreader.com) and former Nation editor
"Gillmor presents a compelling and optimistic map of journalism's future. This book is a must-read for anyone who cares about what they read and everyone who wants to be more than a bystander in this revolution in the making."
--Paul Saffo, Director, Institute for the Future
"Dan Gillmor has been the oracle of the Internet for years. Now, his all-seeing eye has been cast on the future of news and he argues with plentiful detail, wisdom, and wit that we all can use simple new technology tools to contribute. This is a book that should be embraced in feudal newsrooms and give comfort to anyone who is crying to be heard."
--Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Internet & American Life Project
"If you want to understand how citizen journalism born of the Internet is turning the world of Big Media upside down (and you should), go no further. Get 'We the Media' now."
--Mitch Kapor, co-founder , Electronic Frontier Foundation
"This is one of the most provocative and important books for the future of new media. Dan Gillmor's encyclopedic knowledge offers a tutorial not only of the latest state of information dissemination and technology, but what is coming around the corner. Traditional media is in a perfect storm of competitive threats that this book make understandable and actionable. May it be read by anyone who cares about the future of quality news and information in our new age."
--Christopher M. Schroeder, former CEO and Publisher, washingtonpost.newsweek interactive
"Dan Gillmor shows the way to the future of media in a world where the people gain the power of the printing press. 'We the Media' is a thoroughly reported and authoritative roadmap to every angle of citizens' media: the tools, the practitioners, the competitors, the issues, the impact. This is the perfect book for anyone who wants to understand what the word 'blog' really means."
--Jeff Jarvis, Buzzmachine.com
"Gillmor is one among the handful of reporters who where early-on-the-scene of the Digital Revolution, and who has always been thinking about how it impacts journalism. The book is as contemporary as possible in such a dynamic environment of data, analytic and reporting tools and the media. I will assign the book to my mass communications class this fall."
--J. T. Johnson, San Francisco State University
