Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business by Neil Postman Penguin (27 December 2005) Amazon Amusing Ourselves to Death is Neil Postman's 1985 text on media ecology, and the ways different mediums of communication shape human thought. Echoing Marshall McLuhan's theory on "the medium is the message," it details Postman's … Continue reading Amusing Ourselves to Death
Category: Book summaries
The Filter Bubble
The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You by Eli Pariser Penguin (16 April 2012) Amazon The Filter Bubble explores how personalisation algorithms shape what information we see online. All the major tech companies do this -- Google, Facebook, Amazon. Author Eli Pariser argues that while personalisation can make user experiences more convenient, … Continue reading The Filter Bubble
The Net Delusion
The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom by Evgeny Morozov Public Affairs (13 January 2011) Amazon The Net Delusion is a critical and provocative book that challenges the widespread optimism about the internet's ability to promote freedom and democracy throughout the world. Written by Belarusian scholar and commentator Evgeny Morozov, the text argues … Continue reading The Net Delusion
Public Opinion
Public Opinion by Walter Lippmann Wilder Publications (4 September 2022) Amazon First published in 1922, Public Opinion is a foundational work in media studies, politics, and sociology. Walter Lippmann examines how public opinion is formed and manipulated in democratic societies, with a particular focus on mass media and modern institutions. It has been praised as … Continue reading Public Opinion
You Are Not a Gadget
You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto by Jaron Lanier Vintage (8 February 2011) Amazon First published in 2010, You Are Not a Gadget is not only one of the best books on media in existence, but also one of my favourite books in general. Like, if I ever had a top one-hundred, this would … Continue reading You Are Not a Gadget
The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging
The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging by the Huffington Post Simon & Schuster (2 December 2008) Amazon Published in 2008 and edited by co-founder Arianna Huffington, The Huffington Post Guide to Blogging was published before Twitter and Instagram took off, and blogging was still the main social publishing tool. If you remember the 2000s, … Continue reading The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging
Making It in the Political Blogosphere
Making It in the Political Blogosphere: The World's Top Political Bloggers Share the Secrets to Success by Tanni Haas Lutterworth Press (8 November 2011) Amazon Making It in the Political Blogosphere is a simple, concise introduction to blogging as a political practice, and what motivates political bloggers. Tanni Haas focused on twenty high-profile figures in … Continue reading Making It in the Political Blogosphere
The News at Any Cost
The News at Any Cost: How Journalists Compromise Their Ethics to Shape the News by Tom Goldstein Simon & Schuster (1 May 1986) Amazon The News at Any Cost examines all manner of journalistic practices, particularly the competitive nature of finding scoops, and the compromising of ethical standards in the pursuit of those exclusives. Tom … Continue reading The News at Any Cost
The Gawker Guide to Conquering All Media
The Gawker Guide to Conquering All Media by Gawker Media Atria Books (2 October 2007) Amazon Gawker Media was an independent media company and blog network, spanning several sites. Founded in 2002, it was the largest independent media organisation in the world, prior to its bankruptcy in 2016. The Gawker Guide to Conquering All Media … Continue reading The Gawker Guide to Conquering All Media
Manufacturing the News
Manufacturing the News by Mark Fishman University of Texas Press (1 May 1980) Amazon To say that the news is a little bit biased might just be the understatement to end all understatements. The question is how that bias is formed. In Manufacturing the News, Mark Fishman takes a look at the methodology of news … Continue reading Manufacturing the News
Lawrence Deveney 