Product Description

"We the Media, has become something of a bible for those who believe the online medium will change journalism for the better." -Financial Times

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 blogs, Internet chat groups, email, and a host of other tools. 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 fell journalists that, in the face of a plethora of Internet-fueled news vehicles, they must change or become irrelevant.

Journalism in the 21st century will be fundamentally different from the Big Media oligarchy that prevails today. We the Media casts light on the future of journalism, and invites us all to be part of it.

Dan Gillmor is founder of Grassroots Media Inc., a project aimed at enabling grassroots journalism and expanding its reach. The company's first launch is Bayosphere.com, a site "of, by, and for the San Francisco Bay Area."

Dan Gillmor is the founder of the Center for Citizen Media, a project to enable and expand reach of grassroots media. From 1994-2004, Gillmor was a columnist at the San Jose Mercury News, Silicon Valley's daily newspaper, and wrote a weblog for SiliconValley.com. He joined the Mercury News after six years with the Detroit Free Press. Before that, he was with the Kansas City Times and several newspapers in Vermont. He has won or shared in several regional and national journalism awards. Before becoming a journalist he played music professionally for seven years.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #321287 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 334 pages

About the Author
Dan Gillmor recently left the San Jose Mercury News, where he was a nationally known columnist, to start a grassroots journalism project. The company is called Grassroots Media Inc., and the first project is Bayosphere.com, a site "of, by and for the Bay Area" in northern California. Gillmor has been consistently listed by industry publications as among the most influential journalists in his field and has won or shared in several regional and national journalism awards.

Customer Reviews

Great intro to possibilities
My online journalism class will read this book in the fall. It's a key text for introducing people to the possibilities in digital media and citizen journalism.

A neat topic
The book was a good guide to citizen media and gave some great examples of places where citizen media would work.

I enjoyed the examples thoroughly and found the book a useful guide. I can't wait for an updated version.

Very Sensible and Interesting
Dan Gilmor here presents the attitude toward technology & journalism that any journalist will need to have if he/she will survive long in this new era. They need to embrace, or at least reckon with, the new media.

Here Gilmor gives an enlightening look at the changing face of journalism and the negative and positive changes it makes.

I'm not a professional journalist, but I found this book to be fascinating and informative. I credit it with helping me to stick with blogging, and seeing it as something more significant than a passing fad. All journalists should read this, I believe!