New Media, Old News
Journalism and Democracy in the Digital Age
- Natalie Fenton - Goldsmiths, University of London, UK
Have new communications technologies revitalized the public sphere, or become the commercial tool for an increasingly un-public, undemocratic news media? Are changing journalistic practices damaging the nature of news, or are new media allowing journalists to do more journalism and to engage the public more effectively?
With massive changes in the media environment and its technologies, interrogating the nature of news journalism is one of the most urgent tasks we face in defining the public interest today. The implications are serious, not just for the future of the news, but also for the practice of democracy.
In a thorough empirical investigation of journalistic practices in different news contexts, New Media, Old News explores how technological, economic, and social changes have reconfigured news journalism, and the consequences of these transformations for a vibrant democracy in our digital age. The result is a piercing examination of why understanding news journalism matters now more than ever. It is essential reading for students and scholars of journalism and new media.
Natalie Fenton and her colleagues present a fascinating collection of studies into the impact of the digital age on how journalists gather and deliver news. New Media Old News will be of great interest to students who wish to explore this topic in greater depth.
This book has been recommended to my students. It's a very clear and recent analysis of a fast changing industry. There are a good selection of contributors to this collection of articles. Many of the chapters engage with new media and online reporting in a direct and practical way. Edinburgh Napier University is very focused on weaving together theory with practical advice and training so this book is very useful.
This offers a comprehensive study of how journalism and democracy has been affected by since the web was invented.
Its strength is the plurality of voices used and the depth of academic content. However, the fact it remains accessible to all levels of undergraduate study is vital.
An interesting and very topical book that may be recommended to students following various courses that examine questions related to global journalism and media ethics in an online context.
This will be useful for my alternative media students (other journalism students would also benefit from reading it).
It's good to see some of the 'new media' hype tested and questioned.
One minor quibble: several authors are guilty of wrongly attributing the term 'churnalism' to Nick Davies. Is this not a lazy form of 'academic churnalism'?
This is a most welcome and much needed collection of essays on the current crisis in the journalistic field. It blows a hole in many of the current myths about this subject, and is a really major contribution to the study not simply of journalism but of the contemporary media. One of the sharpest edited collections on the media which I've ever encountered.
very good examination of the impact of new technology, a subject which is part of the course I teach
I think this book's strenghts are its timeliness and the variety of topics it covers, which allows me to include this up to date inforation in my lectures. I also think that the students will enjoy reading several of these chapters (including Fenton's introduction, and Phillips on news sources). I also like how the book addresses the power of the internet to engage people (or not). The international context is also important as many of our students come from various backgrounds so its nice to hear from other places aside from the UK or Britain.
A thorough and critical assessment of the changing role of journalism and news
It is very useful book but cannot reccomend it as essential because the course is much broader than the book. Nonetheless, for 2 or 3 of the lectures it will be aong the core reccomended texts.
