Looks at the emerging phenomenon of online journalism, including Weblogs, Internet chat groups, and email, and how anyone can produce news.

Features the writings of over one hundred journalists and media critics discussing the political and social impact of the mass media in the United States

We're in an age of information overload, and too much of what we watch, hear and read is mistaken, deceitful or even dangerous. Yet you and I can take control and make media serve us -- all of us -- by being active consumers and participants. Here's how. With a Foreword by Clay Shirky Praise for Mediactive: "Dan Gillmor has thought more deeply, more usefully, and over a longer period of time about the next stages of media evolution than just about anyone else. In Mediactive, he puts the results of his ideas and experiments together in a guide full of practical tips and longer-term inspirations for everyone affected by rapid changes in the news ecology. This book is a very worthy successor to his influential We the Media." --James Fallows, Atlantic Magazine, author of Postcards from Tomorrow Square and Breaking the News "Dan's book helps us understand when the news we read is reliable and trustworthy, and how to determine when what we're reading is intended to deceive. A trustworthy press is required for the survival of a democracy, and we really need this book right now." --Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist "A master-class in media-literacy for the 21st century, operating on all scales from the tiniest details of navigating wiki software all the way up to sensible and smart suggestions for reforming law and policy to make the news better and fairer. Gillmor's a reporter's reporter for the information age, Mediactive made me want to stand up and salute." --Cory Doctorow, co-editor/owner, Boing Boing; author of For the Win "As the lines between professional and citizen journalists continue to blur, Mediactive provides a useful roadmap to help us become savvier consumers and creators alike." -- Steve Case, chairman and CEO of Revolution and co-founder of America Online "It's all true - at least to someone. And that's the problem in a hypermediated world where everyone and anyone can represent his own reality. Gillmor attacks the problem of representation and reality head on, demanding we become media-active users of our emerging media, instead of passive consumers. If this book doesn't get you out of Facebook and back on the real Internet, nothing will." --Douglas Rushkoff, author of Program or Be Programmed: Ten Commands for a Digital Age "An important book showing people how to swim rather than drown in today's torrent of information. Dan Gillmor lives on the front line of digital information - there's no-one better to help us understand the risks and opportunities or help us ask the right questions." --Richard Sambrook, Global Vice Chairman and Chief Content Officer at Edelman, and former BBC Director of Global News "With the future of journalism and democracy in peril, Mediactive comes along with sage and practical advice at a crucial time. Dan Gillmor, pioneering journalist and teacher of journalists, offers a practical guide to citizens who now need to become active producers as well as critical consumers of media. Read this book right away, buy one for a friend and another one for a student, and then put Gillmor's advice into action." --Howard Rheingold, author of the Smart Mobs and other books about our digital future "Through common-sense guidelines and well-chosen examples, Gillmor shows how anyone can navigate the half-truths, exaggerations and outright falsehoods that permeate today's media environment and ferret out what is true and important. As Gillmor writes, 'When we have unlimited sources of information, and when so much of what comes at us is questionable, our lives get more challenging. They also get more interesting.'" --Dan Kennedy, assistant professor of journalism at Northeastern University, former Boston Phoenix media critic, and author of the Media Nation blog at www.dankennedy.net

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1 Stealing Our Futures -- 2 Killing Our Culture -- 3 Scaring Us to Death -- 4 Why Is This Happening? Who Is the Gatekeeper? -- 5 What Can Be Done? -- Notes -- Index -- About the Author

A provocative challenge to the standard ideology that Western power is a benevolent force in the world.

In his nearly thirty years at CBS News, Emmy Award–winner Bernard Goldberg earned a reputation as one of the preeminent reporters in the television news business. When he looked at his own industry, however, he saw that the media far too often ignored their primary mission: objective, disinterested reporting. Again and again he saw that they slanted the news to the left. For years Goldberg appealed to reporters, producers, and network executives for more balanced reporting, but no one listened. The liberal bias continued. In this classic number one New York Times bestseller, Goldberg blew the whistle on the news business, showing exactly how the media slant their coverage while insisting they’re just reporting the facts.

Can we solve big public problems anymore? Yes, we can. This provocative and inspiring book points the way. The huge challenges we face are daunting indeed: climate change, crumbling infrastructure, declining public education and social services. At the same time, we've come to accept the sad notion that government can't do new things or solve tough problems—it's too big, too slow, and mired in bureaucracy. Not so, says former public official, now Harvard Business School professor, Mitchell Weiss. The truth is, entrepreneurial spirit and savvy in government are growing, transforming the public sector's response to big problems at all levels. The key, Weiss argues, is a shift from a mindset of Probability Government—overly focused on safe solutions and mimicking so-called best practices—to Possibility Government. This means public leadership and management that's willing to boldly imagine new possibilities and to experiment. Weiss shares the three basic tenets of this new way of governing: Government that can imagine: Seeing problems as opportunities and involving citizens in designing solutions Government that can try new things: Testing and experimentation as a regular part of solving public problems Government that can scale: Harnessing platform techniques for innovation and growth The lessons unfold in the timely episodes Weiss has seen and studied: the US Special Operations Command prototyping of a hoverboard for chasing pirates; a heroin hackathon in opioid-ravaged Cincinnati; a series of experiments in Singapore to rein in Covid-19; among many others. At a crucial moment in the evolution of government's role in our society, We the Possibility provides inspiration and a positive model, along with crucial guardrails, to help shape progress for generations to come.