August 21, 2004
We the Media
Finally finished Dan Gilmore's We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People this morning while at KTEH (I only work during the pledge breaks, so can sit and read during the shows). You may remember that I had purchased the book and had it signed when I was at the BlogOn Conference last month. I'm a big fan of Gilmore's and read his blog (or rather, subscribe to the rss feed for it) and enjoyed the book.
He writes that his "goal in this book has been to persuade you that the collision of journalism and technology is having major consequences for three consituencies: journalists, newsmakers, and the audience. The evidence seems persuasive that something big is happening." (237) In addition to talking about blogging and other technology, he covers a lot of the copyright and Big Media issues extremely well. He concludes that:
"Open systems are central to any future of a free (as in freedom) flow of information. Yet the forces of central control - governments and big businesses, especially the copyright cartel - are pushing harder and harder to clamp down on our networks. To preserve their business models, which are increasingly outmoded in a digital age, they would restrict innovation and, ultimately, the kinds of creativity on which they founded their own businesses. The danger in this is massive, but the public remains all too oblivious, in part because Big Media has failed to cover the story properly. I don't think that's a coincidence." (238)
There's a blog with additional info about the book at wethemedia.oreilly.com. I think the book's a must-read for any of us jumping into this medium as bloggers/readers of blogs, consumers/creators of news and people concerned about what's going on in the media. The book has even been published on the site in pdfs under a Creative Commons license so you can take a peak before you buy.