Synopses & Reviews
Despite increasing criticism of the US media, little serious discussion has emerged as to what concrete steps are needed for lasting reform. The Future of Media collects the most up-to-date thinking from the vanguard of media theorists, commentators, journalists, scholars and policymakers, who examine where we are now and lay out a five- to 10-year roadmap for change.
Edited by Robert McChesney, Russell Newman and Ben Scott, The Future of Media: Resistance and Reform in the 21st Century considers how open access to the Internet relates to tomorrow’s wireless technologies, how the problems in commercial journalism stem from poor regulatory policy in broadcasting, how the concerns of media workers should be shared by media consumers and much more. The book establishes the poor performance of the media in guiding our democratic political debate and demonstrates how the policy battles, commercial expansion and social resistance of the next few years will reshape the media landscape for decades to come, determining who will be tomorrow’s media gatekeepers. Contributors include FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, Representative Bernie Sanders, renowned journalist Bill Moyers, media scholar Robert W. McChesney and Newspaper Guild President Linda Foley.
The publication of The Future of Media anticipates and will appear in time for The Second National Conference for Media Reform to convene in St. Louis, Missouri, in May 2005. In addition to the editors of the present volume, the conference will bring together activists, media creators, academics and lawmakers to discuss visionary and practical solutions to the problem of narrowly owned media.
The Future of Media shines a light on a wide array of media issues with direct impact on our lives and is a comprehensive handbook for activists, students and concerned citizens.
Synopsis
Co-edited by acclaimed media scholar Robert W. McChesney, the book features chapters by Bill Moyers, FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, Rep. Bernie Sanders, and Newspaper Guild president Linda Foley, among many others. With the American political landscape dominated by the influence of big business, the timing of The Future of Media could hardly be more precipitous. Endlessly pressured by lobbyists payrolled by corporate broadcasters, Congress is poised to reopen the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which will reshape every facet of our media as we know it for decades to come. Winners and losers are about to be decided, while at the same time new technologies are emerging which could truly revolutionize and democratize our media system-and our culture. From cutting edge analysis to blueprints for action, The Future of Media presents a diverse collection of voices from today's growing media reform movement.
Synopsis
Penetrating analysis and a blueprint for action from the leading lights of new media criticism.
About the Author
Heraled as a modern day Thomas Paine and "one of the nation's most important analysts of the media," McChesney has written or edited 8 books, including "Telecommunications, Mass Media, and Democracy" and "Rich Media, Poor Democracy." He's a professor at the University of Illinois and hosts a weekly radio show on WILL-AM. A Program Manager for Free Press and a Waterston Scholar at Suffolk University's Sawyer School of Management specializing in the political economy of mass communication, nonprofit management and documentary production. Also served as production designer on several independent films and was active in radio for nearly a decade. Scott has served as a Legislative Fellow in the House of Representatives handling telecommunications policy. Co-editor of Our Unfree Press: 100 Years of Radical Media Criticism (2004).