Archive for September 2014

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[ecrea] New Paperback Edition of Digital Disconnect

Fri Sep 12 08:33:25 GMT 2014





Digital Disconnect—new paperback edition…

This is the work of a deep-thinking scholar who draws on a reservoir of media history scholarship and contemporary internet literature… an immensely impressive and highly recommended examination of modern communications and economic power.
—Digital Journalism

My acclaimed new book Digital Disconnect is now available in paperback. It is a comprehensive political-economic critique of the Internet and the digital revolution, written in unpretentious and engaging language. Digital Disconnect is written for the general public and is ideal for classroom use. It is the crowning achievement of my career. In the book, I assess:

* the secretive policy decisions that led the Internet to being a center of commerce and profit-making * the rise of gigantic monopolistic firms like Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google to complete dominance, and what this means going forward for our economics, politics and culture * the crucial relationship between these gigantic firms and the surveillance work of the National Security Agency * how surveillance is built into the commercial Internet, and how this is radically transforming advertising and commerce * the dramatic decline in journalism and why the Internet will not solve the problem—and only make matters worse unless there is smart public spending on journalism * how the digital economy is destroying more decent paying jobs than it is creating, and is therefore aggravating the great economic crisis facing the nation, and, especially, young people
* a series of proposals to address the problems highlighted in the book

To learn more about Digital Disconnect—including reviews and interviews with me—or to purchase the book, click here.

Thanks for your time. If you read the book or use it in a class I would welcome your feedback.

Bob McChesney
Digital Disconnect Website
Powell's Books

Amazon
IndieBound.org

Praise for Digital Disconnect…
No one knows this field better than McChesney, and with this book he has reached the pinnacle.

—Matthew Rothschild,
editor, The Progressive

The book offers a superb understanding of the political-economic conditions and political and cultural implications of the current digital world. It is a highly significant, socially relevant, and timely contribution to media and culture studies...and is accessible to a broad readership. This reviewer strongly recommends it to everyone interested in (re)creating and improving the public sphere and political democracy in America and other countries that face similar challenges.

—Journal of American Culture

This work truly sets the standard for Internet policy books. Anyone serious about Internet affairs would be well served to master the content in order to have a realistic grasp of what the current state of the Internet is and where it is headed.

—The Great Kladderadatsch

This book does not break from the general thrust of McChesney's long career, but it does tread new ground by focusing his sharp analysis on the Internet. Ultimately, students, scholars, and activists can gain much from this work.

—Choice

As always, McChesney produces a wealth of figures to support his case, and his arguments for a more democratic internet should be heeded by anyone interested in the future of journalism.

—CounterFire

McChesney has written or edited over twenty books, all of which seem to circle around the same common themes that Digital Disconnect combines into one sleek, carefully plotted and meticulously researched package.

—Boiling Frogs
Once again, McChesney stands at the crossroads of media dysfunction and the denial of democracy, illuminating the complex issues involved and identifying a path forward to try to repair the damage. Here’s hoping the rest of us have the good sense to listen this time.

—Eric Alterman, The Nation

The breadth and reach of this book is immense and its ability to cover and touch upon diverse topics at the intersection of the Internet, capitalism, and democracy is commendable. The book is well-researched and draws on an incredible wealth of information.

—Work Organisation,
Labour and Globalisation

For its thorough research, its engaging prose, and its theoretical and practical relevance, Digital Disconnect should therefore join the list of must-read texts penned by McChesney during his illustrious career.

—International Journal of Communication

The book is well-written, impeccably organized, and argued forcibly with relevant and instructive examples.… It is a worthwhile read for anyone who cares about the role of the Internet in our democracy.

—Journal of Broadcasting
and Electronic Media

McChesney cogently lays out grim Internet realities…Compared to Digital Disconnect, the standard media critiques of the Internet are fairy tales.

—CommonDreams

It is a book stuffed full of insights, at times disturbing, with its revelations about the way giants Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon develop strategies to entrench their market dominance and attempt to own consumers’ ‘every waking moment,’ aided and abetted by lax government enforcement and deregulation.

—Free Press (UK)

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