Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

News and journalism are in the midst of upheaval: shifts such as declining print subscriptions and rising website visitor numbers are forcing assumptions and practices to be rethought from first principles. The internet is not simply allowing faster, wider distribution of material: digital technology is demanding transformative change. Out of Print analyzes the role and influence of newspapers in the digital age and explains how current theory and practice have to change to fully exploit developing opportunities.
In Out of Print George Brock guides readers through the history, present state and future of journalism, highlighting how and why journalism needs to be rethought on a global scale and remade to meet the demands and opportunities of new conditions. He provides a unique examination of every key issue, from the phone-hacking scandal and Leveson Inquiry to the impact of social media on news and expectations. He presents an incisive, authoritative analysis of the role and influence of journalism in the digital age.

Online supporting resources for this book include downloadable lecture slides.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• About the author (p. x)
• Acknowledgements (p. xi)
• Introduction: from ink to link (p. 1)
• 01 Communicating whatever we please (p. 6)
• Messy, unethical and opinionated origins (p. 9)
• Select and noteworthy happenings (p. 11)
• An explosion of opinion (p. 14)
• Playing with fire (p. 16)
• 'Bible, ax and newspapers' (p. 21)
• A brief flowering (p. 23)
• The world's great informer (p. 25)
• Every species of intelligence (p. 27)
• 02 Furnishing the world with a new set of nerves (p. 31)
• A great moral organ (p. 32)
• The true Church of England (p. 34)
• The Steam Intellect Society (p. 36)
• We are all learning to move together (p. 37)
• A vast agora (p. 41)
• I order five virgins (p. 43)
• The few dozen lines of drivel (p. 45)
• A press typhoon (p. 48)
• The waning power of the harlot (p. 50)
• 03 The gilded age (p. 55)
• A fluid mass (p. 56)
• The brute force of monopoly (p. 57)
• Sorrow, sorrow, ever more (p. 60)
• A well-conducted press (p. 61)
• 'So will it be goodbye to Fleet Street?' (p. 64)
• I really loathe people with power (p. 67)
• Deregulation (p. 69)
• Boom and decline (p. 73)
• Owners, news and celebrity (p. 77)
• 04 The engine of opportunity (p. 83)
• Chain reaction (p. 85)
• Utopia or dystopia? (p. 88)
• What the internet does to the business of news (p. 91)
• 05 Rethinking journalism again (p. 106)
• Complexity (p. 108)
• Frontiers fade and vanish (p. 109)
• Ink marks on squashed trees (p. 110)
• Comparison and choice (p. 111)
• The downside risks of choice (p. 113)
• Authority (p. 115)
• Manipulation (p. 117)
• Objectivity under strain (p. 120)
• The advantages and drawbacks of institutions (p. 122)
• The management of abundance (p. 124)
• New media and change: a case study (p. 128)
• Conclusion (p. 131)
• 06 The business model crumbles (p. 137)
• Over a cliff (p. 138)
• Print is not dead (p. 142)
• Palliative care for print (p. 145)
• Flipping to digital (p. 148)
• Making people pay: walls and meters (p. 151)
• The demand for news (p. 158)
• What we don't know about online news (p. 160)
• 07 Credibility crumbles (p. 164)
• Newsroom culture (p. 165)
• Operation Motorman (p. 169)
• Phone hacking (p. 171)
• 'Quality' and 'seriousness' (p. 172)
• Trust and authority (p. 177)
• A spell is broken (p. 179)
• 08 The Leveson judgement (p. 183)
• Diagnosis (p. 184)
• Prescription (p. 188)
• A third way (p. 190)
• Regulation's future (p. 193)
• Plurality (p. 194)
• 09 Throwing spaghetti at the wall (p. 200)
• Four core tasks (p. 201)
• We were having journalistic moments! (p. 204)
• Error is useful (p. 219)
• 10 Clues to the future (p. 223)
• Business models (p. 224)
• From the ashes of dead trees (p. 229)
• Index (p. 237)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

The uncertain future of print journalism continues to generate a stream of titles documenting the crisis. Brock (journalism, City Univ., London), a former journalist, adds to the pile with his optimistic review of the turbulent history of newspapers. Framing his book with the recent journalist phone-hacking scandal in Britain, Brock goes back to the earliest newspapers-in 17th-century England-to trace their development and transitions over time. He includes Europe, North America, and Asia in his analysis. For each era, he shows how technical, economic, and social changes affected newspapers. In the late 19th century, the growth of the middle class, the technical innovations in printing, and the repeal of stamp taxes all contributed to an explosive growth in newspapers. Brock argues that the current disruptions are part of a long evolution and that despite the collapse of the business model, there is a future for print journalism. VERDICT Journalists and journalism professors looking for a beacon of hope in the gloomy projections about the future of newspapers will appreciate this optimistic prognosis.-Judy Solberg, Seattle Univ. Lib. (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

Brock (City Univ. of London, UK) examines some of the history, current challenges, and future directions of the news business. He provides an overview of the unraveling of the business model that underpinned many news organizations in the late 20th century. He cites international examples and notes how recent developments, including efforts by news organizations to find new revenue streams, vary within and among nations. Although Brock focuses on the business of journalism, he does not ignore recent changes and challenges in news ethics and practices. He emphasizes that the future of news reporting is to provide a context about events and information, be an eyewitness to events, verify, and investigate concealed public affairs issues. The book includes abundant insights about the global impact of media technology. For example, the author notes that in a developing nation anyone with a smartphone has better access to information about that nation than Bill Clinton had when he was president. Commendably well written and annotated, this volume will be valuable to anyone interested in journalism, mass communication, or digital media. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals. R. A. Logan emeritus, University of Missouri--Columbia

Author notes provided by Syndetics

George Brock is Professor at City University London, where he heads the prestigious Graduate School of Journalism. During his career as a journalist, he worked for the Observer and The Times, where he was Foreign Editor, Managing Editor and Saturday Editor. He has served as president of the world Editors Forum, and is on the board of the International Press Institute. He is a regular commentator on news and journalism in the UK and global media, and broadcasts frequently. He is an active conference speaker and reviewer?