This disappointing textbook, while hot off the presses in summer 08, feels already dated in its wide-eyed, facile descriptions of a brave new world of communications technology. As the author explains that DVD stands for "digital video/versatile disc," and marvels at his ability to watch episodes of Grey's Anatomy over wireless broadband, it is difficult to imagine who his intended audience is. College students are unlikely to be impressed by the novelty of such wonders, yet Pavlik rarely delves very far beneath the surface to examine the cultural or political implications of the "digital age." While the book touches on a decently broad range of subjects, including glancing references to a number of policy debates and ethical issues related to digital communications, it fails to provide meaningful context or provoke interesting questions. -jl

A couple of years ago, the punishing economics of independent publishing proved too much to bear for several prominent and praiseworthy small magazines, including Punk Planet, LiP, Broken Pencil and Clamor. In this small pamphlet, Clamor cofounder and coeditor Jen Angel generously dives into the wreck of that magazine's regrettable demise, describing Clamor's hopes, dreams, challenges, successes, mistakes and immovable obstacles. Angel is candid and self-critical about thorny organizational issues including financial planning; interpersonal dynamics between founders and new volunteers; privilege and representation; and the benefits and difficulties of working on a project with a romantic partner. Becoming the Media is also a great celebration of independent print media, and a reminder that Clamor's voice is strongly missed -jl

Roger Ailes' career as a political operative, communications consultant and conservative media uberboss is the subject of this fascinating book. Kerwin Swint hits the well-known and lesser-known chapters of Ailes' career, including his political work for Nixon, Reagan and Bush I, and his years with CNBC. Especially interesting are the parallels Swint identifies between Joseph Coors' ill-fated attempt to sustain a conservative TV network (with Ailes as a key staffer) and Rupert Murdoch's and Ailes' shared vision for the Fox News Network. Contextualizing sections provide richly detailed consideration of related topics such as the role of media in American politics and the politicization of radio airwaves following the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine. - jl

Bill Moyers is one of very few US journalists who may be judged a national treasure. While he has covered a wide range of topics during this long career on public television, for the last several years Moyers' writing and speechmaking have become increasingly focused on the state of American democracy - the subject of this collection of wise and eloquent essays. First describing our democracy as "a series of narrow escapes," Moyers observes that the main institutions intended to support and protect our democratic system function poorly, if at all. The news media, of course, figures prominently among these failed institutions. Through compelling stories, sweeping historical analysis and beautifully clear writing, Moyers manages to evoke both a Whitmanesque, unironic sense of the Dream of American democracy, and a hunkered determination to work together for its redemption. That Moyers makes this seem possible despite the multiple perils he describes, testifies to the quality of his idealism which makes his voice so indispensable. -jl

Clay Shirky is among the keenest observers of the real-world uses of social networking applications on the Internet. Here he has written the most essential account of grassroots networking online, and how it has transformed the balance of social power for consumers and citizens. Rather than repeating hype about the potential benefits of user-publishing and networking tools such as Flickr, Meetup, Wikipedia and blogs, Shirky gives a searching examination of how users and readers actually engage with these tools, and how they really have disrupted previous communications norms. Shirky's storytelling abilities made the book a pleasurable read. Includes an extended and challenging discussion of social media and news, in which he problematizes the notion of journalistic professionalism. -jl

This substantial collection of essays is a companion volume to McChesney's first book of 2008, Communications Revolution. In that work, the author calls for a transformation of the academic field of media studies (in alignment with the growing media democracy movement), based on the observation that both communications technology and media policy are in the midst of a major shift, potentially a shift towards democratization. The Political Economy of Media provides a rich toolkit for academics and critical activists wishing to ground today's media critiques in an historical context, and to further connect media activism with long-term goals of participatory democracy and social justice. McChesney has gathered together numerous threads from his brilliant scholarship over the last 20 years – mostly from previously scattered journal articles and unpublished talks. Chapters focus on three areas: critiques of journalism; historical studies on the economic structures of media; and politics and the media reform movement. Particularly valuable sections include chapters on "how to think about journalism" and on the history of legal and popular understandings of the first amendment. -jl

This interesting reference book, coedited by a group of international community radio practitioners, communications rights activists and international development leaders, offers a primer on how community media, especially community radio, can support economic development and civic engagement in developing countries. It is also a detailed practicum showing how an internationalist vision of communications rights can and should connect with real-world policies providing broad access to communications technology. In clearly written and well-organized sections, the authors reviews the pros and cons of various funding models for noncommercial media, various strategies for deploying and regulating community broadcasting, and a range of policies protecting communications rights and free speech. Drawing examples from the global south and from Europe, Broadcasting, Voice and Accountability's primary audience is policymakers and NGOs working outside the US; but for this reason the also holds particular relevance to North American media activists, in that it provides a great shows how these issues are discussed in an internationalist context not dominated by US political and economic limitations. The book's valuable resources include an extensive bibliography of web-published articles on international media governance. -jl

In their third book together, Democracy Now host Amy Goodman and brother/journalist David Goodman provide a set of profiles in courage for a new generation. The book's chapters tell the stories of individuals and groups of people who have responded to injustice with courage and resistance: New Orleans organizer Malik Rahim's community organizing in the wake of Katrina; librarians resisting orders to surveil patrons; Lt. Ehren Watada's refusal to fight an unjust war. The Goodmans implicitly critique the establishment media for their failure to recognize the value in these people's stories, which, the book argues, point the way to an emerging wave of grassroots civic participation. -jl

Both descriptive and prophetic, Millennial Makeover attempts to describe tech-enabled civic engagement among the "Millennial" generation - the American generation currently coming into political consciousness. Taking up and extending theories about generational types (boomers, gen x-ers) and cyclical political shifts, the authors argue that tech-savvy and highly networked Millennials are ushering in a new civic and political realignment. Unfortunately, the book's closing sections, comprising predictions and challenges for this new generation, offer little more than trite platitudes. Finally, given its title, the book has surprisingly little of interest to say about MySpace, YouTube or other social networking services. -jl

In this wise and often funny book, Jonathan Zittrain distinguishes between open, ‘generative” electronic tools such as programmable computers and Wikipedia, and ‘tethered appliances’ such as iPhones and Facebook. While the latter offer users convenience, predictability and security, he argues, these benefits come at a cost to creativity, innovation, privacy, and, ultimately, democracy. Zittrain makes the case for a communications environment characterized by collaborative design, open access, neutral networks and distributed responsibility for evolving standards. -jl

From well before American bombs began falling on Baghdad in 2002, Greg Mitchell’s columns in Editor and Publisher typed out a sober counter-rhythm to the establishment media’s militaristic drumbeat. The chronologically-arranged columns gathered into this book form a dismal retrospective. Providing running commentary on the national media's failures to challenge even the most dubious or unsourced Bush administration claims, Mitchell makes it clear that in many cases, critical journalists should have known then what we all know now about WMDs and justification for war; Pat Tillman; and Abu Ghraib. Mitchell also takes note of success stories among the failures, and comments on significant (if often overlooked) media contributions from outside the media mainstream. -jl

Investigative jounalist Murray Waas provides the definitive source about a legal case related to the Bush administration’s attempts to discredit Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who had publicly undermined the official rationale for war in Iraq. Libby was convicted (and his sentence commuted by Bush), but there remain many unanswered questions about the extent of the adminisntration’s willingness to lie to the public, and key media players’ eagerness to repeat administration claims in return for favored access. Waas’ commentary helps makes the long court transcripts accessible and draws out major issues. -jl

The last few years have seen millions voice their opposition to consolidated media power. Media activists have succeeded in slowing and even stopping maneuvers to extend corporate control of a deregulated media system. But the next step—creating new media rules that will actually encourage quality journalism and serve our democracy—will require a long-term commitment to re-articulating the importance of a free press. C. Edwin Baker's latest book provides highly useful blueprints for the struggle ahead. He presents strong arguments for media democratization backed by clear legal reasoning, historical study, and economic analysis. Baker methodically knocks down the most common arguments favoring media deregulation, including the canard that big media only gives consumers what they want, and the attractive but misleading notion that the Internet's vast array of choices makes legacy media consolidation irrelevant. -jl

Veteran media critic Norman Solomon has helped educate a generation of media activists with his creative and politically uncompromising essays on the faces of power elites hidden behind the most ingrained habits of corporate media. He has paid particular attention to the links between American media and militarism. Solomon's latest book, Made Love, Got War is an activist memoir – tracing the author's development of critical political perspectives as a journalist, anti-nuclear activist and media critic from the 1960s through the 1980s. Laden with enlightening anecdotes, including accounts of Solomon's controversial trips to Iraq with Congressmen and Sean Penn. -jl

Paula Kamen's previous book was a journal-like personal account of her own struggles with chronic migraines little understood by a succession of friends and caregivers. Here, Kamen's attempt to contextualize and understand the mental illness and suicide of her friend and fellow author Iris Chang is scarcely less personal. Chang was young, driven and brilliant – an investigative long-form journalist whose book-length studies in Chinese and Chinese-American history (including The Rape of Nanking, were widely celebrated for their depth and empathy with historical underdogs and the victims of forgotten injustice. Kamen examines how Chang's empathy and intense focus on her work were intertwined with issues of depression and bipolar disorder; she also draws upon Chang's life to make broader observations about the invisible forms of trauma often faced by dedicated investigative journalists. -jl