Peer Review

We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People

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Reviewed:: Jun 30, 2014 by Business

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:: The Internet and new mobile communication devices have changed access, opportunity, and restriction for journalists. Essentially everyone can be a journalist. This open textbook provides a carefully detailed overview of the history of that development and the implications of that development. The term grassroots is applied to mean that changes and control have shifted from being created by governments and corporations to the individual.
Type of Material:: This is an open access book. While billed as a textbook, it is more like a popular press business book.
Recommended Uses:: This material would be best suited as a supplementary text for a college level course that would engage in a discussion of the evolution of journalism. The obvious use would be in a journalism course, but it also might be appropriate for a public relations or social media course. A secondary use would be as a simple reference book for those teaching the courses previously mentioned. Great overview for anyone wanting to use the Internet as a means of communication. Especially those who blog or advertise.
Technical Requirements:: The user needs Internet browsing capabilities and ability to access PDF files. Any browser, text can be copied and copyright is covered by a Creative Common License that only restricts the resale of the materials.
Identify Major Learning Goals:: As identified by the author and his publisher, the main objectives of this book are as follows: 1. Consumers will learn how they can become producers of the news. 2. Newsmakers are shown how to shift from control to engagement. 3. Journalists are shown the opportunities and challenges that this shift presents. Understanding the background and evolution of the new communications revolution. Information is provided on government regulations, traditional media comparisons, technological developments, important legal cases, and important players in journalism.
Target Student Population:: The material should be easily digested by both undergraduate and graduate students. Target population is anyone who cares about Freedom of Speech.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: There are no pre-requisites.

Content Quality

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Strengths:: If the material is approached as a history text, it has value. The book, published in 2004, can no longer be viewed in line with its original intent which was to educate the reader about the future of journalism. However, there is still value in the historical perspective that the text provides. The writing style of the author makes this book very easy to read. The book contains a great deal of information in a variety of areas. For instance, the sections explaining cyberlaw and cases contains essential situations and law cases that are critical to the development of the Internet.
Concerns:: The author has a specific point of view and very rarely provides support for e counter arguments. For instance when France sued Yahoo for hosting auctions selling Nazi paraphernalia, an important freedom of speech case, there were important arguments against a free entry for an American business across French borders. The book was published in 2004. Insights and material that seemed cutting edge ten years ago are significantly less relevant in 2014.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

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Strengths:: If an instructor would like to convey the evolution of journalism over the past two decades, this book could prove an asset. The introduction comprehensively covers all of the aspects later detailed in the chapters of the book. The organization on material allows the user to build insight and understanding about the notion of grassroots journalism.
Concerns:: • The book was published in 2004. A website was created for updates but was not updated after 2005. The book was published before the advent of Clouds, Google Scholar, and social networking. All of these are critical concerns to grassroots journalism. Students pursuing degrees in more professional disciplines (i.e., public relations, journalism, marketing) crave current examples and are less focused on the past. If used as an assigned classroom reading, the professor would need to make the text relevant and justify the need for this historical perspective. If this is not done, students may disengage.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

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Strengths:: The book is easy to access. Each chapter is presented as a PDF file which the user can either print or view online. This is an easy to read book with very good references.
Concerns:: There are no concerns about the ease of use.

Other Issues and Comments:: This book contains a great deal of information and reference to important names in the history and development of grassroots journalism. Further research should be done if a reader is in pursuit of specific knowledge made reference to in this book. In other words, this is a great overview but more specific information is available on the information covered.
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