What is News?

November 1, 2010 5:07 PM

What is News? I'm looking for any books, blogs, essays, articles, etc. that relate to any intelligent definitions of news or how people believe the news in 50 years will work. I'm not interested in evaluations of bias, the demise of mainstream media, or inane ramblings about Web 2.0.

It seems like, in an age when houseplants send "tweets" when they need water, there should be alternative definitions to the standard, "communicating information about current events to a mass audience."

I want to know who the Ray Kurzweil(s) of journalism are and how they think we'll get our news in the future. But I'd be delighted to read anything you think is even remotely related to this topic.

posted by sshelato to Computers & Internet (1 answer total)

Best answer: I highly recommend Paul Starr's The Creation of the Media. It's much more focused on the history of news and the media than the future, but it's a thoroughly comprehensive look at the history and quite an entertaining read for what could be a very dry topic.
posted by zachlipton at 5:29 PM on November 1, 2010