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  A fascinating overview of the shift of power that has taken place during many of our working lives . . . raises questions about democracy, accountability and trust. In an age when truth is in contention, Whittaker’s book is a vital account of how we got here.

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  The Journalist

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  [A] revealing book, focused on three decades of "Big Tech v. Big Journalism", including the rise of social media and its damaging effect on news reporting.

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  Nature

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  Whittaker provides a comprehensive yet sharp history of the uneasy relationship between journalism and technology, from the golden age of print to today’s digital monopolies. He shows how the promises of digital media – pluralism, empowerment, and democratisation – have been undermined by the realities of corporate power, disinformation, and surveillance capitalism. This book combines scholarship with urgency, warning that the future of journalism is inextricably linked with the future of democracy itself. A vital and timely book.

  '

  Matt Walsh, Head of Cardiff University School of Journalism, Media and Culture, former journalist and Deputy Editor of the ITV News Channel

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  We all know what happened: the dumbing down of broadcast news, the collapse of the local press, the proliferation of fake news – and the ruthless dominance of Big Tech. Jason Whittaker offers something new in this brilliant book: a sober dissection of the “why” and, most importantly as we consider AI, an urgent policy-focused exploration of “what next”.

  '

  Dave Lee, U.S. technology columnist, Bloomberg Opinion

Introduction: A Brief History of the Future
1: They the Media
2: Creative Destruction
3. Falsehood Flies
4: Paradise Cancelled
5: Big Brother Is Writing You
Epilogue: A Digital Areopagitica

References
Selected Reading
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
Index

Jason Whittaker is Professor of Communications at the University of Lincoln and previously worked as a journalist for IDG Media. His books include Tech Giants, Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Journalism (2019) and Divine Images (Reaktion, 2021).