Digital technologies have fundamentally altered the nature and function ofmedia in our society reinventing ageold practices of public communication andat times ... » 

Digital technologies have fundamentally altered the nature and function ofmedia in our society reinventing ageold practices of public communication andat times circumventing traditional media and challenging its privileged role asgatekeepers of news and entertainment. Some critics believe these technologieskeep the public involved in an informed discourse on matters of publicimportance but it isnt clear this is happening on a large scale. Propagandadisguised as news is flourishing and though interaction with the digitaldomain teaches children valuable skills it can also expose them to graverisks.John V. Pavlik critically examines our current digital innovationsmdashblogs podcasting peertopeer file sharing ondemand entertainmentand the digitization of television radio and satellites mdashand theirpositive and negative implications. He focuses on present developments but healso peers into the future foreseeing a media landscape dominated by a highlyfragmented though active audience intense media competition and scarceadvertising dollars. By embracing new technologies however Pavlik shows howprofessional journalism and media can hold on to their role as a vitalinformation lifeline and continue to operate as the tool of a successfuldemocracy. «