Gatewatching

The Author: Axel Bruns teaches in the Creative Industries Faculty at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. He is General Editor of M/C – Media and Culture (www.media-culture.org.au).

«It’s journalism, Jim, but not as we know it. ‘Gatewatching’, ‘multiperspectival editing’ the ‘produser’. Strange new terms – but as Axel Bruns shows in this impressive account of online news media, the underlying issues remain very much as Herbert Gans described them a generation ago. In a democracy everyone has a right to practice journalism. Users are beginning to shape the oddly named collaborative instruments on the Internet into a new chorus, giving a new voice to democracy. Axel Bruns shows us why and how we all need to learn the tune.» (John Hartley, Queensland University of Technology)«Ever wondered why people love to comment on the news? Axel Bruns describes in detail how, in the Internet age, this ‘gatewatching’ passion is changing the media landscape. Are news barons paying notice? Of course not. Will bloggers and open news contributors revolutionize our understanding of news production? You bet they will.» (Geert Lovink, Author of ‘Dark Fiber’ and ‘My First Recession’)