Breaking News

An urgent, "fascinating" account of the revolution that has upended the news business, "a must for anyone concerned with the state of journalism today" ( Library Journal). Technology has radically altered the news landscape. Once-powerful newspapers have lost their clout or been purchased by owners with particular agendas. Algorithms select which stories we see. The Internet allows consequential revelations, closely guarded secrets—and dangerous misinformation—to spread at the speed of a click. In Breaking News, Alan Rusbridger demonstrates how these decisive shifts have occurred, and what they mean for the future of democracy. In the twenty years he spent editing the Guardian, Rusbridger managed the transformation of the progressive British daily into the most visited serious English-language newspaper site in the world. He oversaw an extraordinary run of world-shaking scoops, including the exposure of phone hacking by London tabloids, the Wikileaks release of US diplomatic cables, and later the revelation of Edward Snowden's National Security Agency files. At the same time, Rusbridger helped the Guardian become a pioneer in Internet journalism, stressing free access and robust interactions with readers. Here, Rusbridger vividly observes the media's transformation from close range—while also offering a vital assessment of the risks and rewards of practicing journalism in a high-impact, high-stress time. "The rapid technology changes, collapsing business model, 9/11, media convergence, paywall wars, dawn of social media, rise of the 'citizen journalist' and more are here valuably detailed by a gifted reporter focused on the story of his own profession." — The New York Times Book Review