Mass Disruption: Thirty Years on the Front Lines of a Media Revolution

by John Stackhouse

Drawing on his thirty years in newspapers, the former editor-in-chief of The Globe and Mail examines the crisis of serious journalism in the digital era, and searches for ways the invaluable tradition can thrive in a radically changed future.
     John Stackhouse entered the newspaper business in a golden 1980s circulations were huge and wealthy companies lined up for the privilege of advertising in every city's best-read pages. Television and radio could never rival newspapers for hard news, analysis and opinion, and the papers' brand of serious journalism was considered a crucial part of life in a democratic country. Then came the Internet...
     After decades as a Globe journalist, foreign bureau chief and then editor of its Report on Business (not to mention former Scarborough delivery boy), he assumed one of the biggest jobs in Canadian The Globe and Mail 's editor-in-chief. Beginning in 2009, he faced the the possible end of not just Canada's "national" newspaper, but the steep and steady financial decline of newspapers everywhere. A non-stop torrent of free digital content stole advertisers and devalued advertising space so quickly that newspapers struggled to finance the serious journalism that distinguished them in a world of Buzzfeed , Huffington Post , Yahoo and innumerable bloggers and citizen journalists. Meanwhile, ambitious online media aspired to the credibility of newspapers. The solution was clear, if the path to arriving at it was less the new school needed to meet the old school, and the future lay in undiscovered ground between them.
     Having led the Globe during this period of sudden and radical change, Stackhouse continues to champion the vital role of great reporting and analysis. Filled with stories from his three decades in the business, Mass Disruption tracks decisions good and bad, examines how some of the world's major newspapers--the Guardian , New York Times --are learning to cope, and lays out strategies for the future, of both newspapers and serious journalism, wherever it may live.

Genres: Nonfiction, Canada, Business, History, Writing

336 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2015

Reviews

[Ml Lalonde · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent, if depressing, look at the demise of journalism and the newspaper business as we know it by one of Canada's finest journalists. John Stackhouse has compiled a well researched history of journalism in Canada with a critical look at how the advent of digital has changed the way we consume and report news. This, together with a viewing of this year's Oscar nominated picture "Spotlight", leaves me longing for a time where sources were checked and opinions weighed. I fear I might turn into one of those old people who shakes their fist at the sky.

[Fred Mather · Rating 4 out of 5]

How we get our news continues to change since this book was first published five years ago. The internet and social media are now primary sources for news, especially breaking news, draining print media of its advertising revenue. Memories of the several pages of classified ads become a past memory like the telephone book.

The book is part memoir, part a history of medical over the past three decades, and part a case for journalistic quality and integrity. “Unfortunately, this new state of media has not made us any better at discerning the profound from the popular, the consequential from the fleeting and, perhaps most importantly, the proven from the speculative. On each count, serious journalism is needed more than ever, in new forms, new technologies and new business models that are still being developed.”

The story of having dinner with Vladimir Putin, followed by a midnight hockey scrimmage, is one of many firsthand accounts of important persons and events.

John Stackhouse examines the roots of quality reporting and analysis. We may read newspapers and magazines in print or on-line. Or rely on Twitter, Facebook or Google to find the news for us. This assessment of media’s current path prepares the reader for a more critical assessment of the news.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

True to its title, this interesting and informative book describes the transforming role of traditional news in the face of the digital age from the perspective of a Globe and Mail journalist and editor. I would consider this book a must-read for new journalists and journalism students.

[Jack Beaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This provides a good description of how the newspaper business has transformed over the last 20 years. Although the book pre-dates the rise of Trump, it gives background for the current battle between Trump and the American mainstream media. I especially liked the section on Vladimir Putin, which again is helpful in understanding the Trump pre-occupation with him.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

History of journalism

"A human story that spoke to a general trend or event. A captivating read that would delight readers"

"Advice of another correspondent who said to go always to an editor with three ideas in your pocket otherwise you'd have to do what they want'

"Social media crowd...would have to turn to professional newsrooms to explain and contextualise what had just happened"

Old school investigative journalism "knocking on doors sifting through court records and slowly connecting the dots until an image emerged"

"Anonymous sourcing had been central to much of the globes best Journalism over the decades ... Yet anonymous quotes had also become all too regula r across the media which perhaps explained some of the decline in public trust for journalists ..., we set an arbitrary bar. If we couldn't get anyone on record we should have at least ten anonymous sources"

Intro of site metrics at the globe"roughly 40 per cent of the globe was read by fewer than a thousand people. A painful revelation" unpopular : baseball tennis theatre reviews. Popular for casual readers health and education, for casual and subscribing visitors business politics and economics. Super popular real estate prices, celebrity, weather, pets

Forbes "compensation went up with volume of repeat visitors. Pay for performance had arrived in journalism"

Forbes increased its audience from 10 mill unique visitors a month to 70 million by super sizing its community of freelance contributors from 100 to 1400 all to be managed by the same editorial team (who became team leaders of topic writers academics management consultants anyone who craved the badge "Forbes contributor"

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fine telling of the disruption that has ripped through traditional media, and the steps taken to slow the erosion.

[JW · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative, thought-provoking, and definitely not for reading before bed if you work for a traditional newspaper.

[Nj · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, although repetitive