How is journalism changing in a world where "WWW" is ubiquitous? Hall, a former journalist and now an educator at Falmouth College in Britain, surveys the new landscape and reports back with a fine balance between strong real-world examples and critical depth.

Example: Discussing coverage of the Columbine school shootings, he describes how global attention slams a local Web site (e.g. the Rocky Mountain News site) and shows how applying extraordinary resources to online outlets served the Denver community in a crisis. In the same context, he also examines the effects of immediacy and persistence (those twin devils of breaking news online).

Hall analyzes the role of hyperlinks: "Each one that is encountered by the reader forces a decision as to whether to follow the link or stay within the anchor text. The process insists that the reader thinks about the text in a way that print and broadcast texts do not" (pages 68-69). He also manages to juxtapose Matt Drudge and Guy Debord, Slashdot and Habermas, and yet never indulges in either journalistic posturing or postmodern overinterpretation -- a neat feat!

Well structured in eight compact chapters, this book covers:

• How online information can escape government control (e.g., Radio B92 in Belgrade);
• Media scandals and the mass audience (e.g., the Starr Report);
• Advertising and business models for online news;
• Filters, both as used for censorship in libraries and schools, and as automated gatekeeping systems in customized news products;
• Globalization and its impact on media and government.

With guarded optimism, Hall foresees "the emergence of a journalism on the Web which limits the ability of the media cartel and its agents to completely define and dominate social reality" (page 155).

Bottom line: A perfect book for practical and theoretical examination of online journalism, but not suited to a reporting or writing course; ideal for graduate students.

On?to?"Journalism Online" ...