Jon Garfunkel

Homepage: http://civilities.net/people/JonGarfunkel

I'm the originator of ideas in new media research like "constructive media", the "new gatekeepers" and others. My general belief that the fetish for blogs and wikis is sort of temporary, and ignores the larger structural revolution in media. And most of the people jumping in today are really just following the crowd, so it's fun watching.

I've thought of going to grad school in journalism/communication studies, but most of the fundramental concepts of the field have come from sociology, computer science, political science, etc. Marshall MacLuhan? An English professor.

My favorite press critics today: Jack Shafer, Nick Lemonn. The best research on online journalism & communities is coming from the Pew, bar none. My own journalism library is a rather small: Schudson, Starr, Liebling, and books from related fields (see above)

The OJR has its quirks, and is still too blogthirsty for my tastes, but I've enjoyed the long analytical pieces and I read it most everyday. The stuff coming outta New York is too bloggy and the pointers from Tampa are just too much.