Description: Matthew Powers analyzes the growing role NGOs play in shaping--and sometimes directly producing--international news. Through an unprecedented glimpse into NGOs' newsmaking efforts, Powers portrays the possibilities and limits of NGOs as media makers, with important implications for the intersections of journalism and advocacy.
Brief description: Matthew Powers (NYU, PhD.) is an assistant professor in the department of communication at the University of Washington. His work has been published in the International Journal of Communication, Journal of Communication, and Journalism: Theory, Practice and Research. He was previously a reporter for the Burlington Free Press.
Review Quotes: Powers offers a sharp dissection and a comprehensive analysis of the news-making strategies of global NGOs. Grounded in smart interpretations of institutional theories, the book shows the ambiguities of NGOs as news makers - the innovations as well as the limitations to broaden the content of regular news cycles. The cases discussed amply demonstrate that NGOs make decisions in fields of news shaped by multiple factors. Powers convincingly argues that NGOs do not make news as they please, but they do so under institutional circumstances existing already in a world saturated with information.--Silvio Waisbord, George Washington University