Privacy and the Media

Book excerpt: Questions of privacy are critical to the study of contemporary media and society. When we’re more and more connected to devices and to content, it’s increasingly important to understand how information about ourselves is being collected, transmitted, processed, and mediated. Privacy and the Media equips students to do just that, providing a comprehensive overview of both the theory and reality of privacy and the media in the 21st Century. Offering a rich overview of this crucial and topical relationship, Andy McStay: Explores the foundational topics of journalism, the Snowden leaks, and encryption by companies such as Apple Considers commercial applications including behavioural advertising, big data, algorithms, and the role of platforms such as Google and Facebook Introduces the role of the body with discussions of emotion, wearable media, peer-based privacy, and sexting Encourages students to put their understanding to work with suggestions for further research, challenging them to explore how privacy functions in practice. Privacy and the Media is not a polemic on privacy as ‘good’ or ‘bad’, but a call to assess the detail and the potential implications of contemporary media technologies and practices. It is essential reading for students and researchers of digital media, social media, digital politics, and the creative and cultural industries. ′Privacy and the Media is a thoughtful survey of the privacy landscape. McStay reviews the intricate tensions and seeming contradictions to offer an accessible book for anyone curious about the contemporary debates in privacy.′ - danah boyd, author of It’s Complicated and founder of Data & Society ‘McStay’s great achievement here is to confront many of the pertinent and complex questions about media and privacy in a style that is both authoritative and easy to read... His book will prove an excellent companion for all students of this fascinating and crucial topic.’ - Mireille Hildebrandt, Vrije Universiteit Brussel ‘Clearly and accessibly written, this book is a great resource for anyone interested in the broad range of ways in which privacy and contemporary media are entangled and in the big picture of privacy/media relations today... I will definitely be assigning it for my students.’ - Helen Kennedy, University of Sheffield