Here are 100 books that Metrics at Work fans have personally recommended if you like Metrics at Work. Book DNA is a community of 13,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Social Media and the Public Interest: Media Regulation in the Disinformation Age

James Meese Author Of Digital Platforms and the Press

From my list on news and the impact of technology.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been fascinated by the news media and technology for as long as I can remember. I successfully campaigned for a VCR as a five-year-old, and watched multiple news programs with my grandfather growing up. Alongside these interests, I managed to read as many books as I possibly could. I’ve managed to somehow parlay that into a job as a researcher, where I study the news media sector and technological transformation. I read everything on this list while I was writing my latest book, and hope you enjoy them as much as I did! 

James' book list on news and the impact of technology

James Meese Why James loves this book

Philip Napoli is a leading media policy expert and was one of the first people to identify some of the problems that emerge when news gets distributed online through social media algorithms.

I love this book because it provides a great narrative of how we got to this point, but also some fantastic suggestions for how policymakers can respond. It’s quite readable for an academic book, and worth checking out. 

By Philip M. Napoli ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Social Media and the Public Interest as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Facebook, a platform created by undergraduates in a Harvard dorm room, has transformed the ways millions of people consume news, understand the world, and participate in the political process. Despite taking on many of journalism's traditional roles, Facebook and other platforms, such as Twitter and Google, have presented themselves as tech companies-and therefore not subject to the same regulations and ethical codes as conventional media organizations. Challenging such superficial distinctions, Philip M. Napoli offers a timely and persuasive case for understanding and governing social media as news media, with a fundamental obligation to serve the public interest.

Social Media and…


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Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Book cover of Regulating Platforms

James Meese Author Of Digital Platforms and the Press

From my list on news and the impact of technology.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been fascinated by the news media and technology for as long as I can remember. I successfully campaigned for a VCR as a five-year-old, and watched multiple news programs with my grandfather growing up. Alongside these interests, I managed to read as many books as I possibly could. I’ve managed to somehow parlay that into a job as a researcher, where I study the news media sector and technological transformation. I read everything on this list while I was writing my latest book, and hope you enjoy them as much as I did! 

James' book list on news and the impact of technology

James Meese Why James loves this book

My favourite thing about Terry Flew is while he covers contemporary issues, he always accounts for the long-term historical developments that got us to this point.

His latest book, Regulating Platforms, stands as a perfect example of this approach. The book explores why governments are so desperate to regulate platforms right now and considers how this differs from previous historical approaches to regulating technology and the internet.

If you want to understand some of the broader regulatory trends surrounding news and technology, this book is a must read. 

By Terry Flew ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Regulating Platforms as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

We once thought of cyberspace as a borderless world. As the internet has become increasingly platformized, with a small number of technology giants that dominate the global digital economy, concerns about information monopolies, hateful online content, and the impact on media content creators and creative industries have become more marked. Consequently governments, politicians, and civil society are questioning how digital platforms can or should be regulated.

In this up-to-the-minute study, Terry Flew engages with important questions surrounding platform regulation. Starting from the premise that governance is an inherent feature of digital platforms, he argues that the challenge is to…


Book cover of Advanced Introduction to Platform Economics

James Meese Author Of Digital Platforms and the Press

From my list on news and the impact of technology.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been fascinated by the news media and technology for as long as I can remember. I successfully campaigned for a VCR as a five-year-old, and watched multiple news programs with my grandfather growing up. Alongside these interests, I managed to read as many books as I possibly could. I’ve managed to somehow parlay that into a job as a researcher, where I study the news media sector and technological transformation. I read everything on this list while I was writing my latest book, and hope you enjoy them as much as I did! 

James' book list on news and the impact of technology

James Meese Why James loves this book

Many of the concerns around news and technology, center around how the distribution of news through social media impacts the news business.

However, we can only understand how these two sectors interact by understanding platform economics. Thankfully, Robin Mansell and W. Edward Steinmueller have written a simple and concise introduction to a complicated topic. A great way to quickly deepen your understanding of an important issue. 

By Robin Mansell , W. E. Steinmueller ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Advanced Introduction to Platform Economics as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas.

This cutting edge book introduces the origins and consequences of digital platforms, examining how artificial intelligence-enabled digital platforms collect and process data from and about users by providing social media and e-commerce services. Robin Mansell and W. Edward Steinmueller compare and contrast neoclassical, institutional and critical political economy approaches. They show how uneven…


If you love Angele Christin...

Book cover of The Warhog Paladins

The Warhog Paladins by Jer Patch,

Mia Lark is running out of options. There is only one way to change the score: the fantasy planet Revivium. 

Armed with the powerful magic in the helm and the friendly AI, Hex that goes with it, Mia throws caution out the window. It’s time to find the main guildhall…

Book cover of Digitizing the News: Innovation in Online Newspapers

James Meese Author Of Digital Platforms and the Press

From my list on news and the impact of technology.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been fascinated by the news media and technology for as long as I can remember. I successfully campaigned for a VCR as a five-year-old, and watched multiple news programs with my grandfather growing up. Alongside these interests, I managed to read as many books as I possibly could. I’ve managed to somehow parlay that into a job as a researcher, where I study the news media sector and technological transformation. I read everything on this list while I was writing my latest book, and hope you enjoy them as much as I did! 

James' book list on news and the impact of technology

James Meese Why James loves this book

This classic text that provides one of the first sustained accounts of how the print media transitioned to the online environment during the late-twentieth century.

Boczkowski focuses on three newsrooms and presents a compelling story of change, that looks more like an evolution than a revolution. Skillfully combining detailed ethnographic accounts with deep archival research, it remains a must-read when seeking to understand the relationship between news and technology. 

By Pablo J Boczkowski ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Digitizing the News as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Winner of the 2005 Outstanding Book Award sponsored by the International Communication Association (ICA) , Co-winner of the 2005 Book of the Year Award presented by the Critical and Cultural Studies Division of the National Communication Association and Co-winner of the 2004 Book Award presented by the Organizational Communication Division of the National Communication Association

In this study of how daily newspapers in America have developed electronic publishing ventures, Pablo Boczkowski shows that new media emerge not just in a burst of revolutionary technological change but by merging the structures and practices of existing media with newly available technical capabilities.…


Book cover of Flat Earth News: An Award-Winning Reporter Exposes Falsehood, Distortion and Propaganda in the Global Media

Norman Baker Author Of ...And What Do You Do?: What the Royal Family Don't Want You to Know

From my list on how the world works.

Why am I passionate about this?

We all need to understand more about how the world ticks, who is in control, and why they act as they do. And we need to salute those of courage who refuse to go along with the flow in a craven or unthinking way. I was an MP for 18 years and a government minister at the Department for Transport with a portfolio that included rail, bus, active travel, and then at the Home Office as Crime Prevention minister. After leaving Parliament, I became managing director of The Big Lemon, an environmentally friendly bus and coach company in Brighton. I now act as an advisor to the Campaign for Better Transport, am a regular columnist and broadcaster, and undertake consultancy and lecturing work.

Norman's book list on how the world works

Norman Baker Why Norman loves this book

A highly perceptive if rather depressing examination of how the British media works, how expensive investigative journalism has largely given way to opinion columns and trivia about so-called celebrities, how stories are often not stories, how papers dress up partisan opinion as fact. In short, an exposure of the falsehoods, distortion, and propaganda that have corrupted the media. Nick Davies was a journalist at the Guardian.

By Nick Davies ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Flat Earth News as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Does 'fake news' really exist? Find out from the ultimate insider.

After years of working as a respected journalist, Nick Davies, in this shocking expose, reveals what really goes on behind the scenes of this contentious industry.

From a prestigious newspaper that allowed intelligence agencies to plant fiction in its columns, to the newsroom that routinely rejected stories due to racial bias, to the number of papers that accepted cash bribes. Gripping, thought-provoking and revelatory, this is an insider's look at one of the most tainted professions.

'Meticulous, fair-minded and utterly gripping' Telegraph

'Powerful and timely...his analysis is fair, meticulously…


Book cover of Tell It Slant

Kate Hopper Author Of Use Your Words

From my list on writing and inspiration by kick-ass women writers.

Why am I passionate about this?

My passion is helping women write the stories they need to write. I’ve spent the last twenty-some years helping women write, polish, and publish the hard, gritty, beautiful, and awe-inspiring in their lives. I teach Motherhood & Words and lead retreats and women’s writing circles. I am also a writing coach and developmental editor. I’m the author of Ready for Air: A Journey Through Premature Motherhood and co-author of Silent Running, a memoir. I’m currently working on a rom-com. 

Kate's book list on writing and inspiration by kick-ass women writers

Kate Hopper Why Kate loves this book

It’s clear that in this book, we are in the hands of master writing teachers. Miller and Paola’s guide will help any writer, but particularly a beginning writer, find their way into a fruitful writing practice. The book contains essays on craft, inspiring examples, and writing prompts that are sure to launch readers into their own stories.

Though this book is specifically geared toward nonfiction writers, a writer of any genre will find useful and encouraging nuggets of wisdom here. 

By Suzanne Paola , Brenda Miller ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Tell It Slant as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Demonstrating the range of creative nonfiction from memoir to travel writing to the lyric essay, Tell It Slant combines practical guidance with an illustrative anthology of 34 essays from Margaret Atwood, David Sedaris, E.B. White, Virginia Woolf, and others. The result is a stimulating collection of writing and activities that makes it easy and enjoyable for students to begin to write and to try new modes of writing.


If you love Metrics at Work...

Book cover of A Last Serenade for Billy Bonney

A Last Serenade for Billy Bonney by Mark Warren,

Winner of the 2024 New Mexico - Arizona Book Award.

In this deeply researched novel of America's most celebrated outlaw, Mark Warren sheds light on the human side of Billy the Kid and reveals the intimate stories of the lesser-known players in his legendary life of crime. Warren's fictional composer…

Book cover of Out on Assignment: Newspaper Women and the Making of Modern Public Space

Kimberly Voss Author Of Women Politicking Politely: Advancing Feminism in the 1960s and 1970s

From my list on post-World War II women, politics and journalism.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am driven to tell the stories of important but often forgotten women journalists from the 1940s through the 1970s. They were pioneers who also created deep connections in their communities. Over the past few years, I have published several books about women in mass media. My 2014 book documented the history of newspaper food editors– an often powerful and political position held almost exclusively by women. My third book, Women Politicking Politely looked at the experiences of pioneering women’s editors and women in politics which allows for a better perspective of women in journalism today and adds to women’s history scholarship.

Kimberly's book list on post-World War II women, politics and journalism

Kimberly Voss Why Kimberly loves this book

The book Out on Assignment examines the careers of overlooked women who wrote for major metropolitan newspapers at the beginning of the twentieth century. Using archival materials, Alice Fahs describes a community of female journalists from numerous American cities. These newspaper women were part of a wave of women seeking a journalism career although their options were often limited. Although a few female journalists found hard-news reporting jobs in stunt work and undercover assignments, most found work in the women’s pages.

In these sections, they interviewed celebrities, advice columns, and suffrage news. Very little research has been done on women’s page journalism; this book provides an excellent foundation.

By Alice Fahs ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Out on Assignment as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Out on Assignment illuminates the lives and writings of a lost world of women who wrote for major metropolitan newspapers at the start of the twentieth century. Using extraordinary archival research, Alice Fahs unearths a richly networked community of female journalists drawn by the hundreds to major cities--especially New York--from all parts of the United States.

Newspaper women were part of a wave of women seeking new, independent, urban lives, but they struggled to obtain the newspaper work of their dreams. Although some female journalists embraced more adventurous reporting, including stunt work and undercover assignments, many were relegated to the…


Book cover of All Four Stars

Leila Sales Author Of The Museum of Lost and Found

From my list on kids doing things only grown-ups could do.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m the author of a number of books for kids and teens, many of which imagine young characters having more influence than you might expect. My book The Museum of Lost and Found is about an 11-year-old girl who secretly curates a museum. The Campaign is about a 12-year-old who runs her babysitter’s campaign to become mayor of their town. And This Song Will Save Your Life is about a 16-year-old who secretly becomes an underground DJ. These characters have realistic and relatable kid problems, emotions, and relationships—but they also get to have responsibilities and power well beyond their years. 

Leila's book list on kids doing things only grown-ups could do

Leila Sales Why Leila loves this book

One of the things I like about this type of book is that the main characters often have a secret identity.

To their classmates or teachers or parents, they’re just an ordinary kid—but when they’re not being watched, they’re doing something important and impactful. I love the tension of worrying that their secret identity might get found out. In this series, the main character’s secret identity is that she’s an accomplished and influential restaurant critic and no one knows, not even her parents. 

By Tara Dairman ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked All Four Stars as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

“A scrumptious gem of a story!”—Jennifer A. Nielsen, New York Times bestselling author of The False Prince
 
Meet Gladys Gatsby: New York’s toughest restaurant critic. (Just don’t tell anyone that she’s in sixth grade.)
 
Gladys Gatsby has been cooking gourmet dishes since the age of seven, only her fast-food-loving parents have no idea! Now she’s eleven, and after a crème brûlée accident (just a small fire), Gladys is cut off from the kitchen (and her allowance). She’s devastated but soon finds just the right opportunity to pay her parents back when she’s mistakenly contacted to write a restaurant…


Book cover of The Newspaper Axis: Six Press Barons Who Enabled Hitler

Matthew Pressman Author Of On Press: The Liberal Values That Shaped the News

From my list on power of the press to shape history.

Why am I passionate about this?

Journalism and history have been my dual obsessions since high school, and my work for the past 13 years has focused on the intersection between them. The pressures of journalism, its tremendous impact, and the extraordinary characters who tend to be drawn to the profession are endlessly fascinating to me. In my time as a PhD student, professor, researcher, and book review editor for an academic journal, I have read hundreds of books about American journalism and its past (maybe over 1,000 now that I think about it, but I haven’t kept count!). I’ve also reviewed several for the Washington Post. These are some of my favorites.

Matthew's book list on power of the press to shape history

Matthew Pressman Why Matthew loves this book

Some books center on an argument, some focus on narrative, and some revolve around characters. What impressed me about this book is that it does all three remarkably well.

I was amazed to learn how some of the most powerful publishers in the U.S. and U.K. either dismissed the Nazi threat or (like Lord Rothermere and the Daily Mail) openly cheered for Hitler.

It also helps that the five men and one woman included in this “axis” all had fascinating backgrounds and quirky personalities, which Olmsted presents in wonderfully concise sketches.

By Kathryn S. Olmsted ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Newspaper Axis as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

How six conservative media moguls hindered America and Britain from entering World War II

"A damning indictment. . . . The parallels with today's right-wing media, on both sides of the Atlantic, are unavoidable."-Matthew Pressman, Washington Post

"A first-rate work of history."-Ben Yagoda, Wall Street Journal

As World War II approached, the six most powerful media moguls in America and Britain tried to pressure their countries to ignore the fascist threat. The media empires of Robert McCormick, Joseph and Eleanor Patterson, and William Randolph Hearst spanned the United States, reaching tens of millions of Americans in print…


If you love Angele Christin...

Book cover of Ramón Ramirez's Dog: Reflections on Then and Now

Ramón Ramirez's Dog by David J. Dunford,

Ramon Ramirez’s Dog is a collection of essays written over the years about the adventures and misadventures, mostly outside but occasionally inside the diplomatic career of a U.S. ambassador. Common threads weaving the stories together are a desire for a life well-lived, balancing career with family and friends, keeping physically…

Book cover of Washington

Kimberly Voss Author Of Women Politicking Politely: Advancing Feminism in the 1960s and 1970s

From my list on post-World War II women, politics and journalism.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am driven to tell the stories of important but often forgotten women journalists from the 1940s through the 1970s. They were pioneers who also created deep connections in their communities. Over the past few years, I have published several books about women in mass media. My 2014 book documented the history of newspaper food editors– an often powerful and political position held almost exclusively by women. My third book, Women Politicking Politely looked at the experiences of pioneering women’s editors and women in politics which allows for a better perspective of women in journalism today and adds to women’s history scholarship.

Kimberly's book list on post-World War II women, politics and journalism

Kimberly Voss Why Kimberly loves this book

The book Washington chronicles the significant career of Meg Greenfield, an editorial page editor of The Washington Post. Greenfield, a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for commentary, wrote the book during the last two years of her life. Greenfield’s boss and close friend Katharine Graham contributed the foreword which provides context. Greenfield came to Washington in 1961 and was hired by the Post a few years later. Her editorials at the Post and her columns in Newsweek were witty and smart. Her stories provide a political picture of Washington, D.C. at the end of the American century. She was often at the place where change happened and tells the stories well. Greenfield’s book is a fascinating read about politics, journalism, and history.

By Meg Greenfield ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Washington as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

With Washington , the illustrious longtime editorial page editor of The Washington Post wrote an instant classic, a sociology of Washington, D.C., that is as wise as it is wry. Greenfield, a recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for commentary, wrote the book secretly in the final two years of her life. She told her literary executor, presidential historian Michael Beschloss, of her work and he has written an afterword telling the story of how the book came into being. Greenfield's close friend and employer, the late Katharine Graham, contributed a moving and personal foreword. Greenfield came to Washington in 1961,…


Book cover of Social Media and the Public Interest: Media Regulation in the Disinformation Age
Book cover of Regulating Platforms
Book cover of Advanced Introduction to Platform Economics

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