Fordham University’s Donald McGannon Communication Research Center has chosen The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom (Yale University Press, 2006), by Yochai Benkler, as its recipient of the 2006 Award for Social and Ethical Relevance in Communications Policy Research, said Philip M. Napoli, Ph.D., associate professor of communications and media management, Graduate School of Business Administration, and the Center’s director.
Benkler, the Joseph M. Field ’55 Professor of Law at the Yale Law School, is a leading advocate of the use of blogs and other modes of participatory communication that offer citizens more means of self-expression and information-sharing. His book explores the political, cultural and economical implications of this type of new media environment.
“Wealth of Networks has already proven to be an enormously important book and promises to continue to be influential for years to come,” said Napoli.
The Donald McGannon Book Award honors the best in book-length research in the field of communications policy. The award carries with it a cash prize and is named in honor of Donald H. McGannon, Esq. (FCRH ’40, LAW ’47), former CEO of Westinghouse Broadcasting. Previous winners include Investigated Reporting (University of Illinois Press, 2005) by Chad Raphael, and Prometheus Wired (University of Chicago Press, 2001) by Darin Barney.
Fordham’s McGannon Center was founded in 1986 to conduct, support, reward and disseminate research on communications policy and ethics, with special emphasis on the public interest. More information about the McGannon Center can be found at its website.
