The Tech-Media Hybrid

Name: The Tech-Media Hybrid
Price: 57.95 AUD
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ISBN: 9780231207270

Google's News Ambition

Qun Wang

$57.95

Paperback

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English

Columbia University Press
23 February 2026

Media studies; Press & journalism; Digital lifestyle

Google is typically thought of as a tech giant and the world's largest search engine, but it was also among the first tech companies to invest in news. After 9/11, the company recognized the economic and social value of up-to-the-minute information and began to incorporate news into its business. Google News-built on automation, algorithms, aggregation, and the unbundling and rebundling of news-and Google's other news-related initiatives went on to play a major role in shaping the information ecosystem of the twenty-first century.

In The Tech-Media Hybrid, Qun Wang examines Google's engagement with news across more than two decades, tracing the company's complicated relationship with the news industry. She shows how Google developed a push-and-pull relationship with the media sector, boosting its visibility while also competing against it and establishing new norms. What the company calls the ""Google way"" of experiencing news has exerted a profound influence on traditional media; Google's news ambitions, in turn, have been shaped by the global news industry's actions and reactions at every step. Shedding new light on the vast transformations of the past quarter century, this multimethod interdisciplinary book also offers insight into how the news environment might evolve in the era of AI.

By: Qun Wang
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 140mm,
ISBN: 9780231207270
ISBN 10: 0231207271
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 23 February 2026
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Qun Wang, a former TV anchor, journalist, and news director, is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University.

Reviews for The Tech-Media Hybrid: Google's News Ambition

Google News has long been one of the most significant technological intermediaries between news producers and news consumers. Qun Wang provides a much-needed in-depth analysis that covers everything from history, to legal issues, to strategy; and takes us from the service’s origins all the way to the current AI age. This is a valuable contribution to our understanding of the continued blurring of the boundary separating media and technology. -- Philip M. Napoli, James R. Shepley Professor of Public Policy and Director, DeWitt Walace Center for Media & Democracy, Duke University This important book takes us from the early days of Google to the new age of Generative AI, documenting how Google's ever-changing approach to news is driven by its quest for institutional power. A valuable read showing how our tech platforms, media, and democracy are intertwined. -- Mor Naaman, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and the Don and Mibs Follett professor of information science at Cornell Tech