Influencing Machine (book)

The Influencing Machine was released in hardcover in May 2011. A paperback edition with a new cover was released in May 2012. A tenth anniversary edition, with a new cover, interior revisions, new material, and a new afterword, was released in January 2021.^[2]

Much in the vein of Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics, Gladstone appears in the book as an illustrated character, taking the reader through two millennia of history — from the newspapers in Caesar's Rome to the penny press of the American Revolution and the activities of contemporary journalism. Issues discussed include bias, objectivity, misinformation, ethics, and a large chapter on war reporting. In a reference to the Trausk's "Influencing Machine," the book debunks the notion that “The Media” is an external force, outside of our control. Instead, it posits that the media is a mirror — sometimes a distorted one — reflecting society's beliefs and morals back at itself.

The Influencing Machine received recognition from magazines, newspapers, and websites such as The New Yorker,^[3] National Public Radio,^[4] the Associated Press,^[5] The Nation,^[6] Columbia Journalism Review,^[7] and many others.

The book was named one of the best comics/graphic novels of 2011 by Publishers Weekly^[8] and the Library Journal.^[9] It was listed on a number of 2011 holiday gift guides, including New York magazine^[10] and BoingBoing.^[11] It was selected for 1book140, The Atlantic.com's reading club.^[12]

The Influencing Machine has been selected as a common read by a number of universities, including Alaska Pacific University, American University,^[13] Millersville University,^[14] the University of Alaska Anchorage,^[15] and the University of Maryland.^[16]

The Influencing Machine has been translated into Korean,^[17] Italian,^[18] French,^[19] and German.^[20]

• The Influencing Machine (English paperback edition) ISBN 978-0393342468, W.W. Norton, May 2012
• Digesting the Media: Detailed History of Media; Eloquent Media Criticism (Korean edition), DoddleSaeghim, 2012
• Armi di Persuasione di Massa: Abbiamo i media che ci meritiamo (Italian edition) ISBN 978-8817058704, Rizzoli Lizard, February 2013
• La Machine à Influencer: Une historie des medias (French edition) ISBN 978-2-916207-96-4 Çà et Là, April 2014
• Der Beeinflussungsapparat (German edition) ISBN 9783981740004, Correctiv, April 2016
• The Influencing Machine (10th anniversary paperback edition) ISBN 978-0-393-54157-1, W.W. Norton, January 2021

• On the Media