In the first of an in-depth narrative series that will illuminate key moments in journalism's rough evolution in the age of the Internet, Michael Shapiro tells the little known inside story of the San Jose Mercury News, which brilliantly seized the moment yet didn't know what to do with it, and then, sadly, released its grasp.
Shapiro sheds light on the rise and fall of the Mercury's owner, Knight-Ridder, which rose to dizzying business and journalistic heights, only to crash, a victim of the great disruption. Was it inevitable, or were key mistakes made and opportunities missed?