"You've seen it all before. A malicious online rumor costs a company millions. A political sideshow derails the national news cycle and destroys a candidate. Some product or celebrity zooms from total obscurity to viral sensation. What you don't know is that someone is responsible for all this. Usually, someone like me. I'm a media manipulator. In a world where blogs control and distort the news, my job is to control blogs'as much as any one person can. In today's culture'

• 1) Blogs like Gawker, Buzzfeed, and the Huffington Post drive the media agenda.
• 2) Bloggers are slaves to money, technology, and deadlines.
• 3) Manipulators wield these levers to shape everything you read, see and watch'online and off.

"Why am I giving away these secrets? Because I'm tired of a world where blogs take indirect bribes, marketers help write the news, reckless journalists spread lies, and no one is accountable for any of it. I'm pulling back the curtain because I don't want anyone else to get blindsided. I'm going to explain exactly how the media really works. What you choose to do with this information is up to you."