– Nick Davies
Nick Davies was a European journalist who was the primary investigator behind breaking the News International phone hacking scandal. There's not much questioning his bona-fides.
While this predates his work on the phone hacking scandal by about two years, it's still rather useful. It documents a history of the news industry within the wake of rapid corporate media consolidation, with the effects it has on media quality and public assurance. It is a different perspective one must take when trying to study the rise of the public relations industry and the function for institutions of publicity.