Alternative media are media sources that differ from established forms of media, such as mainstream media or mass media, in terms of their content, production, or distribution.Downing, John (2001). Radical Media. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Alternative media includes many formats, including print, audio, film/video, online/digital and street art. Examples include the counter-culture zines of the 1960s, ethnic and indigenous media such as the First People's television network in Canada (later rebranded Aboriginal Peoples Television Network), and more recently online open publishing journalism sites such as Indymedia.
Sometimes the term "independent media" is used as a synonym, indicating independence from large news media corporations; however, "independent media" generally has a different meaning, indicating freedom of the press and independence from government control. In contrast to the mainstream media, alternative media tend to be "non-commercial projects that advocate the interests of those excluded from the mainstream", for example the poor, political and ethnic minorities, labor groups, and LGBT identities.Atton, Chris. (2002). Alternative Media. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. These media spread marginalized viewpoints, such as those heard in the progressive news program Democracy Now!. They also create identity-based communities, such as in the It Gets Better Project that was posted on YouTube in response to a rise in gay teen suicides at the time of its creation.
Alternative media challenge the dominant beliefs and values of a culture. They have been described as "counter-hegemonic" by adherents of Antonio Gramsci's theory of cultural hegemony. Since the definition of alternative media as merely counter to the mainstream is limiting, some approaches to the study of alternative media also address the question of how and where these media are created, as well as the dynamic relationship between the media and the participants that create and use them, and their creators.Lievrouw, L. (2011). Introduction. In Alternative and Activist New Media (pp. 1–27). Polity.Rodriguez, C. (2001). Fissures in the Mediascape. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.
Definitions There are various definitions of "alternative media". For example, John Downing, defines "radical alternative media" as media "that express an alternative vision to hegemonic policies, priorities, and perspectives".Downing, J. (2001). "Preface." In Radical Media. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. In his assessment of a variety of definitions for the term, Chris Atton notes repeatedly the importance of alternative media production originating from small-scale, counter-hegemonic groups and individuals.Atton, C. (2002). "Approaching Alternative Media: Theory and Methodology." In Alternative Media. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Christian Fuchs argues that alternative media must have four distinct properties. The first being that the audience of these media must be involved in the creation of what is put out in alternative media. The second is that it has to be different from the mainstream. The third is that it should create a perspective different from that of the state and major corporations. The fourth property is that alternative media must "establish different types of relationships with the market and/or the state."
As defined by Atton and Hamilton, alternative journalism "proceeds from dissatisfaction not only with the mainstream coverage of certain issues and topics but also with the epistemology of news. Its critique emphasizes alternatives to, inter alia, conventions of news sources and representation; the inverted pyramid of news texts; the hierarchical and capitalized economy of commercial journalism; the professional, elite basis of journalism as a practice; the professional norm of objectivity; and the subordinate role of the audience as a receiver."
Journalistic Practices says that alternative media "not only allow but also facilitate the participation (in its more radical meaning) of its members (or the community) in both the produced content and the content-producing organization.' In this sense, participation in alternative media as described and reflected upon by the participants in this study can best be understood as a form of active citizenship."
Common approaches and practices Approaches to the academic study of alternative media attempt to understand the ways in which these media are significant, each emphasizing a different aspect of media, including the role of the public sphere, social movements, and the participation by communities that create the media.
Democratic theory and the public sphere
One way of understanding alternative media is to consider their role in the process of democratic communication. Philosopher Jürgen Habermas proposed that a healthy democratic community requires a space where rational debate can take place between engaged citizens. It is essential that the dialogue in this public sphere occurs outside the control of any authority so that citizens can exchange ideas as equals.Habermas, J. (1991). The structural transformation of the public sphere: An inquiry into a category of bourgeois society. MIT press. This translates to the need for free speech and a free press.
In Habermas's idea of the public sphere, participation is open to everyone, all participants are considered equal, and any issue can be raised for debate; however, this view fails to note the inherent exclusion of women and minorities (and their interests) from the debate in the public sphere. In light of this social inequality, philosopher Nancy Fraser argues for the importance of multiple independent public spheres, in which members of subordinated groups can first deliberate their issues and concerns among themselves and later assert those issues into the larger public sphere. The alternative media associated with these counter-public spheres are critical in developing the needs and identity of the group and in challenging the larger dominant public sphere. A feminist counter-public sphere is, for example, responsible for circulating the view that women's issues such as domestic abuse and reproductive rights are deserving of debate in the larger public sphere.Fraser, N. (1990). Rethinking the public sphere: A contribution to the critique of actually existing democracy . Social text, 56-80.
Connections to subaltern studies There are related aims found in alternative media studies and subaltern studies, as a concern for disenfranchised and oppressed voices pervades both fields. Subaltern studies draw on Antonio Gramsci's discussion of "subaltern" groups, that is, groups of people considered to be of inferior rank socially, economically, and politically.Pandey G. (2000). "Voices from the Edge: The Struggle to Write Subaltern Histories." In Mapping Subaltern Studies and the Postcolonial. Ed. by Vinayak Chaturvedi. One of the most significant questions in subaltern studies is posed by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, "Can the subaltern speak?" which she asks in her seminal essay of the same name. Spivak investigates whether the subaltern has a voice within hegemonic political discourses, and if so if their voices are being heard, allowing them to participate. This is important, as the subaltern's ability to participate in politics and other social and cultural practices is key in establishing—as well as challenging—their subaltern status.Spivak, G. (2010). "Can the Subaltern Speak?" In Can the Subaltern Speak? Reflections on the History of an Idea. Ed. by Rosalind Russel. This particular body of scholarship is useful to the study and discussion of alternative media due to their shared preoccupation with the ability of disenfranchised peoples to participate and contribute to mainstream hegemonic discourses, especially in regards to ethnic and racial media in which these groups speak from a subaltern position.
This connection is strengthened in the work of alternative media scholar Clemencia Rodriguez. In her discussion of citizenship, Rodriguez comments that "Citizens have to enact their citizenship on a day-to-day basis, through their participation in everyday political practices...As citizens actively participate in actions that reshape their own identities, the identities of others, and their social environments, they produce power."Rodriguez, C. (2001). "From Alternative Media to 'Citizens' Media." In Fissures in the Mediascape. Creskill, NJ: Hampton Press. So it could be said that by subaltern groups creating alternative media, they are indeed expressing their citizenship, producing their power, and letting their voice be heard.
Genres Some alternative media can be associated with the American Left, the American Right, and various political positions in the United Kingdom. Primarily concerned with the growing role of new media in alternative media projects, communication scholar Leah Lievrouw identifies five genres of contemporary new media based alternative and activist media: culture jamming, alternative computing, participatory journalism, mediated mobilization, and commons knowledge.Lievrouw, L. (2011). Introduction. In Alternative and Activist New Media (pp. 1–27). Polity. (p.19)
Culture jamming generally attempts to critique popular cultures such as entertainment, advertising, and art. It tends to comment on issues of corporate capitalism and consumerism and seeks to provide political commentary. Characteristics of culture jamming texts include the appropriation or repurposing of images, video, sound, or text and that they are ironic or satirical in some sense.Lievrouw, L. (2011). Introduction. In Alternative and Activist New Media (pp. 1–27). Polity. (p.22-23) Culture jamming can come in the form of internet memes and guerrilla marketing. Alternative computing deals with the material infrastructure of informational and communications technologies. It seeks to critique and reconfigure systems with the intention of subverting or evading commercial and political restraints on open access to information and information technologies.Lievrouw, L. (2011). Chapter 4. In Alternative and Activist New Media (pp. 98–108). Polity. (98) Some examples of alternative computing are hacking, open source software or systems, and file sharing. Participatory journalism refers to web-based sources of critical or radical news either in the form of online news services or blogs. These alternative outlets of news often adopt the philosophies of citizen journalism and view themselves as providing an alternative to mainstream news and opinion.Lievrouw, L. (2011). Introduction. In Alternative and Activist New Media (pp. 1–27). Polity. (p.25) Participatory journalism projects may cover underreported groups and issues. Within this genre authors and readers of some of these alternative media projects have the ability contribute alike and therefore has the characteristic of being participatory or interactive. An example of participatory journalism is Indymedia and wearecgange.org. Mobilization media relate to communication practices that mobilization or organization social movements, identity, or cultural projects through the use of new media tools and platforms such as Facebook or YouTube. Characteristics of this genre include the cultivation of interpersonal networks, collective action towards social change, and making information much readily accessible. Commons knowledge as a genre refers to projects that provide alternatives to the traditional top-down creation and dissemination of knowledge. It seeks out and encourages the participation of multiple users, fostering forms of collaborative knowledge production and folksonomies.Lievrouw, L. (2011). Chapter 7. In Alternative and Activist New Media (pp. 178). Polity. (p.178) Wikipedia is an excellent example of this genre.