Omar Bennett
The alternative press is a broad term for news sources that offer perspectives outside of traditional, mainstream media. Alternative media is often defined by what it is not—it is not corporate-owned, and it is not profit-driven. Alternative press newspapers may have a political perspective, or they may represent a particular cultural or ethnic community. They can be small-scale, independent publishers that counterbalance the corporate media. Alternative media can be participatory, allowing citizens to be active in their civic engagement and creative expression, and to put their right to communication into practice. Alternative media can also be a manifestation of participatory culture, with citizens acting as contributors or producers.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Not mainstream or corporate-owned | |
| Has a political perspective | Right-wing, left-wing, dissident |
| Represents a particular cultural or ethnic community | African, Caribbean, African-American, Arab, Middle Eastern, Asian, Pacific Islander, European, Hispanic, Jewish, Native American, Chinese, Czech, French, German, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Slovak, British |
| Covers gender and sexuality | Women's liberation organisations, LGBT |
| Operates independently of corporate control | |
| Provides diverse viewpoints | |
| Covers stories overlooked by mainstream outlets | Occupy movement |
| Presents news from unique angles | |
| Promotes grassroots movements and community-related issues | |
| Produced by the people it represents | |
| Advocates for social change |
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What You'll Learn
Ethnic and minority media
Academic Yu Shi offers an operational definition of ethnic media: "Ethnic media are often regarded as media by and for ethnics in a host country with content in ethnic languages." Shi further adds that ethnic media can be published by large ethnic media groups or small, organic ethnic communities. Inga Buchbinder of New America Media adds to this definition: "Our organization defines it most as a publication, whether that’s news, television, radio, online, print, magazine—any sort of publication that caters to a specific ethnic community. And it could be in-language…or it could be bilingual that reaches a very specific community."
Ethnic media circulates within different sectors, including indigenous nations and communities, recent migrants, and settled subordinate ethnic groups. It plays a crucial role in promoting cultural expression, including musical culture and religious expression, which can act as a media force in the relationship between the ethnic majority and minorities.
Examples of ethnic and minority media outlets include Black Enterprise Magazine, Essence Magazine, Latina Magazine, Indian Country Today (a Native American newspaper), and The Jewish Daily Forward. These publications cater to specific ethnic communities and provide content that resonates with their unique needs, values, and cultural nuances.
The alternative press, in general, is often defined by what it is not—it is typically not mainstream or corporate-owned. It may have a political perspective or represent a particular cultural or ethnic community. The alternative press seeks to provide perspectives that differ from those of the conventional press and may advocate for social or political change.
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Alternative media and democracy
Alternative media is a broad term that refers to news sources that offer perspectives outside of traditional, mainstream media. It is often defined by what it is not—that is, it is not mainstream or corporate-owned. Alternative media outlets are often independent and small, and they may have a particular political perspective or represent a specific cultural or ethnic community. They may also be distinguished by their means of production and ownership, and whether or not they seek social or political change.
The alternative press, or dissident press, has been described as publications that offer "'views that differ from those of the conventional press'. They may present "alternative social actors" such as the poor, the oppressed, or the marginalized as the "main subjects of the news". The grassroots press, for example, is produced by the people whose concerns it represents, giving it a position of engagement and direct participation.
The role of alternative media in democracy is significant. Access to affordable, balanced, and objective media is key to a healthy democracy. Citizens use media to stay informed about their communities, to monitor government and corporate activities, and to play active, informed roles in society. Libraries, in particular, serve as conduits to information about political and social issues, encouraging community debate and helping people make choices.
In the digital age, social media platforms have also become important tools for political organisations to promote their messages, activate members, and reach new audiences. Platforms like Discord, Mastodon, Telegram, and BlueSky offer alternative ways for political organisations to engage and grow their audience.
Examples of alternative media outlets include Mother Jones, an independent, non-profit magazine covering social justice, the environment, politics, and culture; Democracy Now!, an award-winning independent and international news source aired on radio and community public access TV; and The American Prospect, which provides liberal perspectives on democracy, a just society, and politics.
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Alternative media and social change
The alternative press is often defined by what it is not—it is not mainstream or corporate-owned. Alternative media is participatory, allowing citizens to be active in media production and putting their right to communication into practice. This fosters civic engagement and creative expression, furthering democracy.
The alternative press can be understood as consisting of two broad areas: the "advocacy press" and the "grassroots press". The advocacy press presents alternative social actors (the poor, the oppressed, the marginalized, etc.) as the main subjects of the news, while the grassroots press is produced by the people whose concerns it represents, giving it a position of engagement and direct participation.
The alternative press has been described as ""counter-hegemonic", expressing alternative visions to hegemonic policies, priorities, and perspectives. It offers dissident viewpoints that differ from those of the conventional press. This includes historical newspapers like the *Philadelphia Tribune*, *Chicago Defender*, and *Los Angeles Sentinel*, which covered African-American communities, and the *San Francisco/Bay Area Gay and Lesbian Serial Collection*, which covered the LGBTQ+ community.
Alternative media is often created by small-scale, counter-hegemonic groups and individuals, and it may seek to bring about social change. For example, in the case of the Occupy movement, which protested against social and economic inequality, alternative media focused on what the demonstrators were trying to accomplish, while mainstream media used confusion as the dominant frame.
The line between alternative and established media has blurred in recent years, with some alternative media sites professionalizing and employing similar editorial routines as traditional newsrooms. However, the lack of professionalization in many alternative media outlets can lead to challenges such as poor production resources, inexperienced reporters, and slow editorial decision-making processes.
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Alternative media and participatory culture
Alternative media is often defined by what it is not—that is, it is not mainstream or corporate-owned. Alternative media outlets often view themselves as providing an alternative to mainstream news and opinion. They may have a political perspective or represent a particular cultural or ethnic community. For instance, African Americans historically created local publications like the Chicago Defender to protect citizens from discriminatory practices by police and policymakers, while Jet and Ebony magazines served to empower the national black identity.
The concept of participatory culture is not new, predating the internet. Amateur Press Associations, for instance, are a form of participatory culture that emerged in the 19th century. Members of such associations typeset and print their own publications, which are mailed through a network of subscribers. Zines, community-supported radio stations, and other types of projects were predecessors of blogs, podcasts, wikis, and social networks.
Today, web services such as Tumblr, Imgur, Reddit, Medium, TikTok, and YouTube, among others, allow users to distribute original content to wider audiences, making media production more participatory. Alternative media are also created by participatory journalism as citizens play an active role in collecting, reporting, analyzing, and disseminating news and information. Participatory journalism projects may cover underreported groups and issues. Within this genre, authors and readers of some alternative media projects have the ability to contribute alike, making the projects participatory or interactive. An example of participatory journalism is Indymedia and wearecgange.org.
Recent research has highlighted the emergence of "alternative social media" platforms, which can offer more expansive participatory cultures than corporate platforms. An example of this is Scuttlebutt, a decentralized, open-source social media platform. However, such platforms also involve new kinds of participatory challenges, such as requiring high technological literacy.
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Alternative media and corporate ownership
The alternative press is often defined by what it is not—it is not mainstream or corporate-owned. Alternative media, therefore, represents a counterbalance to the corporate media. It expresses ideas that are not accepted or available in the corporate and government mainstream.
Charles Willett, founder of Counterpoise and author of numerous articles on the alternative press, suggests that the Alternative Press expresses:
> whatever ideas lie beyond the pale, whatever is not accepted, not permitted, not available in the corporate and government mainstream.
Nancy Kranich suggests that "alternative" is the term "most apt" to describe small and independent publishers since these publishers "counterbalance the corporate media". Debates about the differences between mainstream and alternative media often see mainstream media as "maximizing audiences by appealing to safe, conventional formulas" and alternative media as "foregoing the comfortable, depoliticizing formulas to advocate programs of social change".
The alternative press may have a political perspective or it may represent a particular cultural or ethnic community. It may also be defined by its means of production and ownership, whether or not it seeks social or political change, and whether or not it intends to generate a profit.
Corporate control of media refers to the ownership of media outlets—whether television channels, newspapers, or digital platforms—by large business conglomerates. Over the past few decades, an increasing concentration of media ownership has occurred globally, where a few corporations or wealthy individuals hold significant stakes in multiple media entities. For example, in 2007, CTVglobemedia, Rogers Media and Quebecor all expanded significantly through the acquisitions of CHUM Limited, CityTV and Osprey Media, respectively. In 2010, Canwest Global Communications, having filed for bankruptcy, sold its television assets to Shaw (a new subsidiary, Shaw Media) and spun off its newspaper holdings into Postmedia Network, a new company founded by the National Post's CEO Paul Godfrey.
The increasing role of corporate ownership in shaping the content we consume is hard to ignore. Corporate control of media can affect the news, the public's trust in media, and even the nature of democracy itself. When powerful corporations have the ability to shape public perception, they can influence public opinion on critical issues, ranging from climate change to social justice. This can result in a situation where the media serves as a tool for promoting specific corporate agendas rather than acting as an independent and unbiased source of information.
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Frequently asked questions
Alternative press, or alternative media, refers to news sources that offer perspectives outside of traditional, mainstream newspapers. They are often defined by what they are not, i.e., not corporate-owned or mainstream.
Alternative media is often created by small-scale, independent publishers and counter-hegemonic groups and individuals. They may have a political perspective or represent a particular cultural or ethnic community. They are also characterised by their means of production, ownership, and whether they seek social or political change.
Examples of alternative press include ethnic American newspapers, such as those from the Balch Collection (1799-1971) which represent immigrant communities, and the Chicago Foreign Language Press Survey (1942) which translated and classified news articles from Chicago's foreign-language press. Other examples include the Whole Earth, the Boston Phoenix, and Mother Jones.
Diversity in news content is considered key to fulfilling the news media's democratic role in society. Alternative media contributes to this diversity by providing dissident viewpoints and representing disenfranchised and oppressed voices. They also foster participation and allow citizens to be active in media production, further enhancing democracy, civic engagement, and creative expression.
The alternative press provides a different perspective on social movements compared to mainstream media. For example, during the Occupy movement, mainstream media focused on the confusion surrounding the event, while alternative media highlighted the demonstrators' goals and what they were trying to accomplish.
