“I'm Doing this to Change the World”: journalism in alternative and mainstream media

Battling Mainstream Media, Commentators and Organized Debaters: Experiences from Citizens’ Online Opinion Writing in Sweden

“…Many of the purposes mentioned are in line with what alternative media producers stated as their motivations in a study by Harcup (2005): rage, contributing to the political and dissatisfaction with the mainstream media. The writers in Harcup's study were, however, both professional journalists and writers in the alternative media.…”

Communicating Critique: Toward a Conceptualization of Journalistic Criticism

“…Correspondingly, when looking into the dynamics of journalistic work, the terms ''journalistic criticism'' or ''oppositional journalism'' are often used in communication research to describe news media that stand against the establishment, point out injustices, and in some cases offer solutions or alternative ways of thinking (Hamilton, 2000;Harcup, 2005). The journalistic endeavor of providing critical coverage has been explored within larger cultural and political contexts concerning the timing of such criticism (conflicts and war versus routine) and the legitimacy of its aiming at political institutions (Hallin, 1984(Hallin, , 1986.…”

Advocate, Copycatting or Simply Pragmatic: Reconceptualising Contemporary 'Marginal' Journalism(s)

“…The former constitute a "newsgathering net" which constitutes reporting personnel and equipment (Tuchman, 1978), the typification of newsworthy events (Molotch and Lester, 1981), inter-relationships with advertisers and other institutions (Fishman, 1980) and sources (Soloski, 1989) while the latter draw on objectivity and its associated norms of balance and impartiality that require journalists to report news "without commenting on it, slanting it, or shaping its formulation in any way" (Schudson 2001: 150). Scholars have found that the interplay between these factors generates "biased", "constructed", "commoditised", "palliative", "comforting", "simplified" and "de-contextualised" news content (Murdock and Golding, 1977;McNair, 1998;Harcup, 2005) which "undermines intelligent and rational debate" (Curran, 2002: 226).…”

“…To Atton (2002: 9 -10), alternative journalism can be seen as "a blanket term [whose] strength lies in the fact that it can encompass far more" forms of journalism than other terms. But, he qualifies this, noting that "[t]o deploy 'alternative' as an analytical term, however, might afford us little more specificity than saying 'non-mainstream '" journalism (ibid Other scholars are wary of the term because they think it too often positions marginal journalism(s) in a rigid dichotomous relationship with professional journalistic practice which, they argue, is not accurate owing to blurring boundaries in practice and aims (Eliasoph, 1997;Harcup, 2005). Still other commentators have identified that some journalists outside established media consider their role either to be supplementary to mainstream media corporations or even as that of main providers of specific and relevant outputs to certain members of diverse cultural groups and that such journalists "specifically reflect [the] political and aesthetic interests [of the groups they serve]" (Downing & Husband 2005: 210).…”