Key Dimensions of Alternative News Media

Abstract

This article proposes a definition of alternative news media and suggests routes for further research. It complements and extends previous conceptualizations in research on alternative media and outlines an umbrella definition of this phenomenon aimed to inspire contemporary research and scholarly debate. Previous research has been guided by a 'progressive' perspective as a form of resistance against 'bourgeois' hegemonic discourse. Such normative evaluations have in turn limited how the phenomenon has been studied empirically, by limiting the scope of research so that important contemporary phenomena fall outside the theoretical map. Conceptualizing alternative news media in the present hybrid and polarized media environment, we first propose a non-normative, multilevel relational definition: Alternative news media position themselves as correctives of the mainstream news media, as expressed in editorial agendas or statements and/or are perceived as such by their audiences or third-parties. This counter-hegemonic alternativeness can emerge on the macro level of societal function, the meso-level of organizations and/or the micro level of news content and producers. Second, demonstrating why this umbrella definition is fruitful in the changing media environment characterized by boundary struggles, crisis in legacy news media and mushrooming of alternative news outlets, we highlight research gaps and propose future research.

Populist Attitudes and Selective Exposure to Online News: A Cross-Country Analysis Combining Web Tracking and Surveys

“…While many online news providers have a professional staff, others lack journalistic quality. Outlets regarded as "fake news," "junk news," or "alternative media" in the literature are the most notorious sources of dubious political information (Allcott and Gentzkow 2017;Guess et al 2018;Holt et al 2019). At the same time, defining them is fraught with difficulty.…”

Boundary Work: Intermedia Agenda-Setting Between Right-Wing Alternative Media and Professional Journalism

“…Historically, the scholarly focus has been on left-wing alternative media, highlighting its potential to empower citizens by giving them the opportunity to advocate for social justice outside of the hegemonic mainstream media (Fuchs 2010;Haas 2004;Negt and Kluge 1972). As pointed out by Holt, Figenschou, and Frischlich (2019), early scholarly understandings presented mainstream and alternative media as binary oppositions; while alternative media were characterised as open, democratic and non-hierarchical advocates for social justice, mainstream media were characterised as uniform, profit-seeking, hierarchical, elitist and exclusive. More recent studies, however, have nuanced this binary approach, describing the relationship between mainstream and alternative media as a continuum rather than in terms of separate categories (Atton 2002a(Atton , 2002bDowning 2003;Holt, Figenschou, and Frischlich 2019;Kenix 2011).…”

“…As pointed out by Holt, Figenschou, and Frischlich (2019), early scholarly understandings presented mainstream and alternative media as binary oppositions; while alternative media were characterised as open, democratic and non-hierarchical advocates for social justice, mainstream media were characterised as uniform, profit-seeking, hierarchical, elitist and exclusive. More recent studies, however, have nuanced this binary approach, describing the relationship between mainstream and alternative media as a continuum rather than in terms of separate categories (Atton 2002a(Atton , 2002bDowning 2003;Holt, Figenschou, and Frischlich 2019;Kenix 2011). According to Holt (2019), this concept is particularly relevant in the contexts of hybrid media systems (Chadwick 2013), where it is sometimes difficult to distinguish professional journalism from similar practices.…”

“…"Media of different positions that promise to oppose what they see as dominant, influential and agenda setting news media that shape the worldviews of citizens in a way that they don't agree with and therefore seek to counter". Such a conceptualisation also allows for the inclusion of right-wing initiatives, which were previously neglected in the scholarly conceptualisations of alternative media (Atton 2006;Holt, Figenschou, and Frischlich 2019).…”

Public Acceptance of Renewable Energy Sources: a Case Study from the Czech Republic

“…Given that most of traditional media are also present on the internet, however, the relation of opinions and traditional media was statistically insignificant, we might suppose that alternative media form the negative opinion on renewables in their function to replace traditional sources. Traditionally, alternative news media are viewed and positioned as correctives of the mainstream news media (Holt et al [47]), thus their interpretation is likely to be more critical. More research needs to be done on media framing of the renewables in alternative media.…”