Alternative Journalism: (Journalism Studies: Key Texts)

"A provocative, inspiring and challenging intervention in both journalism and media studies.... Alternative Journalism is that rare book that services students as much as scholars. It widens the trajectory of media studies and creates different modes of reading, writing and thinking... It offers an alternative history beyond the tales of great men, great newspapers, great editors and great technologies. It adds value and content to overused and ambiguous words such as "community" and "citizenship" and captures the spark of new information environments." - THE, (Times Higher Education) Alternative Journalism investigates and analyses the diverse forms and genres of journalism that have arisen as challenges to mainstream news coverage. From the radical content of emancipatory media to the dizzying range of citizen journalist blogs and fanzine subcultures, this book charts the historical and cultural practices of this diverse and globalized phenomenon. This exploration goes to the heart of journalism itself, prompting a critical inquiry into the epistemology of news, the professional norms of objectivity, the elite basis of journalism and the hierarchical commerce of news production. In investigating the challenges to media power presented by alternative journalism, Atton addresses not just the issues of politics and empowerment but also the journalism of popular culture and the everyday. The result is essential reading for students of journalism - both mainstream and alternative.

Table of Contents:
The Historicisation of Alternative Journalism Political-economic Pressures That Shape Alternative Journalism Who are Alternative Journalists? A Social Demographic Survey Multiple Policies, Multiple Forms, Multiple Challenges Contemporary Practices of Alternative Journalism Alternative Journalism in the World: A Comparative Survey Theorising Alternative Journalism Future Directions Alternative Journalism: A Critical Bibliography

About the Author :
Chris Atton is Professor of Media and Culture in the School of Arts and Creative Industries of Edinburgh Napier University.  His research is primarily interested in popular culture that is produced by "ordinary," non-professional writers and editors of fanzines, radical newspapers, independent publishers and social media.  He is particularly interested in how audiences and fan communities make sense of popular culture through their own writing.  He has made special studies of music fanzines, radical political newspapers and the use of the internet for the distribution of "amateur ideas."  His books include Alternative Media (Sage, 2002) and Alternative Journalism (Sage, 2008, with James F. Hamilton).

Review :
A provocative, inspiring and challenging intervention in both journalism and media studies.... Alternative Journalism is the rare book that services students as much as scholars. It widens the trajectory of media studies and creates different modes of reading, writing and thinking... Writing a textbook is tough. Writing a textbook that enables the development of new knowledge is rare and important... It offers an alternative history beyond the tales of great men, great newspapers, great editors and great technologies. It adds value and content to overused and ambiguous words such as "community" and "citizenship" and captures the spark of new information environments. A key text for journalism and media studies students who want to explore and understand the history, theory and practice of alternative journalism. It contains some excellent examples and case studies, inspiring people to think about how alternative journalists all over the world have sought to challenge and redefine mainstream practices. Atton and Hamilton offer a rich, textured account of alternative journalism. They steer clear of cramped conceptions of "journalism" and "alternative" and instead open up the discussion to a wide range of public communication, from pamphlets to blogs. More than that, Atton and Hamilton provide an intellectually engaging framework for their examination of alternative journalism, a context in which they explain what others have merely described. For journalism scholars, Alternative Journalism offers important insights into the bases and practices of alternative journalists. This is not only relevant to people working in this broader field of community/radical/grassroots/alternative media, but also to colleagues analysing mainstream media practices. Considering the significant rise in scholarship about all alternative media forms, primarily in response to the increased opportunity for internet-based democratic media projects and ongoing discussions about the lack of quality journalism occuring in the mainstream, this work will make an important addition to reading lists for many advanced-level journalism theory (and some practice) courses... Atton and Hamilton offer the first comprehensive examination of alternative journalism globally, and the work will inform scholarly analysis of this burgeoning research field for years to come. Alternative Journalism′s investigation of journalism forms that have developed in opposition to mainstream news coverage is an outstanding book. It provides a competent overview of alternative journalism across the globe, expanding and stimulating critical inquiry into many areas of journalism studies, from less-explored epistemology of news to much discussed questions of professional objectivity… The authors skillfully guide the reader towards the idea that alternative media represent not only the social practice of radical democracy, but also the social practice of citizen construction and journalistic deliberation, an argument that will attract not only students and teachers, but everyone interested in developing a deeper understanding of contemporary media.