| Code | |
| Title | Alternative Media and the Conceptual Reconstruction of News |
| Author | Nicholas JANKOWSKI |
| Affiliation | Department of Communication,University of Nijmegen |
| Abstract |
Recent alternative media initiatives, especially Independent Media Centers, sometimes known as Indymedia, and Web-based
blogs, have begun to challenge professional journalistic notions of news and information. The news and information
provided by these initiatives contrasts sharply with regard to traditional news values such as objectivity, balanced
reporting, journalistic distance, and source attribution. In their place have emerged notions placing emphasis on
engagement, personal perspective, and an ideological anti-globalist perspective.
This paper and the related conference presentation delineate traditional formulations of the meaning of news and compare them to those practiced by alternative media. Findings from an exploratory analysis of alternative media content are presented that suggest the degree to which news in alternative media has changed from Its traditional journalistic conceptualization. Some of the implications of this conceptual transformation for traditional media professionals, movement activists and ordinary citizens are considered. |