Alternative Media and Change

Abstract

While the term “alternative media” is still contested, these various media have become widespread and consequential in shaping politics and society. This issue of Journal of Communication Inquiry is about alternative media and the change they bring. Alternative media, defined as “news media produced by activists” (Atkinson, 2017) or “critical media” (Fuchs, 2010) are used to seek the goal of change worldwide and they are described to be “the lifeblood of modern social activism” (Atkinson, 2017) and capable of “advancing imagination” and bringing change (Fuchs, 2010). These media are critical of certain forms of domination and work outside the realm of established mass media. Alternative media have a mission in their core, and research seeks how this mission is pursued, adapted and accomplished or failed overtime. In the articles published in this issue we have a variety of perspectives from the impacts of these media on LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/ questioning) movements, and their discourse about injustice, to their autonomous characteristic, and their impacts on shaping celebrity discourses in society. These articles show how alternative media have become inevitable part of today’s social and political realities but still on their way to becoming more influential. In the first article published in this issue, Bandopadhyaya and Kenix argue that the emergence of the Internet and social media have made information within LGBTQ+ movements more visible and acceptable. The 29 activists, interviewed by these researchers, elaborate on social media’s role in amplifying their voice and engaging them with global movements. These activists argue that the Internet and social media platforms have made them more aware about themselves and their identities through reaching out to LGBTQ+members around the world. This research shows how nonmainstream media, and particularly social media, make members of a community more engaged, informed, and aware of their community. Mukherjee, Shah, and Dexter represent an explanatory case study elaborating the current impact that critical alternative media like feminist digital platforms of the global south have. These media can mobilize and dismantle normative discourses that support or normalize social injustice such as gender and sexual violence. This research shows how feminist digital platforms in India push content critical of oppressive systems and advocate contextually relevant social change. This research like the first article also attests the role of alternative media as catalysts for activists and activism. Editorial