What are Alternative Media

1
(No Transcript)
2
What are Alternative Media?

• Formerly the dissident press

• Anyone can be a publisher

• Heavy use by Generation Y

3
Why Study Alternative Media?

• Increased consumer preference

• Influence on socio-cultural views

• Political effect

4
Sampling Frame How Derived?

• Recommendation by Chris Atton

• Newspaper / Magazine reviews

• Current-event-oriented agencies

• Longevity relative popularity

5
Sites Evaluated

• www.alternet.org

• http//counterpunch.com

• www.dailykos.com

• www.drudgereport.com

• www.indymedia.org

• www.instapundit.com

6
Sites Evaluated

• www.mediachannel.org

• www.motherjones.com

• www.moveon.org

• www.nationalreview.com

• www.oneworld.net

• www.papertiger.org

7
Sites Evaluated

• www.progressive.com

• www.rense.com

• www.schnews.org.uk

• http//slate.msn.com

• www.squall.co.uk

• www.villagevoice.com

8
Procedures

• Content analysis of 18 Alt Media sites

• Timeframe June 7 June 19, 2004

• Unit of analysis Entire site w/index focus

• Coders visited each site 4 times

• Secondary coder checked reliability

• Most variables coded on 7-point Likert scale

• Analyses performed with SPSS software

9
Assessment Difficulties

• Alt Media defy easy classification

• Revenue circulation goals differ

• Non-traditional marketing

• Difficulty applying quantitative measures

10
Key Variables

• Self-presentation

• Political Ideology

• Journalistic Diversity Objectivity

• Degree of Professionalism

• Use of graphics

• Update schedule

• Iraqi War / President Bush / Reagan death

11
Results

• 78 do not self-brand as radical / extreme

• Almost all sites were irreverent of existing
  social order, using punditry humor

• Exception OneWorld.net

• Revenue generation greatly varied

• Non-advertiser supported liberal

• Most sites were liberal in tone

• Exception Drudge, National Review, Slate

12
Results

• 80 advocated liberalized social change

• Traditional editorial objectivity - LOW

• 4 sites had responsible fact-sourcing

• The most non-objective produced with
  horizontal production model

• Non-advertiser supported liberal

• Mostly anti-big-media

• Most are polarizing not uniting

13
War in Iraq

• Half of the sites featured news, information
  opinion on Iraqi War

• Info usually atop Index page / very visible

• Most werent concerned with hourly news

14
War Views vs. Editorial Diversity
15
Bush-bashing

• All but 5 sites engaged in Bush-bashing

• Notable MoveOn.org

• 13 of 18 sites proffered no alternative
  candidate or preferred party stance

• 14 sites Anybody but Bush

16
Bush-bashing
Source Rense.com
17
Bush-bashing
Source Squall.co.uk
18
Bush-bashing

• When used as a dependent variable in a one-way
  ANOVABush-bashing largely explained by

• Sites anti-war sentiment (p

• Liberalness of political rhetoric (p

19
Conclusions

• Whats the alternative?

• Eager to change societyfew state how

• Quick to differentiate themselves from
  traditional media

• Strive to embolden social consciousness

• Demographics of new media users suggests the
  importance of alt media

• Future research End user effects

20
Semantic Touchstones
Vitriolic
Indulgent
Insurgent
Activist
Adversarial
Cynical
Anti-sites
Resistance
Anti-Partisan
Provocative Rhetoric to Sting