This week we are looking at the very broad topic "alternative media" which can be located in all of the industries we have studied thus far: print journalism, radio, film/television, and music.
How to define "alternative"? As Downing says: “they break somebody’s rules (content, form, organization, production), although rarely all of them in every respect” and have “created new spaces for alternative voices that provide the focus both for specific community interests as well as for the contrary and the subversive”.
Have you come across what you consider to be alternative media either here in New Zealand or elsewhere?
What technologies have they deployed?
What communities have they represented and do you feel they have achieved their purpose of some kind of political transformation?
Also, in relation to the questions above and more, you may want to look online at the websites for documentaries Burma VJ and The End of the Line, both of which were designed by our visitor James Franklin.
Finally, a PhD student of ours, Jonathan Albright, just published an article on the use of Twitter in the Wall Street protests. I'm not sure if I understand it . . so any clarification from someone in class would be cool.
(http://theconversation.edu.au/did-twitter-censor-occupy-wall-street-3822)
See you Monday.
I'm not sure if CRACCUM, our student magazine, could be regarded as alternative media. It looks like one because it only represents we Auckland Uni students, and those stuff in the magazine couldn't be found in mainstream media or mass media, I think.
ReplyDeleteEvery week I pick up a new issue of CRACCUM on campus, and it might be the one I've come across most recently in terms of alternative media. Each issue presents loads of different stuff: report of current affairs within or relevant to our student community, such as students' protest and problems of Auckland public transport system; reviews of news, DVDs, music, theatre, video games, food, etc.; some jibber-jabber and something I don't know what they're talking about.
It's not a serious magazine, though. Most articles are written by and for students and don't need to be as serious as those in mainstream media. (I remember reading an editorial with many "F" words in it.) One of the most interesting parts of the magazine is a section called Letters. If you've got something to "yell", you could just send an email to the magazine. And if you could manage to keep it under 200 words, you might get a chance to see it in Letters section. Somehow it reminds me about Twitter which allows no more than 140 words per tweet. The difference is: in this magazine, you could make your voice heard within the student community, whereas on Twitter, you thoughts are sent directly but only to your friends - they may or may not "retweet" them to their friends.
Overall, I think CRACCUM is a magazine tells our stories in our own way or, it's not unacceptable to say, it somehow represents the "collective interests" of our student community.
BTW, the funding of CRACCUM might mainly come from print ads since it's free for students. I saw some ads of FlyBuys, RedBull, and UBS in the magazine recently. Also, according to the book A History of the University of Auckland, the name "CRACCUM" actually originated from the scrambled acronym of "Auckland University College Men's Common Room Committee". Interesting, isn't it?
To be honest，I think this topic is not so relevent to the original topic on the syllabus，but it is true that the “the impact of digitalisation on documentay”is one part of the effect of “alternative media”.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the alternative media is a non-mainstream voice from the mass or the public, it is a very convenient and fast way to express their opinions and "catharsis",I can see this phenonmenon very easily in China. It is well-known that in China, people donnot have the ability to broadcast their opinions through main stream media, so the internet offers a good way for people to vent. Although there is a severe censorship of Chinese authorities, citizens can have the "intelligence" to conforont the authorities and censorship by using the internet.
Actually, I will discuss that in an essay,but in the presentations , I will tell something about that, including the impact in documentary and film.
I will be back with a detailed comment later but couldn't blogs be thought of as a form of "alternative media"? Putting aside for a while the obvious candidates such as Hard News/Public Address which obviously do put out alternative views on mainstream issues, even our humble 'mediaindustriesclass' blog essentially fulfills the same functions - we are media students constructively debating, analysing current issues of the day and our perspectives are more likely to be aligned with the alternative than the mainstream.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point, Aalia. I suppose not only traditional blogs, but microblogs (e.g. Twitter) could be seen as a form of alternative media. I think my presentation tomorrow will be focusing on the latter.
ReplyDeleteI've come across quite few forms of alternative media through the years. One of them on the political spectrum would be Democracy Now (http://www.democracynow.org/), which I believe provides an essential source for less mainstream news and allows for perspectives to be voiced which are sometimes silenced on corporate-backed news outlets. The news programme airs on over 900 stations throughout the United States, yet this is how Democracy Now journalist Amy Goodman is treated at the Republican National Convention in 2008.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYjyvkR0bGQ
I also frequent a music site called Pitchfork (http://pitchfork.com/) which covers mostly independent music but also has its fair share of mainstream music coverage as well. It's actually become quite a force in the industry. A positive album review on the site has been known to exponentially increase record and concert sales for an artist.
I am still wrapping my head around the Occupy Wall Street protests, but I do find all of it quite fascinating. My understanding is that there is no set list of demands, and that is actually, for the time being, how many of its supporters would prefer it. There are factions of the movement, though, that would definitely feel more comfortable if there was some kind of concrete focus. Bernard Dolan, founder of Knowmore.org, an alternative media source which provides a database to research corporate business ethics and practices, drew up his own set of demands which I believe falls in line with the general principles of the protests.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.knowmore.org/wiki/index.php?title=A_Proposed_List_of_Demands
Here's a recent video from the Occupy Atlanta protests.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QZlp3eGMNI
I find it strange and almost cult-like, but I have not yet formed an opinion on the matter. I believe sound systems are not allowed at some of the Occupy gatherings, which is why they're utilizing this technique referred to as the "human microphone." John Lewis, the man currently waiting to see if he'll have a turn to speak, has done much to advance civil rights causes, yet he is denied the opportunity to address the crowd. On one hand, it would seem that much could be learned from his words. On the other hand, granting him the immediate audience he desired would have undermined one of the general principles of the movement, namely that no one person should be given more authority than another.
Annie, I just re-read your original comments and just realized you were probably only looking for clarification on the Albright article and not necessarily on the Occupy Wall Street movement itself. My mistake! I don't use Twitter, so I only have a limited understanding of it, but I think the article's basically saying that there's' a bit of outrage because #occupywallstreet had not been trending as high as many protesters felt it should have been on one of those most tense days of the demonstrations, with speculation arising that the data may have been tampered with. The higher the topic is trending, the more overage it will receive in the mainstream media... and I think this is what Occupy Wall Street supporters have been denied through this perceived censoring of data.
ReplyDeleteA website I came across was http://www.guerillamedia.co.nz/content/without-your-support-new-zealands-alternative-press-will-surely-die, which claim to be New Zealand's leading alternative press (Guerilla Media): "For Less than the price of two cups of coffee a week you can support New Zealand's LEADING alternative media reporter and videographer Vinny Eastwood".
ReplyDeleteVinny is better known as a gutsy videographer who would cover stories about New Zealand that nobody else had the guts to cover. Vinny has been working tirelessly (UNPAID) to bring us the real story behind the story. His courageous enthusiasm puts him in places few other dare to venture, asking the tough questions of people who would rather hide the truth from you.
Vinny has been on the cutting edge of alternative journalism for three years, recently expanding his reach through The Vinny Eastwood Show, Guerilla Media & "MR NEWS" (his on camera "alias").
His interviews with Kiwis include: John Banks, John Campbell, Pita Sharples, Michael Cullen, Jonathan Eisen (UNCENSORED), John Key & Helen Clark.
Vinny's philosophy is simple: "If the media won't do their job, don't complain, just replace them!"
It is evident that there are various forms of alternative media out there which enable citizens, especially in countries like China, to voice their opinions surrounding national issues etc that are unlikely to gain coverage in the mainstream media.
I also agree with Aalia's point that blogs can also be considered as an alternative media form because it allows us to converse and debate about issues that are of national/international concern.
Here's a video posted by Guerilla Media which I found quite interesting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7XJi2Ais7M (9/11 Truth New Zealand Ambush John Campbell Live!)
Another good summary is the wiki on Alternative Media. Something of an overview.
ReplyDelete