Alternative Journalism

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).

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.

• The Historicisation of Alternative JournalismPolitical-economic Pressures That Shape Alternative JournalismWho are Alternative Journalists? A Social Demographic SurveyMultiple Policies, Multiple Forms, Multiple ChallengesContemporary Practices of Alternative JournalismAlternative Journalism in the World: A Comparative SurveyTheorising Alternative JournalismFuture DirectionsAlternative Journalism: A Critical Bibliography