Alternative media is any media not controlled by commercial operations or government agencies, including traditional outlets and online media. Its primary function is to offer different perspectives on issues. It emerged in the mid-20th century and has grown to include low-budget films, independent radio and television broadcasting, and online media. Alternative media often operates on limited budgets and serves niche reader bases. The internet has become a major platform for alternative media.
Alternative media is generally considered to be any type of media that is not under the control of a commercial operation or a union or government agency. This form of media can involve traditional outlets such as newspapers and magazines or radio, television and film. Alternative media can also involve the latest media from websites, e-books and e-magazines, streaming audio and video, or other media found online.
The primary function of alternative media is to offer a different perspective on what is presented by media under the control of a government or large corporation. At one time, alternative media was also known as anticultural or underground media, terms that helped identify media that offered opportunities for dissenting viewpoints and ideas to be shared outside the established media. This was often deemed necessary when other media alternatives were unwilling or unable to give these dissenting opinions equal time with the more widely held opinions.
While alternative media has been around for centuries, the concept didn’t begin to emerge as a specific form of media communications until the mid-20th century. As social unrest becomes more prominent in a number of countries, people with alternative viewpoints on issues such as race, religion, lifestyle, orientation, politics and social organization begin to use the small printing presses to create their own publications. Pamphlets, newspapers, and eventually magazines provided the basis for what was soon identified as fringe media, denoting the fact that these views were not generally held by the majority of the population. In the 1960s, alternative media branched out from print publications to include low-budget films, as well as independent radio and television broadcasting that was syndicated on low-frequency media.
Many publications in alternative media run on limited budgets which require the use of the most convenient means for printing and distributing materials. Over time, some of these underground or alternative publications build sizable reading bases and are able to increase the scope and quality of their work. Others remain publications that serve a niche reader base and continue to operate with relatively little resources.
One of the innovations of recent years has been the use of the Internet as a form of alternative media. While underground radio, television, and movies have been around for decades, the creation of alternative websites that focus on minority viewpoints in politics, music, fashion, lifestyle, and other areas has proliferated. Today, online media that addresses any idea, concept, or opinion can be found by conducting keyword searches using a reputable Internet browser. These online media continue to provide an opportunity to explore different understandings and ideas that are overlooked media or receive relatively little attention from more mainstream media.
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