It is common knowledge that media suffers from the problem of being controlled by the few elites or influenced by political parties and corporations through shareholders and sponsorships. A need for a counter-narrative grew increasingly intolerable, leading to the creation of what is commonly referred to as “alternative journalism”. An example of such alternative journalism is “Independent Media Center” (Indymedia). It is an open publishing center, with writers from all over the world covering a wide range of topics. Interestingly, according to Indymedia’s site, the media outlet was founded in order to cover the Seattle protests against WTO truthfully and in an organized matter. This falls in line with the most important condition for a news producer to be considered an alternative journalism outlet; according to Forde (2011), alternative journalism is a solution to contradiction mainstream media, and having the ability to discuss alternative views and beliefs regarding certain topics. Furthermore, though Indymedia was founded in Seattle, its decentralization and expansion around the world solidifies its independence and freedom from any and all forms of control and censorship. Another interesting fact about Indymedia is that is non-profit. The center depends purely on donations to sustain its domain and counts on individuals, whoever they may be, to help in organizing, developing and maintaining the website. This reinforces their independence since it exonerates them of any accusations of being profit-driven or controlled by sponsors/shareholders and thus removes any issues that could result due to ownership.
References
Forde, S. (2011). Challenging the news: the journalism of alternative and community media. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
Website: https://indymedia.org/
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