The New Media Activists: Hijacking Journalism or Pioneering it?

By Anjula Razdan
Published on November 1, 2000

The New Media Activists:Hijacking Journalism or
Pioneering it?

Here come the new media activists, with their video cameras,
laptops, microphones and mobiles, feeding online for
up-to-the-minute ‘news.’ But can their marginal coverage be
anything more than empowering propaganda to bolster protest? In the
latest issue of the radical British magazineRed
Pepper,
Andrew Wasley asks major alternative media players
about the prospects of ‘indymedia’ gaining credibility among
readers and journalists.

While some, like producer Peter MacDonald, worry about these
‘so-called journalists broadcasting or writing material which is
clearly not impartial–blatant attempts at hijacking the issues to
suit radical aims,’ others argue that to compare it to a biased
corporate media is ridiculous. ‘All mainstream media news has an
agenda which is strictly adhered to,’ commented journalist Jim
Carey; ‘the biggest factor being the reliance on commercial
advertising for survival, which itself compromises the impartiality
claims.’

Whether journalists take it seriously or not, people are paying
attention. When the Seattle WTO protests broke last year, the very
first Independent Media Center website received an estimated 1.5
million hits, with over 500 people involved in running the
operation. Now Indymedia Centers are springing up all over the
globe.

Many respect this new journalism merely for trying something new.
‘Alternative media needs to operate in an alternative way,’ says
Undercurrent’s Paul O’Connor, ‘rejecting supposed notions of
accountability and impartiality–and directly challenging the
corporate media.’
–Amanda
Luker
Go there>>

Related: Seattle Independent Media
Center

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