Alternative Media and Politics of Resistance: A Communication Perspective

Atkinson (media and communication, Bowling Green State U.) has spent the past decade connecting two lines of research concerning alternative media and social movements--the first concerning the role of alternative media in the construction of resistance within new social movements and the second dealing with the performance of resistance by new social movement activists--and this volume synthesizes the results of those efforts. The goals of the work are to outline the history of social movement and alternative media research in the fields of communication, journalism, and media studies; provide a theoretical framework for understanding the role of alternative media in shaping the communicative strategies of social movement networks; describe the types of alternative media content that shape the construction and performance of resistance; and examine the impact of alternative media and activists' performance of resistance on the contemporary political landscape. The analysis is based upon fieldwork carried out among social movement activists in two mid-sized American cities, one in the Midwest and the other in the Northeast. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)