The Political Economy of Alternative Media

The Political Economy of Alternative Media is a powerful investigation of how activists from Tokyo to São Paulo to Athens and beyond organize and sustain politically resistant media projects and horizons within the economic conditions of digital capitalism. Building from the political economy of communication tradition and forging a new intersectional activist media studies approach, the volume’s vibrant case studies track activist organization, funding and decision-making models, work and the division of labor, intersectional power relations, and media imaginaries. Refusing both extreme techno-optimist and techno-pessimist assessments of social media and social movement activism, Jeppesen and her research team illuminate the convergences and divergences between dreary economic conditions and inspiring political ambitions, contemplating the constraints and possibilities faced by activists making media, trying to change the world for the better. This is essential reading for alternative media scholars looking for a bold new typology, and for media activists grappling with what it means to resist within constraints. A vital resource for understanding how activism is playing out within and against, and pointing beyond, the real conditions of digital capitalism.

Tanner Mirrlees, Professor of Communication and Digital Media Studies, Author of Work in the Digital Media and Entertainment Industries: A Critical Introduction

The Political Economy of Alternative Media is a timely contribution to discussions about the changing structures of alternative and independent media in a communication landscape increasingly dominated by large corporations. The book offers analytically sound, empirically grounded reflections about the recent history of alternative media globally.

Paola Sartoretto, Associate Professor in Media and Communication, School of Education and Communication, Jönköping University, Sweden

The Media Action Research Group’s book is a major study of the realities of left-wing media. Combining Critical Political Economy of the Media and Participatory Communicative Action Research for conducting 80 interviews in 11 countries, the study shows in a meticulous manner how the organisation, funding, labor, power, and imaginaries of such media work. This book is a must-read for everyone who cares about a better media world and saving democracy in the times of fake news and the new authoritarianism.

Prof. Christian Fuchs, Author of Social Media: A Critical Introduction and Media, Economy and Society: A Critical Introduction

This is an impressively broad and deeply grounded exploration of alternative media, born of the Media Action Research Group’s engagement with 80 activists in 11 countries. It vividly captures a turbulent moment when global crises collided with innovations in activist media and uneasy encounters with corporate platforms. A timely and original contribution that will inspire scholars, students, and practitioners alike.

Emiliano Treré, Distinguished ATRAE Researcher, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain