The J Word 4.3: Debates of "Alternative" News

This episode unpacks current debates on the meanings, roles, and futures of alternative news. Guests include David Dowling, Professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Iowa in the U.S., who talks about activist journalism through the case of the Unicorn Riot website coverage of social justice protests in the U.S. Jannie Møller Hartley is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and Arts at Roskilde University in Denmark and talks about tensions between “objective” and activist – or alternative – coverage of #MeToo in Denmark and Sweden. And, Marcus Funk, Associate Professor of Mass Communication at Sam Houston State University in the U.S., identifies forms of alternative journalism – in this case about climate change – that could be adopted by mainstream media to connect better with audiences.

Text Featured in this Episode:

Møller Hartley, J., & Askanius, T. (2021). Activist-journalism and the Norm of Objectivity: Role Performance in the Reporting of the# MeToo Movement in Denmark and Sweden. Journalism Practice, 15(6), 860-877.

Funk, M. (2021). Calm During the Storm: Micro-Assemblage, Meteorology and Community Building on a Local Independent Weather Blog During Hurricane Harvey. Journalism Practice, 1-17.

Dowling, D. O. (2021). Alternative Media on the Front Lines: Unicorn Riot and Activist Journalism’s New Urgency. Journalism Practice, 1-20. 

Produced and hosted by Robert (Ted) Gutsche, Jr.

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