Page 42 - Battleground The Media Volume 1 and 2

Alternat ve Med a n the Un ted States | 1

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Mohammed el-Nawawy

alternatiVe Media in the united states
Democracy demands broad and inclusive public discourse and freedom of
expression. Over the years, mainstream media have been criticized for walling
off public debate on important issues, and in the age of corporate conglomera-
tion, critics continue to challenge the loss of diverse voices across the media
spectrum. An authentic democracy needs dialogue, and alternative media have
long provided the space for a multiplicity of viewpoints excluded from much
of public debate. The alternative press has a long and important history in the
United States, and in recent years new technologies have been designed and
employed by independent and community producers that have provided ac-
cess to channels, equipment, and communities not served by corporate media
outlets. Alternative media are a site of controversy for a range of issues from
professionalism to regulation, and debates within organizations continue as
new production styles raise issues about innovation, formatting, and audience
expectations.

oThEr voiCEs

The British colonies in North America became a nation through the mobiliz-
ing efforts of small publishers. Thomas Paine and Benjamin Franklin were just
the most prominent of the leaders whose fingers pulled proofs off rebel presses.
Democracy has been synonymous with free speech since the early American
rebellion against corrupt state power and the lack of political representation.
The country’s founders fought for freedom of expression, and those rights and
liberties have been codified, challenged, and renewed throughout the history of
the republic. At the turn of the twentieth century, President Theodore Roosevelt