Page 48 - Battleground The Media Volume 1 and 2

Alternat ve Med a n the Un ted States |

news program first distributed by Deep Dish TV, and has garnered a huge audi-
ence and an active constituency of alternative media advocates.

Low-PowEr raDio
Another venue for alternative voices is low-power radio. Much of the radio
spectrum in the United States is unused and in the 1990s, with the availability
of low-cost electronic equipment, creative young people began pirate stations to
play music that wasn’t allowed on commercial media, and to provide space for
environmental and community discussions. In the past the argument against
this sort of anarchic broadcasting had used the fear of interference, but the an-
tennae of low-power transmitters can be set so that they do not interfere with
commercial channels. With the availability of low-cost transmission equipment,
so many of these stations had developed by the late 1990s that a movement began
to grow to legalize low-power broadcasting. Prometheus Radio is a Philadelphia
organization that grew out of a pirate broadcast to become an organizing hub
and station-building center. The FCC (Federal Communications Commission)
has allowed several hundred low-power stations, which now provide informa-
tion and cultural programming to diverse groups including farm workers, crab
fishermen, and immigrants.

inDymEDia
In 1999, while preparing for the meetings of the World Trade Organization
(WTO) in Seattle, alternative media makers from around the country formed
the “Independent Media Center” and created a Web site: www.indymedia.org.
Long before YouTube and other commercial Web video, this site became a global
node for activism, providing easy posting of audio and video, still photographs,
and graphics, greatly expanding activist news and information. PDF files were
posted so that local groups could print out a daily newspaper. The excitement
of this project spread to many countries, and Indymedia has been an important
locus for alternative news especially during crises, such as the economic collapse
of Argentina in 2001.

air amEriCa
Air America was initiated in 2003 to be an alternative to conservative talk
networks. It enabled progressive voices, such as feminist Laura Flanders, to be
available on the AM dial. Although it generated impressive audience ratings, the
lack of commercial sponsorship forced it into bankruptcy in 2006. However, it
still continues as a programming source in several cities.

ConCLusion

The growth of the Internet has lead some to discount the importance of regu-
lated broadcast spaces. Nevertheless, the overwhelming majority of people still