The Political Economy of Alternative Media

The Political Economy of Alternative Media provides in-depth insights into media practices used by grassroots projects to organize, produce, and distribute the media that supports and reports on social movements.
The book is based on five years of participatory research with intersectional media activist projects. Mapping out the rich and varied textures of the political economy of media activist projects from small to large and from simple to complex, the book considers structures, funding models, media labour, and intersectional power, foregrounding the voices of global media activists. It reflects on the changes wrought by shifts to digital media ecologies and economies in the contemporary alternative new media space.
This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of Politics and Communication Studies interested in the political economy of media, social movements, digital media, alternative media, radical media, critical media, and alternative journalism. It will also appeal to media activists and journalists, providing a roadmap for crucial considerations when developing organizational structures in new

List of contents

Chapter 1. The Political Economy of Alternative Media Chapter 2. Critical Entrepreneurial Journalism Startups Chapter 3. Hybrid Vertical-Horizontal Media Projects Chapter 4. Hybrid Commercial-Activist Media Projects Chapter 5. Media Workers' Cooperatives Chapter 6. DIY Volunteer-Run Media Collectives Chapter 7. DIY Autonomous Media Networks

About the author

Sandra Jeppesen is Professor of Media, Film, and Communications, and in Social Justice Studies at Lakehead University, Canada and co-founder of the Media Action Research Group.
iowyth hezel ulthiin is a PhD candidate in Communication and Culture at Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada.
Emily Faubert is a PhD student in the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto, Canada.
Christopher Petersen is a PhD student in Communication and Culture at Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada.

Product details

• Authors: Emily Faubert, Sandra Jeppesen, Christopher Petersen, iowyth hezel ulthiin
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 10.03.2026
• EAN: 9781032636375
• ISBN: 978-1-032-63637-5
• No. of pages: 240
• Illustrations: Tabellen, schwarz-weiss
• Series: Politics, Media and Political Communication
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Media, communication > Communication science; Media Studies, Sociology, Political Ideologies, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Media Studies, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / Media & Internet, Press & journalism, Social & political philosophy, social and political philosophy, Political structure & processes, Communication Studies, Political Economy, Political campaigning & advertising, Political campaigning and advertising, News media and journalism, Political ideologies and movements, Political structure and processes