Will Alternative Media And Independent News Be Regulated by 2012
Published on: May 10, 2011
(Agoura Hills, C.A.) There continues to be discussion around the world in regards to regulating the Internet, specifically alternative news and social networks. Reasons vary between privacy, cyber-security and Net Neutrality. But what good does alternative news really serve us in or society? Perhaps a misnomer to begin with, the “alternative” media seems simply to be defined as media which has no corporate ties which may interfere with that outlet’s reporting of events. If this is the case, then the media that we refer to as alternative is actually mainstream. So why do we need alternative media when it seems that every network and cable channel has a news show dedicated to the recent events of that particular channel’s focus?
Alternative media has no Big Brother to consider when reporting an event. Mainstream media is by definition, sponsored by a corporation, which gets its money from other corporations which chose to advertise, so that the first corporation doesn’t have to actually spend any of its own money to bring the news to general public. All these hands in the pot must necessarily muddy the waters, as any bad news which erodes advertiser confidence or degrades the brand of the sponsoring corporation is hardly good for business.
One of the main benefits of alternative media is that it is of course unfiltered, untouched by the needs and whims of a business organization which has as its primary focus its own survival, not the survival of the people to whom it is reporting. Alternative media ideally is without this agenda, having a better opportunity to provide more truthful news to its audience.
The true strength of alternative media is its ability to be perspective-less and simply report news as it truly is, with no bias or hidden viewpoints. Does this occur in reality? Oftentimes not, as the alternative media outlets are run by people who have the quite definite agenda of undercutting mainstream media. Still, even with this sometimes vindictive undercurrent, alternative media still provides a sorely needed alternative viewpoint in the journalistic landscape, and from this plethora of opinions, however charged they may be, a viewer may draw his or her own opinions.
Alternative media also has the ability to touch topics and cover people on a more localized scale. Oftentimes commercial media stories are made to sell, and therefore must include some element of exaggeration, scandal, or both. But the residents of a district are much more likely to care about the legislation that their Congressman is backing than about who he is sleeping with. However, if both are occurring at the same time, the commercial news channel will pick up on the scandal 10 times out of 10. This allows for further manipulation by political and corporate forces who know and even engender this trait of commercial media. Many times when there is an issue that commercial media needs buried, they will leak a scandalous story so that the general public will not receive the more poignant one. Alternative media is unaffected by the need to sell to a commercial sized audience, and therefore can report on what is truly important, no matter what else is happening.
Unlike the corporate media, alternative news networks are not lavishly funded by mega-corporations. Because of this, they are often dependent on the generosity of supporters to fund their operations. State money should support public access channels and alternative online media to amplify the voice of under-represented issues in our democracy. Some feel states should teach residents how to utilize new technological mediums as a vehicle to be heard. Unfortunately, much of the legislation being proposed threatens the existence of such a potentially powerful local medium as alternative news as well as social networks.
This coming election year is sure to be an interesting time throughout the world for online independence and freedom, but how far will all this regulation go and just how much will users loose out because of it? That remains to be seen.
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