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Title
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From fringe to forefront : unraveling alternative news media’s role in advancing media pluralism
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Author
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Abstract
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| In today's digital media landscape, there is a growing presence of “alternative” news media that present themselves as an alternative to “mainstream” news. These outlets arise from dissatisfaction with the way legacy news organizations function and aim to provide alternative sources of news, information, and representation. In pursuit of this objective, they often adopt a more advocacy-oriented and community-focused approach to crafting news stories. However, the current state of Western media systems necessitates a reevaluation of the traditional binary division between “alternative” and “mainstream” media: alarming levels of media concentration, the rise of populist politics, highly individualized patterns of news consumption, and the pervasive online presence of conflicting versions of truth. By aligning empirical research and political theory with the contemporary socio-political context, this thesis offers grounded and critical insights into the role and performance of “alternative” news media. Utilizing a range of qualitative research methods, it aims to explore (i) the extent to which their news discourses and journalistic styles facilitate or impede democratic debate, (ii) their strategies for organizational sustainability, and (iii) their position within the news repertoires of their users. This study addresses these inquiries through an examination of six media platforms in Flanders: Apache, Charlie Magazine, DeWereldMorgen, MO*, Doorbraak, and SCEPTR/PAL NWS. This selection encompasses a diverse spectrum of financial resources, journalistic styles, and ideological orientations, enabling a comparative assessment. Simultaneously, the presence of this diversity motivates this thesis to introduce innovative analytical frameworks capable of accommodating the multifaceted identities exhibited by these platforms. |
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Language
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English
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Publication
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Antwerp
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University of Antwerp, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Communication Studies
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2023
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ISBN
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978-94-6483-342-3
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Volume/pages
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99 p.
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Note
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:
Maeseele, Pieter [Supervisor]
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