alternative media

Alternative media are media sources that differ from established forms of media, such as mainstream media or mass media, in terms of their content, production, or distribution. Alternative media includes many formats, including print, audio, film/video, online/digital and street art. Examples include the counter-culture zines of the 1960s, ethnic and indigenous media such as the First People's television network in Canada (later rebranded Aboriginal Peoples Television Network), and more recently online open publishing journalism sites such as Indymedia.

Sometimes the term "independent media" is used as a synonym, indicating independence from large news media corporations; however, "independent media" generally has a different meaning, indicating freedom of the press and independence from government control. In contrast to the mainstream media, alternative media tend to be "non-commercial projects that advocate the interests of those excluded from the mainstream", for example the poor, political and ethnic minorities, labor groups, and LGBT identities. These media spread marginalized viewpoints, such as those heard in the progressive news program Democracy Now!. They also create identity-based communities, such as in the It Gets Better Project that was posted on YouTube in response to a rise in gay teen suicides at the time of its creation.