[Commlist] ICA 2020 preconference: From the rise of alternative media to the (dis)engagement of MSM: making sense of the new political news environment and its audiences

ICA 2020 preconference, 21^st May 2020.

*Title: *From the rise of alternative media to the (dis)engagement of 
MSM: making sense of the new political news environment and its audiences**

*Organizers: *

Karoline Andrea Ihlebæk, Associate Professor at Oslo Metropolitan 
University, (ihlebaek /at/ oslomet.no) <mailto:(ihlebaek /at/ oslomet.no)> (contact 
person)

Tine Ustad Figenschou, Professor at Oslo Metropolitan University

Stephen Cushion, Professor at Cardiff University

Scott Wright, Associate Professor at University of Melbourne

*Description*: Over recent decades, many countries have seen emerging 
online and social media platforms offering alternative political agendas 
to the mainstream media. In the US and Europe, the rise of right-wing 
sites has received particular attention (Benkler, Faris and Roberts 
2018), but both left-wing and right-wing counter media have become 
prominent sources of news for particular user groups around the world 
(Zhang 2016). Left-wing alternative media is commonly motivated by 
anti-globalization and anti-capitalism perspectives, while right-wing 
media focus on anti-immigration or anti-Islam sentiments (Holt 2019). In 
common for many alternative media sites, however, is the focus on media 
criticism and anti-establishment, challenging media power and the 
communicative authority of established news media (Carlson 2017, 
Figenschou and Ihlebæk 2019). At the same time, there are signs that 
some publics have become increasingly disengaged with established media, 
causing increased polarization of news audiences and growing mistrust 
towards professional journalism’ self-declared neutral, objective, 
balanced and impartial approach to reporting politics (Fletcher 2019). 
The acronym ‘MSM’ has become a widely used pejorative term to describe 
mainstream/established media, but it is often invoked in different ways 
to criticize how the media represent the interests of elites and 
perpetuate the political status quo. As we have seen a rise in 
alternative media and a disengagement with MSM, a new political 
environment is fast evolving, prompting questions about how people are 
being informed about politics and public affairs, and the consequences 
of audiences relying on news that is consistent with their own 
ideological perspectives.

In this one-day ICA pre-conference, we welcome papers that will explore 
the phenomenon of alternative media and MSM (dis)engagement, including 
both theoretical and empirical contributions, that focus on issues such as:

/Production and professionalization/: Research has pointed out how the 
boundaries between alternative and professional journalism can be 
difficult to draw, in particular as alternative media professionalize, 
pointing to the need for theoretical and conceptual developments of how 
to draw the distinctions (Holt, Figenschou and Frischlich 2019). We 
invite papers that highlight how the ongoing boundary-work between 
alternative media and the mainstream media is constructed and 
negotiated. In other words, what characterizes mainstream media and 
alternative media relations?

/Audiences of alternative media/: Audiences of alternative media should 
not automatically be denounced as misguided or passive ‘populist’ media 
users. Recent studies show that such audiences can be highly engaged 
media consumers that to a varying degree express distrust to journalists 
or the establishment (Noppari, Hiltunen and Ahva 2019; Schulz 2019). 
However, we still know too little about the gratification and motivation 
of these media users, and thus encourage papers that explore the 
ideological, political and affective dimensions of alternative media 
engagement.

/News, information and opinions/: Research has demonstrated how the 
content of alternative media is ideologically driven and often blurs the 
divide between news and views (Nygaard 2019). But the content on 
alternative media sites are still strikingly unexplored, particularly 
visual analysis, largescale content analysis and network studies. We 
welcome papers that systematically examine the content of alternative 
media, as well as research that compares news agendas with mainstream media.

/Cross-national studies and research from the Global South/: While the 
US and Europe has long been the focus of academic and popular debates, 
the rise of alternative media in other media systems and political 
cultures have brought new types of ideologically-driven news sites. We 
invite comparative papers that, for example, compare cross-national 
differences in the production, content and users of alternative media, 
along with how the MSM has been characterized across countries. We 
strongly encourage research that focuses on the southern hemisphere 
and/or non-democratic contexts.

We are in discussion with relevant journals for a special issue on new 
developments in alternative media and political (dis)engagement. If 
successful, submissions for the conference will be considered.

*Please send a 300 word abstract to (ihlebaek /at/ oslomet.no) by the 20th of 
January 2020*

For more information, please visit: 
https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.icahdq.org/resource/resmgr/prekonf_proposal_alternative.pdf

All the best,

Karoline Andrea Ihlebæk

Associate professor in journalism

Oslo Metropolitan University

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