Alternative Media: Getting The Truth Out

The problem that people have when it comes to media, most specifically the news media, is that due to the corporate ownership of the various media outlets, what is being reported is not the the whole truth but the truth that is closest to the whole truth without irking the company owning the media outlet or the advertisers paying to advertise their goods on the channel/website etc.

According to the National Conference for Media Reform, "Massive corporations dominate the U.S. media landscape. Through a history of mergers and acquisitions, these companies have concentrated their control over what we see, hear and read. In many cases, these companies are vertically integrated, controlling everything from initial production to final distribution."

Another problem that permeates through mainstream media is the fact that it is mostly dominated by men. On the website of the National Organization of Women, they have a Women in Media Fact Sheet. On this fact sheet are such facts as women only own 3 percent of commercial TV stations in the U.S while owning just 6 percent of commercial radio ones. Another fact on the page states that when Katie Couric became the nightly news anchor for CBS in 2006, that marked the first time a women was ever the anchor of a network prime-time news show.

There are many sites out there that combat both the misogyny and the commercialism of mainstream new media. One of my favorites is Truthout. Truthout is a news website which tries to "spark action by revealing systemic injustice and providing a platform for transformative ideas, through in-depth investigative reporting and critical analysis", according to their webpage.  Writers such as Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky and Henry A. Giroux have contributed to the site. 

One of the many problems that organizations like Truthout face is how to be fiscally sustainable while not falling into the same commercial trappings that news media outlets usually do. Truthout avoids this by not only being a non-profit organization but also relying 100% on reader donations, so there's no need for any advertising on the Truthout website, which allows them to fully focus on doing what they feel is the best journalism possible, without any source of outside influence on their reporting. 

Why sites like Truthout are popping up more and more, the model of donation solicitation that they use is one that can't be kept. Ultimately, sites like Truthout and Democracy Now! will have to either use some sort of advertising in order to keep their sites running. Hopefully, the next sites will be ready ot take their place once they fall.