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This book explores how the Internet presents radical ways of organising and producing media that offer political and cultural alternatives, both to ways of doing business and to how we understand the world and our place in it. The book is characterised by in-depth case studies. Topics include the media of new social movements and other radical political organisations (including the far right); websites produced by fans of popular culture; and media dedicated to developing a critical, 'public' journalism. It locates these studies in appropriate theoretical and historical contexts, while remaining accessible to a student audience. Major themes: *The use of the Internet by political groups such as the anti-capitalist and environmental movements, as well as the far right *Radical forms of creativity and distribution: the anti-copyright and sampling/file-sharing movements, and their role as cultural critics in a corporate world *The development and maintenance of a global, 'digital public sphere' of protest through such practices as 'hacktivism' *The use of new media technologies to transform existing media forms and practices, such as news media and Internet radio. This is the first book devoted entirely to 'alternative' ways of political organisation and cultural production on the Internet. The author is one of the leading international experts in the study of alternative media, and this book is an authoritative guide to all aspects of these phenomena: the cultural, the political, the economic and the social. The range of topics covered will make it an attractive text for a wide range of media and cultural studies and computing courses

It is easy, perhaps too easy, to dismiss fanzines. Some consider them as the inconsequent ramblings of obsessive's with too much time on their hands. Others feel that they are vehicles for wannabe journalists who cannot make it in the professional media. With so many fanzines available on the web, some believe that the level of discussion that takes place on fanzine sites rarely rises above that of the gutter.As an academic I have been researching fanzines for over fifteen years. My work shows fanzines in a very different light. I have read thousands of these amateur publications; I have talked with their editors, their contributors and their readers. And I have learned that fanzines play an extremely important role in the cultural life of a nation.The fanzine deals with popular culture, such as football, music, films, television and genre fiction. By its very nature, popular culture is enjoyed by ordinary people – its audiences do not need any special qualifications to appreciate it. In this respect football fans (for example) are no different from sports journalists. Simon Frith, Professor of Music at Edinburgh University, argues that 'critics of popular forms need know nothing about such forms except as consumers; their skill is to be able to write about ordinary experience'. In other words, the 'amateur' fan has the potential to write about their experiences of football just as expertly and just as knowledgeably as the football commentator. The football fan is just as likely to offer a detailed analysis of a game, of a team or of an individual footballer as is the professional journalist. That fan is likely to draw on a wealth of accumulated knowledge, comparing games that have taken place that same day, comparing games and players historically, examining the local game as well as the European competition.

AbstractResearch in alternative media has burgeoned since the turn of the millennium. The majority of studies has examined the political and social dimensions of alternative media and has focused on the media of social movements. The value of these amateur media projects lies not only in the content they produce, but also in the educational and political empowerment they offer to their participants. Other forms of alternative media, such as blogs and fanzines, present challenges to mainstream journalism; they challenge the exclusive authority and expertise of professional journalists. Recent research has begun to examine the relationship between alternative and mainstream media practices, particularly examining how alternative media offer ways of rebalancing media power and how 'ordinary' people are able to represent their own lives and experiences and concerns in ways that are often ignored or marginalised by the dominant media institutions. However, we need to learn more about specific alternative media practices and how audiences use their content.

This study examines the discourse of the British National Party's (BNP) website. It explores the site as a form of alternative media, focusing on how it involves members and supporters in its discursive construction of racism. It finds that the discourses and identities produced are played out through a radical reformation of the concepts of power, culture and oppression. Drawing on the post-colonial notion of the Other, the BNP seeks to present itself, its activities and its members as responses to racism and oppression that, it argues, are practised by the Other. While this discourse is constructed through the everyday experiences and attitudes of its members, the hierarchically-determined nature of the site prevents those members from sustained, active involvement in the construction of their own identities. For this reason, the study concludes, the BNP's site is far from the more open, non-hierarchical practices of 'progressive' alternative media.

It is a truism to say that information in all its forms is now a commodity, to be packaged and sold, along with all the other products of our age, in the high street superstores. As this commodification increases, so it is increasingly easy to forget that information has value far beyond the commercial world. It has a value as an agent for social change, for development, as it introduces people to ideas, creates forums for debate and speaks of the possibilities that are open to us- were we only permitted to know of them. The possibilities for change available to the people of the South, for instance, reside in the media ownership of ideas through the channels of CNN and Voice of America: a distorted, pro-capitalist view of the world, where the only mention of your own country is to tell you how dreadful it is (Voice of America on Cuba is the classic example). In the countries of the North media manipulation is more refined. The ways by which information is controlled and mediated have a serious influence on the ways people think, how they communicate, what they believe is the "real world", what the limits of the permissible are.

The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act is now law, due in no small part to the consistent media portrayal of the likely victims of its many clauses as marginal groups. The Times wholly misjudged the situation when it called them "an alliance of New Age travellers, rock festival fans and squatters." There have been exceptions, of course, offering a semblance of balance. The Independent noted that it would make "innocent people into enemies of the state", but in the main it was left to the public - with the support of groups such as Liberty - to protest against some of the most repressive legislation these islands have ever seen. By effectively removing the right to peaceful protest, by restricting movement, by giving the police unprecedented powers of stop and search, by removing the right to silence; we must ask: are we still living in a democracy?

There are thousands of small publishers, small presses and individuals in Britaincurrently producing textbooks, monographs, novels, poetry, journals,newspapers and other, non-standard, publications. Their output ranges from thestocklists of such long-standing political publishers as Pluto and Verso, to themore idiosyncratic and erratic publishers of The Bug and Mark's Little Bookabout Kinder Eggs (of which more later). Political and social commentaries;humour and satire; poetry and drama; environmental issues; sexual politics:every topic that might be encountered on the shelves of any library will have itscounterpart in the alternative press. Furthermore, the small presses will oftenprovide publications on topics never found on library shelves or, for that matter,never even dreamed of by many people.

This issue is published to coincide with the first ISC/LINK joint conference 'Better read than dead: libraries in Cuba, China, North Korea and Vietnam', held in at VSO HQ, London on 16th March, 1996. Two papers from this conference, on Cuba and North Korea are published here as part of the proceedings. The international theme is continued by a pair of articles on Poland, and information on radical library organisations in Germany and Austria. The burgeoning field of zines creates its own problems for established library acquisitions policies and these are addressed from a U.S. perspective by a prime mover in this area. Closer to home, our Sheffield correspondent offers a radical proposal for the re-invention of our public libraries. Papers include: In Cuba They're Still Reading; Scientific and technical information activities in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea; Alternatives In Poland; A Few Words About Akribie; Kribibi; Zines in Libraries; Easy listening for the hard of hearing.

The creative industries are founded on innovation. They are responsive, multifaceted and evolving and have developed new models of business in order to adapt and contribute to a world in economic, social and cultural flux. Over the past two decades UK universities have positioned themselves to provide pre-entry professional training for the creative economy. In their capacity as mediators between students and industry, universities have the capability to provide industry-relevant courses and learning opportunities. By maintaining close links with the creative economy, universities demonstrateboth responsiveness to industry needs and reciprocity by acting as catalysts and centres for knowledge exchange in helping to support innovation and development. Section 2 provides an overview of the creative economy in theUK and of the contribution of universities to it. In section 3 we provide evidence and examples that indicate a strengthening of teaching practices that ensures graduates are fully prepared for the realities of employment. Thesection also stresses the benefits to be derived by regional industry from the expertise and facilities offered by universities.In section 4 we assess the availability and levels of funding for higher education institutions seeking to develop innovation and enhance the economic impact of the creative industries. We recognise the key role playedin funding the creative industries sector by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). We also examine more recent streams of funding put in place by UK government for research and knowledge transfer in the creativeindustries, such as those of the Technology Strategy Board.The report draws on data collected from Million+ subscribing universities. This was supplemented with more general material from the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and theTechnology Strategy Board. Data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency was consulted through the Higher Education Information Database for ...