Extending our gaze beyond the mainstream: studies of alternative journalism, 2003-2016

The thesis comprises a series of nine studies that were all published in peer-reviewed journals or books between 2003 and 2016, accompanied and contextualised by a commentary setting out the coherence and significance of the research when viewed as a whole. This work is concerned with exploration of alternative media in general, and alternative journalism in particular. The submitted publications comprise separate studies that are linked thematically and point to the following conclusions: alternative journalism is not necessarily a failed project just because audiences tend to be small and the lifetime of any particular project tends to be short; there can be said to be a continuum of journalistic practice involving both mainstream and alternative media; and the reporting practices and ethical commitment found within alternative journalism can be seen as an expression of active citizenship. Taken together, the studies gathered in the submission make an original contribution to scholarship in the fields of alternative media and alternative journalism; in the process, they have much to say about journalism as a whole. As an original contribution to scholarship over a sustained period of enquiry, the thesis represents a substantial addition to our knowledge.