Challenging the News

SUSAN FORDE teaches Journalism at Griffith University, Australia, and continues to practice community and independent journalism on a freelance basis. Previously she worked for eight years in the independent press industry and was awarded her PhD in 1998 for her study on the Australian alternative press. Her work on community media audience research has reached an international audience. She is the co-author of two major monographs on community broadcasting, and leads the journalism and media research program at the Griffith Centre for Cultural Research.

• IntroductionChapter 1: Understanding alternative and independent journalismChapter 2: Defining moments in the history of alternative journalismChapter 3: Finding the basis for alternative and independent journalismChapter 4: Looking for answers: How alternative media journalists engage their audiencesChapter 5: Connecting with democracy: The 'new' alternative mediaChapter 6: Throwing out the bathwater (but not the baby): Objectivity, 'professionalism' and the economics of alternative journalismChapter 7: The global policy environment for alternative and community media formsChapter 8: Concluding thoughts: The nature of alternative journalismReferences.