Alternative Media Beyond the West: New Publication in Journalism

Together with Shangyuan Wu, Saïd Unger and Thorsten Quandt have published the article A study of alternative media from the Global South/ non-Western perspective: Scrutinizing how “alternativeness” varies in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. The paper addresses a key gap in international media and journalism research: while alternative media have largely been studied from a Western perspective, this study specifically focuses on Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.

The authors examine how alternative media emerge, operate, and are understood within different political and social contexts. The study shows that, outside Western democracies, “alternativeness” is often closely connected to issues such as media control, political power structures, social participation, and cultural identity. The findings further demonstrate that alternative media in the Global South not only serve as counter-publics, but also create important spaces for political mobilization, access to information, and social change.

The article was published in Journalism, a leading international peer-reviewed journal in journalism and media studies that focuses on current developments in journalism, media transformation, and digital publics.

Reference:
Wu, S., Quandt, T., & Unger, S. (2026). A study of alternative media from the Global South/non-Western perspective. Journalism. https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849261452333