Multiplicity and Polycentrality: Alternative News and Non-

news Spaces Examined

In this section the chapter claims that the internet, in light of its virtues as a
medium, would increase the multiplicity of content and polycentrality of the news. Such
claims are reinforced by the fact that easy access and low costs of online publication would
lead to an internet environment where wider discussions become the norm and where the
dominance of transnational corporate monopolies could be countered. Which can eventually
lead to democracy.
Transnational and monopoly ownership is an important issue to understand how
online news sites operate. We have in one hand The Times, the News of the World, the Sun,
the Independent, and the Daily Mail are all owned by transnational corporations. While
alternative news sites on the other hand are monopoly, based most of the time either on
advertising or donations. These alternative and independent online news sources according to
the results of this study provide different perspectives from those represented in mainstream
news coverage.
- OpenDemocracy operates as a not-for-profit and has been supported by
trusts, foundations, and individual donations.
- Current TV is owned and operated by Al Gore and Joel Hyatt. It was initially
funded through affiliate fees and advertising, but in January 2008 it was announced that the
company would also begin selling shares.
- On the IndyMedia.org.uk site the organization seeks individual donations
and states that they are not owned by anyone or funded by large commercial conglomerates.
There were only a few openDemocracy and IndyMedia texts with regard to the
stories examined. However, the limited content that was present was unique.
The level of communication transcends that found on mainstream news sites
where interaction is often limited to an individual posting a comment in reaction to a news
item, an interaction Schultz categorizes as one-way communication (1999). In contrast, we
find that in alternative online news there is a chain of interrelated messages and
communication transcends reaction that achieves a higher level of interactivity as both sides
send messages and respond to each other.
For example the IndyMedia coverage of the Prince Harry story was highly critical of
the mainstream media. Neither openDemocracy nor IndyMedia.org.uk had any stories about
knife crime in the sample period, suggesting how their news agendas differ from (and do not
necessarily follow) the mainstream news agenda.
Current TV is unique in its reliance and recontextualization of mainstream news
sources.
 While independent and alternative news content is more easily accessible online
than offline, it has still proven difficult for such content to reach a wide audience. The
exception to this may be Current TV in that it provides service through mainstream television
outlets in the US and the UK. For instance when searching Google and Yahoo for the five case
studies, no alternative news sources were returned in the first page of search results.
Mainstream news sites dominate Google’s page. (LOL and you know the saying: if you want to
hide a dead body, hide it in the second page of google)
The way people are using these platforms is what is being noted in this study as
unique and potentially transformative, rather than the platforms themselves. There are
widespread concerns about the commercialization of Facebook, and about the influence of
corporate control on sites such as MySpace and YouTube.

Interactivity and Participation: Considering the News Online

All the mainstream news sites included in this study provided an opportunity for
readers to interact with articles at some point and to some extent, most of the time through
posting comments. Or posted questions to solicit reader comment and opinion in relation
to a news topic. Many mainstream news sites provide ‘Have Your Say’ pages where readers
can express their opinions and ideas. In some cases stories directed people to these
discussion pages. The BBC, Daily Express, Telegraph, the Sun, and the Star all have a ‘have
your say’ page, while the Guardian and the Daily Mail have debate sections.
Even though with mainstream media using technologies such as e-mail and User
Generated Content (UGC) which enhance the participation of the reader at some point, the
balance of power has not shifted to users. Journalists and editors still ultimately decide what
makes a ‘good’ news story, who gets to speak, and what gets said.
There is a blurring of content producer and reader/viewer on YouTube and the
alternative news site Current TV. Both YouTube and Current TV present environments
where the authoritative voice of the journalist is diluted and where we can observe a
blurring of producer/consumer distinctions.
Early predictions of this study suggested that the interactive and participative nature
of the web would take place if everyone or anyone could be a journalist. As with alternative
media, though the ability for citizen journalists to reach a wider audience is a challenge.

Conclusion
The chapter examined claims that the internet would democratize news production
and revive democracy, by the fact that the internet would lead to the production of more
diverse news, and increased public participation in news processes.
The study concluded that there is an abundance of news online, but the content of
mainstream news outlets is largely the same, with different outlets – often with a very
 different ethos and editorial stance – using identical quotes, images, and very similar text.
(One dimensional flaw of online news).Furthermore, new media technologies have changed
how the news is presented on ‘traditional’ news sites, but not dramatically. As most news
sites rarely provide external links to outside sources of information.
Mainstream sites offer little opportunity for the public to participate beyond interpreting
and responding to stories. As has been the case with the BBC ‘Have Your Say’.
Mainstream news sites are still the most popular in terms of news consumption, and
the most popular search engine Google returns mainstream sites for the most part when
searches are conducted, the potential for the internet to open up the news media sphere
seems limited. However, alternative news sites do provide unique content. Moreover,
mainstream content is, through user participation, being repurposed and re-contextualized
online as at Current TV. Alternative news sites are also being used as tools for organization
and communication, as with IndyMedia.
Facebook and MySpace reveals a blurring of news and non-news spaces. In the knife
crime case Facebook helped people communicate and organize in response to news events
and coverage. The example demonstrates how people are using online communication in
ways that do enhance political participation, but this was an exception rather than the norm
in the study’s sample.
Further, the contributions on non-news spaces are often responses to news and
involve a repurposing of mainstream news content, underlining rather than challenging the
position of the mainstream media as gatekeeper.
The book eventually positions its conclusions between techno-optimism that sees
the internet as reinvigorating democracy and techno-pessimism that sees changes as favoring
business and against public good.