The State of Things

As conglomerate corporations peruse the planet on the hunt for big and little news organizations to add to their cache, and as the fate of journalistic integrity looks more and more like water running down the drain, can the alternative, grassroots news publications hold their own?

The alternative press, throughout the history of the United States, often represents the underrepresented and reports the issues that go unreported in the mainstream media, particularly for low-income racially diverse groups that do not fall into the majority stronghold. Because of the role the mainstream media does not play in the exposure of issues affecting the working poor and non-white population, the alternative press plays a vital role in the function of democracy, whereby information is used to help the citizen engage in the political discourse that affects his or her life.

Some of the first black newspapers provided informational access to freedom for southern slaves escaping to the north, and later in World War II the black press drew attention to the contradiction of fighting for democracy while supporting the undemocratic systems of segregation and inequality. The alternative press often serves an important function, even though from time to time it does not resonate beyond the community it represents. Yet, if even at a local level, alternative publications can spark civic engagement, then they are in part fulfilling their democratic obligation.

The problem, or the devil, as they say, may be in the details. As forms of discrimination become more complex and more bureaucratic, the object of attack becomes obscure. In last days of slavery the object was clear, as in the days of segregation, but today discrimination takes on different forms and cloaks itself in unstained fabric. The mainstream media does cover the issues that affect low-income minority communities, but at a surface-level. To illustrate this point, I will explore mainstream media coverage and attempt to penetrate the truth beneath the surface. I will also explore how the alternative press deals with these issues.

How does the alternative press hold up in a battle with an enemy it cannot see?




Friday, November 9, 2007

The bracing civic goodwill in the air nicely complements the crisp autumn weather...

...concludes Katherine Gregor, in The Austin Chronicle, Nov. 9.

Developing Story: Community Convergences

The problematic context, of course, is gentrification and diminishing housing affordability in East Austin. While investment in a disinvested community is in theory a good thing, on the Eastside it's happening so fast that longtime residents are being displaced. As one speaker put it: "The tidal wave of market forces is rising too quickly, with little or no time to adjust. The dam has broken, and the water is coming over." In the 78702 ZIP code, for example (bounded by I-35 and Airport Boulevard, between the river and Martin Luther King Boulevard), the median sale price of a home in 2000 was $77,000. It since has shot up more than 250% to $195,000 (with a 150% increase just since 2005), with property taxes to match.
Gregor's bracing civil goodwill has done little to solve East Austin's problems, and though civility is all fine and dandy, especially when it complements the crisp autumn air and slow-falling leaves, manners don't cost a thing, but life in East Austin is growing farther and farther from that.

Pitty also, that there's not more coverage from the city of Austin's "alternative" publication, because as we well learn, issues require exhausting press coverage for policy change to occur.
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