Chris Atton is Professor of Media and Culture in the School of Arts and Creative Industries of Edinburgh Napier University. His research is primarily interested in popular culture that is produced by "ordinary," non-professional writers and editors of fanzines, radical newspapers, independent publishers and social media. He is particularly interested in how audiences and fan communities make sense of popular culture through their own writing. He has made special studies of music fanzines, radical political newspapers and the use of the internet for the distribution of "amateur ideas." His books include Alternative Media (Sage, 2002) and Alternative Journalism (Sage, 2008, with James F. Hamilton).

The Historicisation of Alternative Journalism
Political-economic Pressures That Shape Alternative Journalism
Who are Alternative Journalists? A Social Demographic Survey
Multiple Policies, Multiple Forms, Multiple Challenges
Contemporary Practices of Alternative Journalism
Alternative Journalism in the World: A Comparative Survey
Theorising Alternative Journalism
Future Directions
Alternative Journalism: A Critical Bibliography

"A provocative, inspiring and challenging intervention in both journalism and media studies.... Alternative Journalism is that rare book that services students as much as scholars. It widens the trajectory of media studies and creates different modes of reading, writing and thinking... It offers an alternative history beyond the tales of great men, great newspapers, great editors and great technologies. It adds value and content to overused and ambiguous words such as "community" and "citizenship" and captures the spark of new information environments."
- THE, (Times Higher Education)
Alternative Journalism investigates and analyses the diverse forms and genres of journalism that have arisen as challenges to mainstream news coverage. From the radical content of emancipatory media to the dizzying range of citizen journalist blogs and fanzine subcultures, this book charts the historical and cultural practices of this diverse and globalized phenomenon. This exploration goes to the heart of journalism itself, prompting a critical inquiry into the epistemology of news, the professional norms of objectivity, the elite basis of journalism and the hierarchical commerce of news production.

In investigating the challenges to media power presented by alternative journalism, Atton addresses not just the issues of politics and empowerment but also the journalism of popular culture and the everyday. The result is essential reading for students of journalism - both mainstream and alternative.