In this book, Chris Atton offers an introduction to alternative media: one which is not limited to 'radical' media, but can also account for newer cultural forms such as zines, fanzines, and personal web- sites. Alternative Media: * examines how and why people produce and use alternative media - to make meaning, to interpret, and to change the world in which they live * encompasses a wide range of alternative media and draws on examples from both the US and UK * locates contemporary alternative media in their cultural, historical and political contexts. Alternative Media provides a timely corrective to media theorizing with its emphasis on the global media conglomerates. It will therefore be an essential purchase for all students and researchers with a genuine interest in the true nature of the contemporary media environment.