Mainstreaming the alternative: Changing Media Strategies of Protest Movements
Gustafsson, Nils LU
and Askanius, Tina
LU
(2009)
II Global Conference “Shaping Europe in a Globalized World? Protest Movements and the Rise of a Transnational Civil Society"
- Abstract
- Combining a theoretical discussion of the inherent paradoxes in the celebration of new media technology as
a source of democratisation and empowerment of civic cultures with an empirical focus aimed at the
changing communicative manifests of mediated political protest, this paper analyses two cases of media
strategies in protest movements:
1) A series of civil disobedience actions and mobilisations of mass demonstrations before and after the
eviction and destruction of the Youth House in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2007-8.
2) The European Social Forum in Malmö, Sweden, September 2008.
The paper argues that contemporary protest movements are facing a convergence of what has... (More) - Combining a theoretical discussion of the inherent paradoxes in the celebration of new media technology as
a source of democratisation and empowerment of civic cultures with an empirical focus aimed at the
changing communicative manifests of mediated political protest, this paper analyses two cases of media
strategies in protest movements:
1) A series of civil disobedience actions and mobilisations of mass demonstrations before and after the
eviction and destruction of the Youth House in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2007-8.
2) The European Social Forum in Malmö, Sweden, September 2008.
The paper argues that contemporary protest movements are facing a convergence of what has traditionally
been coined as mainstream and alternative media.
Traditionally, the broad term ‘alternative media’ has been employed to embrace a wide range of oppositional
media channels that can be considered to carry on the tradition of the early radical and party press: micro
media operating at grass root level, discontinuous, non-professional, persecuted or illegal. Today, heavily
commercialised media and web-based social communities such as Facebook, YouTube and MySpace
constitute a common part of the repertoire of communication channels of alternative protest movements. Are
these new media channels a necessary mean in order to reach beyond the circles of the likeminded? Or, do
the use of these media point towards a mainstreaming process of protest-cultures of resistance to the
establishment eroding their very raison d’être? (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/1438918
- author
- Gustafsson, Nils
LU
and Askanius, Tina
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2009
- type
- Contribution to conference
- publication status
- unpublished
- subject
- keywords
- internet politics, social network sites, social media, Ungdomshuset, European Social Forum, social movements, protest movements
- conference name
- II Global Conference “Shaping Europe in a Globalized World? Protest Movements and the Rise of a Transnational Civil Society"
- conference location
- Zurich, Switzerland
- conference dates
- 2009-06-23 - 2009-06-26
- project
- Viral politik. Politisk mobilisering i sociala medier
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 8421d2ad-acc0-435a-995e-ce1193bf8028 (old id 1438918)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-04 13:10:46
- date last changed
- 2018-11-21 21:12:34
@misc{8421d2ad-acc0-435a-995e-ce1193bf8028,
abstract = {{Combining a theoretical discussion of the inherent paradoxes in the celebration of new media technology as<br/><br>
a source of democratisation and empowerment of civic cultures with an empirical focus aimed at the<br/><br>
changing communicative manifests of mediated political protest, this paper analyses two cases of media<br/><br>
strategies in protest movements:<br/><br>
1) A series of civil disobedience actions and mobilisations of mass demonstrations before and after the<br/><br>
eviction and destruction of the Youth House in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2007-8.<br/><br>
2) The European Social Forum in Malmö, Sweden, September 2008.<br/><br>
The paper argues that contemporary protest movements are facing a convergence of what has traditionally<br/><br>
been coined as mainstream and alternative media.<br/><br>
Traditionally, the broad term ‘alternative media’ has been employed to embrace a wide range of oppositional<br/><br>
media channels that can be considered to carry on the tradition of the early radical and party press: micro<br/><br>
media operating at grass root level, discontinuous, non-professional, persecuted or illegal. Today, heavily<br/><br>
commercialised media and web-based social communities such as Facebook, YouTube and MySpace<br/><br>
constitute a common part of the repertoire of communication channels of alternative protest movements. Are<br/><br>
these new media channels a necessary mean in order to reach beyond the circles of the likeminded? Or, do<br/><br>
the use of these media point towards a mainstreaming process of protest-cultures of resistance to the<br/><br>
establishment eroding their very raison d’être?}},
author = {{Gustafsson, Nils and Askanius, Tina}},
keywords = {{internet politics; social network sites; social media; Ungdomshuset; European Social Forum; social movements; protest movements}},
language = {{eng}},
title = {{Mainstreaming the alternative: Changing Media Strategies of Protest Movements}},
year = {{2009}},
}