Activist and Radical Journalism

Abstract

Activist and radical journalism, and radical media as its outlet, are defined as media and journalism that posit an alternative vision to the current state of affairs and its policies, priorities, and perspectives. Radical media are activist in the sense of actively pursuing alternatives to the dominant status quo; activism in this context refers to political activism through journalism seeking to bring about political change. Activist and radical journalism can be further defined in terms of its relationship to mainstream journalism, pointing to an occasional overlap with alternative journalism. However, activist and radical journalism operates with a specific political and ideological framework prioritizing an emancipatory role and agenda as opposed to the informational and watchdog role of liberal journalism. Hence, radical journalism is not an umbrella term for any kind of journalism opposed to and looking to overthrow the mainstream, but is closely allied with left‐wing socialist politics; for this reason, radical journalism does not cover the journalism associated with the reactionary politics of the extreme right wing. This emerges out of the history of radical journalism, which follows closely the history of emancipatory political movements, but is also reflected in the main conceptual debates and issues that has structured the field.