Alternative forms of media, ICTs, and underprivileged groups in China

Abstract

This article discusses uses of alternative forms of media and information communication technologies (ICTs) by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and advocacy organizations for underprivileged and marginalized groups in China, specifically rural-to-urban migrant workers. Drawing from the conceptual framework of alternative media and ICTs for social change, I analyze a local NGO’s community newspaper for migrant workers and an online advocacy media organization targeting female migrant workers. The two cases present sustainable and organized modes of alternative media production that enable deliberative spaces for migrant workers’ collective expression. Analyzing semi-structured interviews with editors and migrant worker-authors, as well as published articles and reader responses, I examine thematic content and processes of production and distribution. Migrant workers’ articulations through alternative media constitute a daily mode of activism and resistance. Demonstrating that communal and organizational support can mobilize underprivileged groups to participate in alternative and collective media production for social inclusion and equality, the study considers the transformative potential of alternative media and ICTs. I argue that such transformative potential should not be taken for granted. Integrating local conditions into analysis is crucial to clarifying how, and with what constraints, alternative forms of media and ICTs may contribute to social change.