Alternative media hold the promise of building public awareness and action against the constraints and limitations of media conglomeration and cutbacks to public broadcasting. These media are becoming key venues for community expression and political debate, but what is it that makes them alternative?The contributors to this path-breaking volume answer this question by examining the evolution of various forms of alternative media – including indigenous, anarchist, ethnic, and feminist media – against the backdrop of historical, political, economic, and cultural developments in Canada. Rather than considering alternative media simply as non-mainstream, or employing the typical case study approach, they get at the heart of alternative media by focusing on the three interconnected dimensions that define them: structure, participation, and activism. They show that alternative media are practices and technologies – ranging from radio and film to online social media and do-it-yourself zines – motivated by the ideals of social action. Alternative Media in Canada not only reveals how alternative media are enabled and constrained in the context of the Canadian policy environment; it also shows that, in the context of globalization, the Canadian experience parallels media and policy challenges in other nations. | Alternative Media in Canada by Kirsten Kozolanka, Hardcover | Indigo Chapters