EOTO: Mainstream and Alternative Media
Under the topic of mediasphere, the subjects of mainstream media and alternative media caught my eye, so I decided to explore what they are, their influences on society, and their impact on different individuals or groups of people.
According to businesses and their advertising efforts, the media is divided into two types: mainstream and alternative. It is essential to understand the philosophical motivations between the two before choosing one to advertise your business effectively. Mainstream media (MSM) is a fundamental part of the American way of life and often overshadows alternative media sources when people receive their news. Mainstream media is everywhere and encompasses all types of mediums such as television, print, radio, and online publications (internet). Companies own major television networks, newspapers, magazines, and movie houses. An example is The Walt Disney Company which owns the ABC television networks, which have more than 200 affiliate networks in just about every US TV market. Furthermore, many companies own a majority of popular media chains worldwide and therefore has the largest viewership. Due to its dominance in view count, mainstream media attracts a lot of advertising dollars. Commercials would bring in a lot of revenue caused by large amounts of people viewing the advertisement during a television show break and purchasing the product or service as a result. Mainstream media appeals to mass-market advertising instead of a target section of the public, like alternative media. Also, mainstream media tends to favor content from other large corporations rather than small businesses. They are reluctant to air advertisements they consider small and insignificant. The companies go for general content that the majority can relate to rather than a particular viewpoint, like alternative media. They support the societal status quo by promoting social norms through their content. Additionally, many mainstream media houses, such as FOX, originate as alternative media but eventually become mainstream as their viewership grows.
While mainstream media is easily describable, alternative media is more complex to define. However, there are many alternative media examples and it is easier to describe what mainstream media is not. Alternative media is not mainstream media and is not corporately owned. Other criteria for determining whether a news source is identified as alternative media are based on questions such as what is its content (news that is repressed or misreported by mainstream media) or how is it produced and distributed (the internet is the most popular outlet for alternative media)? Other questions could be does it seek some kind of political or social change or is it intended to generate a profit? The main difference between mainstream and alternative media is that all mainstream media is profit-oriented, while many alternative media houses are not profit-oriented to avoid conflict of interest in their objectivity. Alternative media essentially is polarized content and appeals to a typically small subsection of the population. It is not focused on entertaining or informing the majority of the population. It gives a voice to anyone who is ignored by the mainstream media.
The audiences of both differ. Mainstream's audiences are larger and more diverse compared to alternative media. Also, some alternative media houses gear towards a specific political side and these organizations are not linked with television but mostly distribute their content through newspapers, radio, and the internet. The internet access has immensely helped alternative media reach and expand their audience much more cheaply than MSM can. Due to these factors, alternative media audiences are usually small and segmented in political or social views, as well as industry. Mainstream media covers larger audiences with greater funding, but can also be polarized in political views. Another distinction between the two types of media is the ease with which they can be located online. When you search online, mainstream media sources are easier to access then alternatives. In addition, if the audience considers themselves as outsiders, then the alternative media house will best suit them because they actively seek to challenge social norms. Mainstream media aligns with traditional societal values, therefore, the audience agrees with those standards. Moreover, mainstream media is considered to be a more credible news source than alternative media, but messages from small independent news sources can grow and build momentum to larger audiences if noteworthy. There is a "middle ground audience", which uses both media and are partial to neither. The audience is smaller in number than mainstream media, yet larger than alternative media audiences.
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