'News with a kick': a model of oppositional reporting

This article explores uses of reporting techniques by de facto journalists operating within alternative media, paying particular attention to the extent to which those who tend to be marginalised by mainstream journalism may be heard via alternative journalism. The article is based on an empirical study of an online provider of alternative local news operating in a UK city. Reflecting on conceptualisations of alternative journalism (Forde, 2011; Atton, 2002), the article proposes a model of 'oppositional' reporting that combines pragmatic use of journalistic skills with an ideological critique of the hegemonic discourses of powerful social groupings and mainstream media alike. Such oppositional reporting speaks up for the powerless and, at times, allows the powerless to speak directly for themselves.