AlterNet

Last updated

AlterNet
AlterNet-logo.png
Type of site
Progressive news website
OwnerAlternet Media, Inc.
John K. Byrne
Michael Rogers
Created byIndependent Media Institute
EditorRoxanne Cooper
URL www.alternet.org
CommercialNo
RegistrationOptional
LaunchedNovember 1987;36 years ago (1987-11) [1]
Current statusActive

AlterNet is a left-leaning news website based in the United States. [2] [3] It was launched by the Independent Media Institute. [4] In 2018, the website was acquired by owners of Raw Story .

Contents

Coverage

Coverage is divided into several special sections related to progressive news and culture, including News & Politics, World, Economy, Civil Liberties, Immigration, Reproductive Justice, Economy, Environment, Animal Rights, Food, Water, Books, Media and Culture, Belief, Drugs, Personal Health, Sex and Relationships, Vision, and Investigations. [5]

AlterNet publishes original content and also makes use of "alternative media", sourcing columns from Salon , Common Dreams , Consortiumnews , Truthdig , Truthout , TomDispatch , The Washington Spectator , Center for Public Integrity , Democracy Now! , Asia Times , New America Media and Mother Jones .

Finances

Until April 2018, AlterNet was financed through individual donations, by grants from major donors, and ad revenue. [6] In 2014, the top financial backers of the Independent Media Institute were Cloud Mountain Foundation, Craigslist Charitable Fund, Drug Policy Alliance, Madison Community Foundation, Nathan Cummings Foundation, New World Foundation, Panta Rhea Foundation, Park Foundation and Roseben Fund. [7]

History

Independent Media Institute

AlterNet was founded in the fall of 1987 by the Institute for Alternative Journalism (IAJ), [8] [1] which was incorporated in December 1983 with a mission to serve as a clearinghouse for important local stories generated by the members of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (AAN).

The founding editor of AlterNet was Alan Green, who with his deputy, Margaret Engle, created print and electronic mechanisms to syndicate both the works of AAN papers and freelance contributors, among them Michael Moore and Abbie Hoffman. Engle took over for Green in 1989 and ran the news service until 1993, in that time dramatically expanding AlterNet's base of contributors and client newspapers. Upon her resignation, Engle was succeeded by Don Hazen, who had been hired by IAJ in 1991 to be its first executive director. AlterNet publishes a combination of policy critiques, investigative reports and analysis, grassroots success stories, and personal narratives. Christine Triano was associate director of the Institute for Alternative Journalism, in 1996. [9] [10]

Media Heroes are annual awards by the Institute for Alternative Journalism. [5] Frederick Clarkson was named among the "Media Heroes of 1992" [11] James Danky was named a Media Hero in 1993. [12] In 1995, Media Heroes awards went to Public Media Center, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, Institute for Global Communications, Janine Jackson, Laura Flanders, [13] CounterSpin, Gary Delgado, David Barsamian, [14] Alternative Radio, Haiti Truth Team, Salim Muwakkil, John Schwartz, and Artists for a Hate Free America were presented in MediaCulture Review, January/February 1995 [15]

In 1996, Leslie Savan was named one of "The Top Ten Media Heroes". [16] Patricia Scott, and Julie Drizin were named to the "Top Ten Media Heroes of 1996" [17] Paul Klite, Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Media Watch, received a Media Hero Award from the Institute for Alternative Journalism in 1996. [18] Amy Goodman, Bob Herbert, Detroit Sunday Journal , Gary Webb, Herbert Schiller, James Ridgeway, Karl Grossman, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Norman Solomon, and Urvashi Vaid received the 1997 Media Hero Award. [19] In 1997, Media Heroes awards were presented at the second Media & Democracy Congress. [5] The Institute for Alternative Journalism named Barsamian one of its Top Ten Media Heroes.

The IAJ became the Independent Media Institute some time before December 1999. [20] After the sale of AlterNet to the new company, AlterNet Media in April 2018, the Independent Media Institute [21] [22] (IMI) launched a series of new programs [23] including the Make It Right Project.

Acquisition

On April 9, 2018, it was announced that AlterNet was acquired by owners of Raw Story, an online news organization, under the newly created company AlterNet Media. In an online statement, Raw Story founder John K. Byrne stated, "AlterNet will continue to carry content from the Independent Media Institute, its prior owner. Thus, much of the content you expect will remain the same. You will see articles by former AlterNet writers appearing with the Independent Media Institute byline." AlterNet Media later acquired the New Civil Rights Movement. [24] [25] [26]

Staff

Don Hazen

Don Hazen [27] [28] [29] was hired by San Francisco's [30] Institute for Alternative Journalism in 1991 as its first executive director. The AlterNet editorial staff was headed by executive editor Hazen, [31] [32] [33] a former publisher of Mother Jones , until December 2017 when he was placed on indefinite leave by the Independent Media Institute's Board of Directors due to sexual harassment allegations. [34] [6] [35] Following the allegations, Hazen resigned on 22 December 2017. [36] An episode of the public radio program This American Life , "Five Women", [37] recounts alleged sexual harassment in the workplace by Hazen. [38] [39] [40]

Awards and recognition

Books

Related Research Articles

Project Censored is an American nonprofit media watchdog organization. The group's stated mission is to "educate students and the public about the importance of a truly free press for democratic self-government."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Rose</span> American TV interviewer and journalist (born 1942)

Charles Peete Rose Jr. is an American journalist and talk show host. From 1991 to 2017, he was the host and executive producer of the talk show Charlie Rose on PBS and Bloomberg LP.

Donald William Burke is an Australian television presenter, television producer, author and horticulturist. He is best known as the longtime host of Burke's Backyard, a lifestyle program produced by his wife's company CTC Productions, which ran for 17 years from 1987 to late 2004 on the Nine Network. He was also responsible for the creation of garden makeover program Backyard Blitz, starring former colleague Jamie Durie.

An alternative news agency operates similarly to a commercial news agency, but defines itself as an alternative to commercial or "mainstream" operations. They span the political spectrum, but most frequently are progressive or radical left. Sometimes they combine the services of a news agency and a news syndicate. Among the primary clients are alternative weekly newspapers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craig Newmark</span> American entrepreneur, Craigslist founder

Craig Alexander Newmark is an American internet entrepreneur and philanthropist best known as the founder of the classifieds website Craigslist. Prior to founding Craigslist, he worked as a computer programmer for IBM, Bank of America, and Charles Schwab. Newmark served as chief executive officer of Craigslist from its founding until 2000. He founded Craig Newmark Philanthropies in 2015.

<i>Grist</i> (magazine) Magazine

Grist is an American non-profit online magazine founded in 1999 that publishes environmental news and commentary. Grist's tagline is "Climate. Justice. Solutions." Grist is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and has about 50 writers and employees. Its CEO is former editor-in-chief Nikhil Swaminathan.

<i>Raw Story</i> American progressive news website

Raw Story is an American progressive news website. It was founded in 2004 by John K. Byrne and is owned by Byrne and Michael Rogers.

Rory O'Connor is a journalist, author, educator, and documentary filmmaker. He is co-founder and president of the Globalvision Corporation, and board chair of the Global Center, an affiliated non-profit foundation. His films and television programs have aired on PBS, BBC, NHK, CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, and numerous other networks. He has been involved in the production of more than two dozen documentaries, and his broadcast, film and print work has been honored with a George Polk Award, a Writer's Guild Award for Outstanding Documentary, an Orwell Award and two Emmys. He has written several books and blogs for the Huffington Post, AlterNet, Al Jazeera and other news sources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Talent Agency</span> American talent agency

United Talent Agency (UTA) is a global talent agency based in Beverly Hills, California. Established in 1991, it represents artists and other professionals across the entertainment industry. As of 2021, the company has more than 1,400 global employees. UTA has divisions focused on film, television, music, sports, digital, books, video games, branding and licensing, speaking, marketing, fine arts, news, and broadcasting, among others. The agency also operates the non-profit UTA Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tracey Spicer</span> Australian journalist

Tracey Leigh Spicer is an Australian newsreader, Walkley Award-winning journalist and social justice advocate. She is known for her association with Network Ten as a newsreader in the 1990s and 2000s when she co-hosted Ten Eyewitness News in Brisbane, Queensland. She later went on to work with Sky News Australia as a reporter and presenter from 2007 to 2015. In May 2017 Spicer released her autobiography, The Good Girl Stripped Bare. She was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia "For significant service to the broadcast media as a journalist and television presenter, and as an ambassador for social welfare and charitable groups".

Chip Giller is an American journalist and environmentalist. He is best known as the founder of Grist, an online environmental news organization. Giller has won numerous awards for his media innovations and environmental work, including receiving a Heinz Award, and being named a "Hero of the Environment" by Time magazine. He has been featured in media outlets like Vanity Fair, Newsweek, and Outside, and has participated as a guest on broadcast programs including NBC's Today and PBS's Now.

Religion Dispatches is a secular daily non-profit online magazine covering religion, politics, and culture. RD covers topics of religious thought, past and present, that underwrite social structures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomson Reuters Foundation</span> London-based charitable arm of Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters Foundation is a London-based charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, a Canadian news conglomerate. The Foundation is registered as a charity in the United States and United Kingdom and is headquartered in Canary Wharf, London.

Retro Report is a US non-profit news organization that produces short-form documentaries for historical context of current news stories. The organization describes itself as a counterweight to the 24-hour news cycle. They have covered topics including the Population Bomb theory, the Tawana Brawley rape allegations, the 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak, the MMR vaccine controversy, the Ruby Ridge standoff, the Columbine High School massacre, the McDonald's hot coffee lawsuit, and the history of black activism in sports.

Rewire News Group is a daily United States online news publication focused on reproductive and sexual health from a pro-choice perspective. It also covers issues around racial, environmental, immigration, and economic justice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mi-Ai Parrish</span> American journalist

Mi-Ai Parrish is an American journalist and media executive, including former president and publisher of USA TODAY NETWORK Arizona, The Arizona Republic, a daily newspaper, and azcentral.com in Phoenix, Arizona, the first person of color in the role. The company won a Pulitzer Prize during her tenure.

<i>The Wire</i> (India) Indian news website

The Wire is an Indian nonprofit news and opinion website. It was founded in 2015 by Siddharth Varadarajan, Sidharth Bhatia, and M. K. Venu. It counts among the news outlets that are independent of the Indian government, and has been subject to several defamation suits by businessmen and politicians. In 2022, one of its reporters fabricated several news stories, and was then fired.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Time's Up (organization)</span> Advocacy group against sexual harassment

Time's Up is a non-profit organization that raises money to support victims of sexual harassment. The organization was founded on January 1, 2018, by Hollywood celebrities in response to the Weinstein effect and the Me Too movement. As of January 2020, the organization had raised $24 million in donations.

IAJ may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Mojica</span> American journalist

Jason Mojica is an American journalist, film producer, and musician. He is the co-founder and treasurer of IXNAY PAC, a super PAC devoted to "getting Donald Trump" and his cronies out of office." Previously, he was the founding editor-in-chief of VICE News, and in 2013 became one of the first Americans to meet Kim Jong Un when he led the team that brought Dennis Rodman and the Harlem Globetrotters to North Korea. In November 2017, Vice Media fired Mojica after allegations made by several women that he had sexually harassed them surfaced.

References

  1. 1 2 "About AlterNet". AlterNet. Archived from the original on February 22, 1997. Launched in November 1987 by the Institute for Alternative Journalism (IAJ)...
  2. Hernandez, Salvador; Lewis, Cora (December 27, 2017). "Progressive Media Executive Don Hazen Resigns After Five Women Accused Him of Sexual Harassment". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  3. Sheffield, Matthew (October 18, 2017). "Fake news" or free speech: Is Google cracking down on left media?". Salon. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  4. "AlterNet.org". Library of Congress. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 "(1/3/98) 1997 Media Heroes". albionmonitor.com. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  6. 1 2 Melissa A. Wall, "Social Movements and the net: Activist Journalism Goes Digital", in Kevin Kawamoto (ed, 2003), Digital Journalism: Emerging media and the Changing Horizons of Journalism , Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
  7. AlterNet.org, "AlterNet Supporting Foundations"
  8. "Institute for Alternative Journalism [WorldCat Identities]" . Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  9. Adelson, Andrea (September 16, 1996). "In Los Angeles, War of Weeklies Erupts". The New York Times. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  10. "The Independent Media Institute - Alternet". May 31, 2017. Archived from the original on May 31, 2017. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  11. "| Interview with the Blogger, Part 1" . Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  12. "James Danky :: UW–Madison Experts". experts.news.wisc.edu. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  13. "The 4th Media » The Violence of the Broken Economy". September 20, 2015. Archived from the original on September 20, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  14. "David Barsamian to speak in Taos". taosnews.com. October 8, 2017. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  15. "Ten Media Heroes". January 17, 1999. Archived from the original on January 17, 1999. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  16. "Leslie Savan - Penguin Random House". www.penguinrandomhouse.com. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  17. "The Pacifica Foundation". www.pacifica.org. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  18. "Paul Klite Obituary". bigmedia.org. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  19. "1997 Media Heroes". albionmonitor.com. January 3, 1998. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  20. "A Report From the IMI Board Meeting • Association of Alternative Newsmedia". Association of Alternative Newsmedia. December 9, 1999. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  21. "Internet Review: AlterNet". www.bowdoin.edu. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  22. "College and Research Libraries News Internet Reviews Archive". www.bowdoin.edu. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  23. "Projects & Programs - Independent Media Institute". Independent Media Institute. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  24. Byrne, John (April 9, 2018). "It's a new day for AlterNet". AlterNet. Archived from the original on April 10, 2018. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  25. O'Reilly, Lara (April 10, 2018). "CMO Today: Zuckerberg's Congress Hearing; P&G to Build Cross-Holding Company Creative Agency; Movie Theaters Go Upmarket". The Wall Street Journal . Archived from the original on April 10, 2018. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  26. About, New Civil Rights Movement. Accessed June 3, 2024.
  27. "Don Hazen - The New Press". thenewpress.com. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  28. "L.A. confidential". Detroit Metro Times. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  29. "Don Hazen - C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org.
  30. Silverman, Jason. "Confab Seeks Cure for Journalism's 'Crisis'". Wired. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  31. "MIT CIS: Spotlight Archive". web.mit.edu. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  32. "OJR article: The Wired Left Awakens". April 22, 2005. Archived from the original on April 22, 2005. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  33. "Independent Media Institute - GuideStar Profile". guidestar.org. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  34. North, Anna (December 22, 2017). "Sexual misconduct allegations against former Alternet executive editor Don Hazen". vox.com. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  35. "Five Women Are Accusing A Top Left-Leaning Media Executive of Sexually Harassing Them". buzzfeed.com. December 21, 2017. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  36. "Don Hazen resigns as publisher of progressive news site AlterNet". rawstory.com. December 22, 2017.
  37. "Episode 640 'Five Women'". This American Life . February 23, 2018. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  38. Herreria, Carla (December 22, 2017). "Several Women Accuse Progressive Media Executive Don Hazen of Sexual Harassment". HuffPost. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  39. "Conflict in Context". www.mediate.com. March 23, 2018. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  40. "A Message from AlterNet's Board of Directors". December 22, 2017. Retrieved September 26, 2018 via AlterNet.
  41. Webby Awards, 12th Annual Webby Awards Official Honoree Selections Archived 11 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  42. "Media Online: A Few Firms Thrive While Many Fail". NPR. July 3, 2001.