Anyone with an interest in alternative journalism may be interested in
the article 'Alternative journalism: asking the awkward questions'
published yesterday and available on an open access basis here:

http://manchestermule.com/article/alternative-journalism-asking-the-awkward-questions

A full academic article can be found in the December 2014 issue of the
journal Communication, Culture & Critique (Vol 7, No 4), the abstract
of which you can find below:

'“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 people who tend to be marginalized 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 one UK city. Drawing on broader
conceptualizations of alternative journalism (Atton, 2002; Forde,
2011), this article proposes a more specific model of “oppositional
reporting,” combining pragmatic use of journalistic skills with an
ideological critique of the hegemonic discourses of powerful social
groupings and mainstream media alike. Oppositional reporting speaks up
for the powerless and, at times, allows the powerless to speak
directly for themselves.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cccr.12059/abstract

Best wishes,
Tony.