The Value of Alternative Media

The Canadian news articles I chose to investigate discuss the emergence of a relatively
new disease called monkeypox on various alternative and mainstream news channels. The
variola virus, which is responsible for causing smallpox, and this virus are both members of the
same virus family. The most interesting observation I discovered after performing research
through many new sources was that most mainstream news channels, such as CBC, tend to
focus more on who is affected and where the monkeypox virus is present in reports concerning
it. Now, do not misunderstand me; these are really pertinent concerns that must be published
internationally. However, there should at least be a few more publications that discuss the future
prospects for monkeypox as well as what has been discovered so far about this virus.
Fortunately, this is achieved by alternative news organizations such as The Tyee. An illustration
of this kind of publication is the fact that many of their articles discuss potential possibilities for
monkeypox in the future and provide information about the disease.

After conducting research through numerous alternative and mainstream news sources,
I made another intriguing observation: most alternative media channels, at least for the handful I
have checked, they do not contain many news articles on the issue I chose. There are even
some alternative news channels I have seen that have not yet published a single piece on the
issue I chose. However, as I searched through many major publications, there were numerous
news pieces on my selected topic that would span multiple pages. With this in mind, in contrast
to mainstream media, many alternative media outlets do not appear to have as many pieces
produced for various events. This makes sense given that the majority of alternative media
organizations are far smaller than their mainstream counterparts, and that their audiences are
often specialized, limited, and predominately online. Online publications like the New York
Times and USA Today, as well as Fox News and CNN, are examples of mainstream media
outlets that reach far larger audiences and receive more funding. In contrast to the audiences of
alternative news organizations, the audiences of mainstream media outlets are often much
larger and more diversified. However, they can still be divided along political lines. Alternative
media frequently has a smaller readership and less income, which may impact the quantity of
articles produced about various events because these composed articles can be pricey while
still allowing their platform to function.
 Thirdly, I thought it intriguing that some of the articles published in alternative
publications sometimes include first-person pronouns strewn around them. The Tyee's news
article, which discussed the need for better messaging regarding monkeypox, serves as an
illustration of this, "I can understand that neither the WHO nor Fell wants to sensationalize this
disease. The WHO and other health agencies like the Public Health Agency of Canada are
working hard to track the spread of cases," and “My Twitter timeline is full of people who have
hunkered down for over two years to protect themselves or other vulnerable people in their
households.” However, first-person pronouns are not used in major news reports, at least not in
the ones I have encountered. Despite this, formal language and little to no slang or comedy can
be found in both alternative and mainstream news sources. In contrast to mainstream news,
alternative news does seem to use language that is more biased or tilted, as evidenced by the
article I previously discussed. In his article, the author appears to be frustrated by the lack of
information about the monkeypox virus. In my opinion, alternative media channels convey their
content in a more visually appealing manner than mainstream news sources.

In my opinion, alternative news sources appear to play a substantial role in how

Canadians perceive the news. This is because people can learn about various news stories that
large organizations do not want to publicize, which, in essence, is the definition of alternative
news media. A number of sizable companies elect not to highlight specific news topics for a
variety of reasons, which include wanting to avoid revealing certain affairs to the public for their
own purpose or to avoid disclosing issues that can adversely affect them and/or their business
associates. Although alternative media was previously regarded to be challenging to locate and
typically only reached a more specific audience, it has become easier for people to broadcast
stories that reach a wide audience owing to the development of digital technology.
 Work Cited

Kilian, Crawford. “We Need Better Messaging about Monkeypox.” The Tyee, 25 May 2022,
https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2022/05/25/Need-Better-Messaging-Monkeypox/.