What are 'alternative media'? Are they the same as underground, radical or oppositional media? In this book, Chris Atton offers a fresh introduction to alternative media: one which is not limited to 'radical' media, but can also account for newer cultural forms such as zines, fanzines, and personal websites. "Alternative Media" examines how and why people produce and use alternative media - to make meaning, to interpret, and to change the world in which they live. It encompasses a wide range of alternative media and draws on examples from both the United States and United Kingdom. It locates contemporary alternative media in their cultural, historical and political contexts. "Alternative Media" provides a timely corrective to media theorizing which focuses almost exclusively on the output of the media conglomerates. As such it will be an essential purchase for all students and researchers with an interest in the true nature of the contemporary media environment.