Tags: alternatives | media | self publishing

On the surface, it seems like a great idea; long before bloggers became commonly known, a group of predominantly leftist social activist, tired with their complete lack of access to the mainstream media, decided to start a clearinghouse of information for those disaffected by or disturbed (more accurately) by a whole raft of issues, from globalisation, to the World Trade Organisation to animal rights and the environment.

They found a waiting audience, and now there are hundreds of "indy" sites, some officially affiliated, others just using the name, but they all have one thing in common: anyone can publish their own news.

Now this is a great thing when there's a WTO / IMF meeting going on in your town and you need up to date info on the location of all the Starbucks or McDonalds to trash.

It's great if you find the occasional insightful and intelligent article on important issues, but with the proliferation of sites (hundreds on six continents now), you'll find the left wing bias has tainted the quality of any dialog you'll find posted.

Anything that doesn't jibe with their take on the world gets pulled or closed off, for example, you'll find plenty of anti-Israeli diatribes, but a search on islamofascism turns up zero results. Overall, it's an interesting read, and depending on your worldview, laughable entertainment!