Disrupting Mainstream Journalism in India: The Rise of Alternative Journalisms Online

Disrupting Mainstream Journalism in India offers a comprehensive and empirically-grounded analysis of the production of digital journalism by marginalized groups within Indian society.

Drawing on in-depth interviews with practitioners as well as samples of news content, the author critically examines the way in which varied forms of digital alternative journalism provide socially, economically, and politically disadvantaged groups with new and unprecedented opportunities to express their own perspectives, as well as offering alternatives to the hegemony of mainstream news narratives. These marginalized groups include women, Dalits, and Muslims whose voices tend to be erased or misrepresented within the public sphere. By exploring these disruptions, Chadha offers insight not only into the new media landscape of India, but also its implications for journalism and democracy at large.

Disrupting Mainstream Journalism in India is a valuable empirical resource for students and scholars interested in Indian media, journalism, and democracy.

Kalyani Chadha is an associate professor at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications. Her research focuses on the media and journalism landscape in India, with a recent emphasis on the rise of various forms of digital journalism, both right wing as well as outlets aimed at marginalized groups. Her work has appeared in numerous prestigious journals including Digital Journalism and Journalism Studies as well as several edited collections. She recently co-edited a collection titled Newswork and Precarity published by Routledge. She serves on the editorial boards of Digital Journalism, Journalism Practice and Mass Communication and Society.