AlterNet

AlterNet is a left-leaning website that was

launched in 1998 by the non-profit now
known as the Independent Media
Institute.[5][6] In 2018, the website was
acquired by owners of The Raw Story.
Some AlterNet content is republished on
Salon.[7]
AlterNet

Type of site Progressive news

website

Owner Alternet Media, Inc.,

John K. Byrne, Michael
Rogers

Created by Independent Media

Institute

Editor Roxanne Cooper

Website AlterNet.org

Alexa rank 14,007 (December

2018)[1]

Commercial No

Registration Optional

Launched June 16, 1997[2][3][4]

Current status Active

Coverage
Coverage is divided into several special
sections related to progressive news and
culture, including News & Politics, World,
Economy, Civil Liberties, Immigration,
Reproductive Justice, Economy,
Environment, Animal Rights, Food, Water,
Books, Media and Culture, Belief, Drugs,
Personal Health, Sex and Relationships,
Vision, and Investigations.[8]

AlterNet publishes original content and

also makes use of "alternative media",
sourcing columns from Salon, Common
Dreams, The Guardian, Consortiumnews,
Truthdig, Truthout, TomDispatch, The
Washington Spectator, Al Jazeera English,
Center for Public Integrity, Democracy
Now!, Waging Nonviolence, Asia Times,
New America Media and Mother Jones.

Finances
Until April 2018, AlterNet was financed
through individual donations, by grants
from major donors, and ad revenue.[9] In
2014, the top financial backers of the
Independent Media Institute were Cloud
Mountain Foundation, Craigslist Charitable
Fund, Drug Policy Alliance, Madison
Community Foundation, Nathan
Cummings Foundation, New World
Foundation, Panta Rhea Foundation, Park
Foundation and Roseben Fund.[10]

Independent Media Institute

(formerly the Institute for
Alternative Journalism)
AlterNet was founded in the fall of 1987 by
the Institute for Alternative Journalism
(IAJ),[11] which was incorporated in
December 1983 with a mission to serve as
a clearinghouse for important local stories
generated by the members of the
Association of Alternative Newsweeklies
(AAN). The founding editor of AlterNet
was Alan Green, who with his deputy,
Margaret Engle, created print and
electronic mechanisms to syndicate both
the works of AAN papers and freelance
contributors, among them Michael Moore
and Abbie Hoffman. Engle took over for
Green in 1989 and ran the news service
until 1993, in that time dramatically
expanding AlterNet's base of contributors
and client newspapers. Upon her
resignation, Engle was succeeded by Don
Hazen, who had been hired by IAJ in 1991
to be its first executive director. AlterNet
publishes a combination of policy
critiques, investigative reports and
analysis, grassroots success stories, and
personal narratives.

Christine Triano was associate director of

the Institute for Alternative Journalism, in
1996.[12][13]

Media Heroes are annual awards by the

Institute for Alternative
Journalism.[8]Frederick Clarkson was
named among the "Media Heroes of
1992"[14] James Danky was named a
Media Hero in 1993.[15] In 1995, Media
Heroes awards to Public Media Center,
Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting, Institute
for Global Communications, Janine
Jackson, Laura Flanders,[16] CounterSpin,
Gary Delgado, David Barsamian,
Alternative Radio, Haiti Truth Team, Salim
Muwakkil, John Schwartz, and Artists for a
Hate Free America were presented in
MediaCulture Review, January/February
1995[17] In 1996, Leslie Savan was named
one of "The Top Ten Media Heroes".[18]
Patricia Scott, and Julie Drizin were named
to the "Top Ten Media Heroes of 1996"[19]
Paul Klite, Executive Director of Rocky
Mountain Media Watch, received a Media
Hero Award from the Institute for
Alternative Journalism in 1996.[20] Amy
Goodman, Bob Herbert, Detroit Sunday
Journal, Gary Webb, Herb Schiller, Jim
Ridgeway, Karl Grossman, Mumia Abu-
Jamal, Norman Solomon, and Urvashi Vaid
received the 1997 Media Hero Award.[21] In
1997, Media Heroes awards were
presented at the second Media &
Democracy Congress.[8] The Institute for
Alternative Journalism named David
Barsamian one of its Top Ten Media
Heroes.[22]

The IAJ became the Independent Media

Institute some time before December
1999.[23]
After the sale of AlterNet to the new
company AlterNet Media in April 2018, the
Independent Media Institute[24][25] (IMI)
launched a series of new programs[26]
including the Make It Right Project.

Don Hazen
Don Hazen[27][28][29] was hired by San
Francisco's[30][31] Institute for Alternative
Journalism in 1991 was its first executive
director. The AlterNet editorial staff was
headed by executive editor Don
Hazen,[32][33][34] a former publisher of
Mother Jones, until December 2017 when
he was placed on indefinite leave by the
Independent Media Institute's Board of
Directors due to sexual harassment
allegations.[35][9][36][37] Hazen resigned
following the allegations on December 22,
2017.[38][39] An episode of the This
American Life, Five Women,[40] accounts
sexual harassment in the workplace by
Don Hazen, the former executive director
of Alternet.[41][42][43]

Acquisition by owners of Raw

Story
On April 9, 2018, it was announced that
AlterNet was acquired by owners of Raw
Story, an online news organization, under
the newly created company AlterNet
Media. In an online statement, Raw Story
founder John K. Byrne stated, "AlterNet will
continue to carry content from the
Independent Media Institute, its prior
owner. Thus, much of the content you
expect will remain the same. You will see
articles by former AlterNet writers
appearing with the Independent Media
Institute byline."[44]

Awards
Webby Awards
Nominated: 2002, 2004
Winner: 2003, 2005
 Official Honoree (Politics section),
2008[45]
Utne Independent Press Awards
Nominated: 2004, 2005
Winner: 2002, 2003 (Reader's
Choice)
One of NPR's five "best on the internet",
2001[46]

Books
We the Media . 1997. ISBN 978-1-
56584-380-6
Hazen, Don. After 9/11: Solutions for a
Saner World at the Wayback Machine
(archived 21 February 2004). San
 Francisco, Calif: AlterNet.org, 2001.
ISBN 0-9633687-1-0
"The Five Biggest Lies Bush Told Us
About Iraq" . Archived from the original
on 15 March 2006. Retrieved
2007-03-02., 2003. ISBN 1-58322-644-3
Hazen, Don, and Lakshmi Chaudhry.
Start Making Sense: Turning the
Lessons of Election 2004 into Winning
Progressive Politics. White River
Junction, Vt. T: Chelsea Green Pub. Co,
2005. ISBN 978-1-931498-84-5

References
1. "Alternet.org Site Info" . Alexa Internet.
Retrieved December 26, 2018.
2. "Meet the AlterNet Staff - Alternet" .
Alternet.org. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
3. "Re: Any ideas what is happening to
Alternet's backbone?" . NANOG. Retrieved
2016-11-03.
4. "Peter Stokesberry - LinkedIn" . LinkedIn.
Retrieved 2016-11-03.
5. Hernandez, Salvador; Lewis, Cora
(December 27, 2017). "Progressive Media
Executive Don Hazen Resigns After Five
Women Accused Him Of Sexual
Harassment" . BuzzFeed News. Retrieved
29 December 2018.
6. Wakabayashi, Daisuke (September 26,
2017). "As Google Fights Fake News,
Voices on the Margins Raise Alarm" . New
York Times. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
7. Sheffield, Matthew (October 18, 2017).
"Fake news" or free speech: Is Google
cracking down on left media?" . Salon.
Retrieved 29 December 2018.
8. "(1/3/98) 1997 Media Heroes" .
albionmonitor.com. Retrieved
26 September 2018.
9. Melissa A. Wall, "Social Movements and
the net: Activist Journalism Goes Digital",
in Kevin Kawamoto (ed, 2003), Digital
Journalism: Emerging media and the
Changing Horizons of Journalism ,
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
10. AlterNet.org, "AlterNet Supporting
Foundations"
11. http://worldcat.org/identities/lccn-
no94003172
12. Adelson, Andrea. "In Los Angeles, War
of Weeklies Erupts" . nytimes.com.
Retrieved 26 September 2018.
13. "The Independent Media Institute -
Alternet" . 31 May 2017. Archived from the
original on 31 May 2017. Retrieved
26 September 2018.
14.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2007/1/
31/162026/484
15. "James Danky :: UW–Madison
Experts" . experts.news.wisc.edu.
Retrieved 26 September 2018.
16. "The 4th Media » The Violence of the
Broken Economy" . 20 September 2015.
Archived from the original on 20
September 2015. Retrieved 26 September
2018.
17. "Ten Media Heroes" . 17 January 1999.
Archived from the original on 17 January
1999. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
18. "Leslie Savan - Penguin Random
House" . www.penguinrandomhouse.com.
Retrieved 26 September 2018.
19. "The Pacifica Foundation" .
www.pacifica.org. Retrieved 26 September
2018.
20. "Paul Klite Obituary" . bigmedia.org.
Retrieved 26 September 2018.
21. "(1/3/98) 1997 Media Heroes" .
www.albionmonitor.com. Retrieved
26 September 2018.
22. "David Barsamian to speak in Taos" .
taosnews.com. Retrieved 26 September
2018.
23. "A Report From the IMI Board Meeting •
Association of Alternative Newsmedia" .
Association of Alternative Newsmedia.
1999-12-09. Retrieved 2018-10-10.
24. "Internet Review: AlterNet" .
www.bowdoin.edu. Retrieved
26 September 2018.
25. "College and Research Libraries News
Internet Reviews Archive" .
www.bowdoin.edu. Retrieved
26 September 2018.
26. "Projects & Programs - Independent
Media Institute" . Independent Media
Institute. Retrieved 2018-10-10.
27. "Don Hazen - The New Press" .
thenewpress.com. Retrieved
26 September 2018.
28. "L.A. confidential" . Detroit Metro
Times. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
29. https://www.c-span.org/person/?
donhazen
30. "Discover the Networks - Independent
Media Institute (IMI)" .
www.discoverthenetworks.org. Retrieved
26 September 2018.
31. "Confab Seeks Cure for Journalism's
'Crisis' " . wired.com. Retrieved
26 September 2018.
32. "MIT CIS: Spotlight Archive" .
web.mit.edu. Retrieved 26 September
2018.
33. "OJR article: The Wired Left
Awakens" . 22 April 2005. Archived from
the original on 22 April 2005. Retrieved
26 September 2018.
34. "Independent Media Institute -
GuideStar Profile" . www.guidestar.org.
Retrieved 26 September 2018.
35. North, Anna (22 December 2017).
"Sexual misconduct allegations against
former Alternet executive editor Don
Hazen" . vox.com. Retrieved 26 September
2018.
36. Buzzfeed News, "Five Women Are
Accusing A Top Left-Leaning Media
Executive Of Sexually Harassing Them"
37. "Five Women Are Accusing A Top Left-
Leaning Media Executive Of Sexually
Harassing Them" . buzzfeed.com.
Retrieved 26 September 2018.
38. "Don Hazen resigns as publisher of
progressive news site AlterNet" .
rawstory.com. 22 December 2017.
39. http://stratml.us/carmel/iso/AN.xml
40. "Five Women - This American Life" .
thisamericanlife.org. 23 February 2018.
Retrieved 26 September 2018.
41. Herreria, Carla (22 December 2017).
"Several Women Accuse Progressive
Media Executive Don Hazen Of Sexual
Harassment" . Retrieved 26 September
2018 – via Huff Post.
42. "Conflict in Context" .
www.mediate.com. Retrieved
26 September 2018.
43. "A Message from AlterNet's Board of
Directors" . 22 December 2017. Retrieved
26 September 2018 – via AlterNet.
44. Byrne, John (April 9, 2018). "It's a new
day for AlterNet" . AlterNet. Retrieved
April 9, 2018.
45. Webby Awards, 12th Annual Webby
Awards Official Honoree Selections
Archived 11 June 2008 at the Wayback
Machine
46. "Media Online: A Few Firms Thrive
While Many Fail" . NPR. 3 July 2001.
External links
Official website
Institute for Alternative Journalism -
Annenberg School for Communication
at the University of Pennsylvania

Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=AlterNet&oldid=880132597"

Last edited 16 days ago by Artlover4

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