FRONTLINE: The nexus of political documentary and alternative journalism
Addressing the social world
Abstract
This article is a critical commentary of how political documentary embodies the traits and functions of alternative journalism. I explore this notion through Obrero (‘worker’) my independent documentary project about the labour migration of Filipino workers to Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand, after the earthquake in 2011. This article maps out the points at where the theories and practices of alternative media and documentary intersect. Analysing political documentary as a format of alternative journalism has links to the long tradition of film and video production as a tool for social critique. As a form of practice-based research, Obrero falls under the rubric of alternative journalism—able to represent the politically marginal sectors of the polity and report on issues underreported in the mainstream press. This article concludes that a distribution plan that is responsive to fragmenting audiences works best when alternative journalism no longer targets a niche but transborder audiences.
Downloads
Metrics
References
Alvesson, M., & Sköldberg, K. (2000). Reflexive methodology: New vistas for qualitative research. London, UK: Sage.
Atton, C. (2002). Alternative media. London, UK: Sage. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446220153
Atton, C. (2003). What is ‘alternative’ journalism? Journalism, 4(3), 267–272. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849030043001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849030043001
Atton, C. (2009a). Alternative and citizen journalism. In K. Wahl-Jorgensen & T. Hanitzsch (Eds.), The handbook of journalism studies, Issue 2000, 265–278. London, UK: Routledge.
Atton, C. (2009b). Alternative journalism: Ideology and practice. In S. Allan (Ed.), The Routledge Companion to News and Journalism (pp. 169–178). London, UK: Routledge.
Atton, C., & Hamilton, J. F. (2008). Alternative journalism. London, UK: Sage. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446216163
Bacon, W. (2012). An innovative direction in academic journalism. Pacific Journalism Review: Te Koakoa, 18(2), 153–166. https://doi.org/10.24135/pjr.v18i2.270 DOI: https://doi.org/10.24135/pjr.v18i2.270
Bailey, O., Cammaert, B., & Carpentier, N. (2008). Understanding alternative media. Open University Press.
Barnouw, E. (1974). Documentary: A history of the non-fiction film. (2nd ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Barsam, R. (1973). Nonfiction film: A critical history. New York, NY: Dutton.
Bartram, D. (2005). International labor migration: Foreign workers and public policy (Vol. 1). London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230508170 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230508170
Batty, C., & Kerrigan, S. (2018). Introduction. In C. Batty & S. Kerrigan (Eds.), Screen production research: Creative practice as a mode of enquiry (pp. 1–10). London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Beliveau, R. (2012). The critical intersection of documentary & journalism: Hell house and rhetorical articulation. Atlantic Journal of Communication, 20(2), 86–100. https://doi.org/10.1080/15456870.2012.665345 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15456870.2012.665345
Boczkowski, P. (2004). Digitizing the news: Innovation in online newspapers. Boston, MS: MIT Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/2435.001.0001
Chambers, C., Jönsson, M., & Vande Winkel, R. (2018). Introduction. In C. Chambers, M. Jönsson, & R. Vande Winkel (Eds.), Researching newsreels: Local, national and transnational case studies (pp. 1–13). Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91920-1_1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91920-1_1
Chapman, J. (2015). A new history of British documentary. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230392878
Corner, J. (2002). Performing the real: Documentary diversions. Television & New Media, 3(3), 255–269. https://doi.org/10.1177/152747640200300302 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/152747640200300302
Corner, J. (2018). Foreword. In C. Chambers, M. Jönsson, & R. Vande Winkel (Eds.), Researching newsreels: Local, national and transnational case studies (pp. v–viii). Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.
Craft, S. (2018). Documentary journalism. In T. Vos (Ed.), Journalism (pp. 415–432). Berlin, Germany: De Gruyter Mouton. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501500084-021 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501500084-021
Das, A. (2015, February 4). Sundance: Is it documentary or journalism? Indiewire. http://www.indiewire.com/2015/02/sundance-is-it-documentary-or-journalism-248215/
Downing, J. (2001). Radical media: Rebellious communication and social movements. London, UK: Sage Publications.
Forde, S. (2011). Challenging the news: The journalism of alternative and community media. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-230-36096-9
Forde, S. (2015). Alternative journalism around the world. In C. Atton (Ed.), Companion to alternative and community media (pp. 291–300). London, UK: Routledge.
Geiger, J. (2011). American documentary film: Projecting the nation. Edinburgh, UK: Edinburgh University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3366/edinburgh/9780748621477.001.0001
Goldson, A. (2015). Journalism plus? The resurgence of creative documentary. Pacific Journalism Review : Te Koakoa, 21(2), 86–98. https://ojs.aut.ac.nz/pacific-journalism-review/article/view/120/87 DOI: https://doi.org/10.24135/pjr.v21i2.120
Goldson, A. (2020). The emergence of creative practice as research. Pacific Journalism Review: Te Koakoa, 26(1), 226–242. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-0445-0.ch008 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-0445-0.ch008
Harcup, T. (2005). 'I’m doing this to change the worl': Journalism in alternative and mainstream media. Journalism Studies, 6(3), 361–374. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616700500132016 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14616700500132016
Holt, K., Figenschou, T. U., & Frischlich, L. (2019). Key dimensions of alternative news media. Digital Journalism, 7(7), 860–869. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2019.1625715 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2019.1625715
ILO. (n.d.). Labour migration in Asia and the Pacific. https://www.ilo.org/asia/areas/labour-migration/WCMS_634559/lang--en/index.htm
Janowitz, M. (1975). Professional models in journalism: The gatekeeper and the advocate. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 52(4), 618–626. https://doi.org/10.1177/107769907505200402 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/107769907505200402
Jarvis, P. (1999). The practitioner-researcher: Developing theory from practice (1st ed.). Aberdeen, UK: Jossey-Bass.
Kelth, R. (2015). What is the real difference between a filmmaker and a journalist? Documentary. Retrieved from https://www.documentary.org/blog/what-real-difference-between-filmmaker-and-journalist
Kenix, L. J. (2011). Alternative and mainstream media: The converging spectrum (1st ed.). London, UK: Bloomsbury Academic. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781849665421 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5040/9781849665421
Kenix, L. J. (2013). A Converging image?: Commercialism and the visual identity of alternative and mainstream news websites. Journalism Studies, 14(6), 835–856. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2012.754239 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2012.754239
Lopez, B. (2020). Reversing silences in West Papua: Interdisciplinary research and (audio) documentary. Pacific Journalism Review: Te Koakoa, 26(1), 200–225. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.24135/pjr.v26i1.1097 DOI: https://doi.org/10.24135/pjr.v26i1.1097
Martin, P., Abella, M., & Kuptsch, C. (2006). Managing labor migration in the twenty-first century. New Haven, CN: Yale University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.12987/yale/9780300109047.001.0001
McClure, T., & Meier, C. (2015, July 22). Filipino rebuild workers reluctant to speak about exploitation. Stuff. Retrieved from http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/70437500/filipino-rebuild-workers-reluctant-to-speak-about-exploitation
McKernan, L. (2008). Newsreel. In The international encyclopedia of communication. American Cancer Society. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405186407.wbiecn040 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405186407.wbiecn040
Morrah, M. (2016, December 14). Exploitation in NZ: Filipino builders forced to work with no safety gear. Newshub. Retrieved from https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2016/12/exploitation-in-nz-filipino-builders-forced-to-work-with-no-safety-gear.html
Mutibwa, D. H. (2019). Cultural protest in journalism, documentary films and the arts: Between protest and professionalisation. London, UK: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315147970
Nash, C. (2013). Journalism as a research discipline. Pacific Journalism Review, 19(2), 123–135. https://doi.org/10.24135/pjr.v19i2.221 DOI: https://doi.org/10.24135/pjr.v19i2.221
Nash, C. (2016a). What is journalism? The art and politics of a rupture. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Nash, C. (2016b). Journalism: The question is …. Australian Journalism Review, 39(1), 25–29. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/107769588403900311
Niblock, S. (2007). From 'knowing how' to 'being able': Negotiating the meanings of reflective practice and reflexive research in journalism studies. Journalism Practice, 1(1), 20–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512780601078829 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17512780601078829
Nichols, B. (1973). Newsreel: Film and revolution. Cinéaste, 5(4), 7–13. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41685696%0A
Nichols, B. (2001). Documentary film and the modernist avant-garde. Critical Inquiry, 27(4), 580–610. https://doi.org/10.1086/449023 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/449023
Pe-Pua, R., & Protacio-Marcelino, E. (2000). Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino psychology): A legacy of Virgilio G. Enriquez. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 3(1), 49–71. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-839X.00054 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-839X.00054
Pizzichini, L. (2003). Silent witness. New Statesman, 132(4653). https://www.newstatesman.com/node/158270
Prager, B. (2015). Documentary: Subservience to journalism?: A panel discussion with Miriam Bale, Robert Greene, and Eric Hynes. Visual Communication Quarterly, 22(1), 34–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/15551393.2015.1026599 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15551393.2015.1026599
Robie, D. (2015). Advocating journalism practice-as-research: A case for recognition in the New Zealand PBRF context. Asia Pacific Media Educator, 25(1), 62–73. https://doi.org/10.1177/1326365X15575591 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1326365X15575591
Robie, D. (2016). The Rainbow Warrior, secrecy and state terrorism: A Pacific journalism case study. Pacific Journalism Review, 22(1), 187–213. https://doi.org/10.24135/pjr.v22i1.19 DOI: https://doi.org/10.24135/pjr.v22i1.19
Rodriguez, R. M. (2010). Migrants for export: How the Philippine state brokers labor to the world. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5749/minnesota/9780816665273.001.0001
Sikand, N. (2015). Filmed ethnography or ethnographic film? Voice and positionality in ethnographic, documentary, and feminist film. Journal of Film and Video, 67(3–4), 42–56. https://doi.org/10.5406/jfilmvideo.67.3-4.0042 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5406/jfilmvideo.67.3-4.0042
Silverstone, R. (1999). Why study the media? Sage. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446219461
Thomas, R. J. (2018). Advocacy journalism. Journalism, 391–414. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501500084-020 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501500084-020
Tigno, J. (2015). Emigration as a silver bullet and public policy in the Philippines. https://www.victoria.ac.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/1717276/jorge-tigno.pdf
Tyner, J. A. (2004). Made in the Philippines: Gendered discourses and the making of migrants. RoutledgeCurzon.
Uricchio, W., Wolozin, S., Bui, L., Flynn, S., & Tortum, D. (2014). Mapping the intersection of two cultures: Interactive documentary and digital journalism. http://opendoclab.mit.edu/interactivejournalism/
Ward, S. J. A. (2008). Global journalism ethics: Widening the conceptual base. Global Media Journal—Canadian Edition, 1(1), 137–149. http://gmj-canadianedition.ca//wp-content/uploads/2018/12/inaugural_ward.pdf
Wayne, M. (1997). Theorising video practice. Lawrence & Wishart.
Wayne, M. (2008). Documentary as critical and creative research. In T. Austin & W. de Jong (Eds.), Rethinking documentary: New perspectives, new practices (pp. 82–94). McGraw Hill/Open University Press.
White, T. (2015). The doc and journalism discussion: The view from Sundance. Documentary. Retrieved from https://www.documentary.org/feature/doc-and-journalism-discussion-view-sundance
Winton, E. (2013). Good for the heart and soul, good for business: The cultural politics of documentary at the Hot Docs film festival. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. https://curve.carleton.ca/7f82330e-19b8-4d43-86e3-bf1499c3de18
Zafra, N. (in press). Social network documentary and its aesthetic metamorphosis: Reflections from a practice-led research. Visual Communication.
Zafra, N. (2018). Backpack reporting of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines: Implications of convergent technologies on disaster journalism. Pacific Journalism Review, 24(1). https://doi.org/10.24135/pjr.v24i1.397 DOI: https://doi.org/10.24135/pjr.v24i1.397
Copyright (c) 2020 Norman Zafra
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
