Media at the margins? After the mainstreaming of participatory media practices

The Journal of Alternative and Community Media is being launched at a point in time that is both interesting and challenging. Key practices and value propositions of what used to be niche media have reached the mainstream and have become cornerstones of everyday communication. Yet many alternative and community media are struggling, and academic attention often remains focused on the classic margins of the media ecology. What has changed, and what does this mean for our academic field