AMIC Alternative Media Portal (AAMP)

AAMP provides resources and information on alternative media - providing news, views, and interviews from alternative media sources, and alternative perspectives not only on the media but also on other salient issues in the region. The site also includes links to other alternative media sources in the region and a variety of networking resources - e.g., Millennium Development Goal (MDG) media training offerings. AMIC aims to link alternative media sources to each other via this site. To that end, it is meant not just to serve as a source of information but, rather, to spark intersections between and among communication researchers and mass communication educators in the region and beyond.

The portal provides a platform to exchange material among alternative media sources, especially community radio stations. In the exchange of material, AMIC gives preference to cultural material rather than political material ("if only the latter is promoted without cross-cultural understanding, it has the potential to create conflicts rather than solve them). The site is also evolving into a resource for communication researchers and mass communication educators in the region who would like material from an alternative or regional perspective to use in classrooms.

Alternative Media Development.

Stressing that "there are no hard and fast rules that define alternative media," AMIC highlights the fact that alternative media outlets are those that take on "stories and topics that more traditional media outlets will not touch, mainly due to the traditional media's relationship with the corporate sector, the government or the need to protect the status quo. Another definition of alternative media is that it gives the audiences choice that is free from corporate or government control."

AMIC exists to encourage ethical and social responsibility of the media to support democratic access and participation in media development and production, and to provide opportunities for empowerment of disadvantaged sectors in the communication/media environment. As a research centre, it examines critical issues in the media and the communication sector and their implications for development. As a resource centre it gathers and disseminates knowledge about communications and its effects in Asia. And, by conducting training and professional consultations, it is active in capacity-building for the media and their users.