Abstrakt
The street press constitutes a special type of (alternative) media, involving homeless and poor people in their circulation and content production. This chapter, examining the two currently active street magazines in Sweden, Situation Sthlm and Faktum, and building on the work of scholars on alternative and community media, investigates how they create spaces of participation and inclusion for their vendors, in relation to their organisation and content production, but also what the challenges and the limits of such and endeavor are.
Through the consistent coverage of issues of homelessness, poverty and social inclusion, the two Swedish street papers act as advocates of social issues, often from the perspective of the people who personally experience their outcomes: the homeless, the unemployed, the socially excluded. While the two media organisations do not foster maximalist modes of participation for these groups, their role in offering opportunities for employment, empowerment, and visibility to such societal groups that remain largely voiceless and invisible, highlights their special role and societal relevance.