This is the first part of three interlinked articles on the potential political role of net based alternative media

The first part looks at American autonomist Marxist Harry Cleaver’s account of how international solidarity networks were built up around the Chiapas revolt in 1994, ‘The Zapatistas and the Electronic Fabric of Struggle’ and at the states’ response to on-line social movement organising, in particular at state actions against the Indymedia network.

The second article, An Historical Overview of Media and Class Struggle argues that the full potential of the Internet for political mobilisation has yet to be realised, as societies where Internet usage is currently widespread are pretty quiescent, with relatively little in the way of social protest and class struggle by comparison with say the 1960s and 70s. This argument is made by an historical overview of the role of the media and alternative media in various instances of protest and struggle.

Finally,The Internet, Communication and Horizontal Organisation looks at the role of the internet in communications, and argues that it can facilitate horizontal as opposed to hierarchal forms of social movement organising.

We were assured during the Irish Ferries saga that it could only happen because it was a maritime industry and landbound Irish jobs were safe. Many newspapers editorialised against escalation and for reasoned negotiation etc, the Irish Examiner was no different.

But a story absent by and large from the Irish media has been the Examiner Group's move to shed its print workers and replace them with lower paid workers in a 'new company' which will print it's stable of papers on contract. Under the new arrangement workers in Ballina and Cork city were invited to agree redundancy, redeployment or a transfer to the 'new firm' - under new conditions of course. Out of a staff of almost 90 only eleven are transferring to the 'new' firm.

In related news Irish Ferries – Great Struggle Terrible Deal offers a post-match analysis focused on the role of ICTU in domesticating the struggle.