https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443720926045 Media, Culture & Society 2020, Vol. 42(6) 1039–1043 © The Author(s) 2020 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/0163443720926045 journals.sagepub.com/home/mcs Open publishing, decentralisation, and the rise of new media platforms: reflecting on the IMC experience of Australia Valentina Baú The University of New South Wales, Australia Abstract The year 2019 marked the 20th anniversary of Indymedia. The last two decades have seen revolutionary moments in the field of alternative media, both from a historical and technological dimension. Indymedia has been one of the key players in this landscape, and reflecting on its experience 20 years later, is useful to try and unpack the factors that have shaped its journey. Keywords alternative media, Australia, Indymedia, media activism, media technologies, social media The Australian IMC The year 2019 marked the 20th anniversary of Indymedia. The last two decades have seen revolutionary moments in the field of alternative media, both from a historical and technological dimension. Indymedia has been one of the key players in this landscape, and reflecting on its experience 20 years later, is useful to try and unpack the factors that have shaped its journey. The start of the Australia Indymedia collective came with a push towards opening up spaces that would facilitate people in presenting the news stories they wanted to tell, in Corresponding author: Valentina Baú, School of the Arts & Media, The University of New South Wales, Webster Building, Kensington, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia. Email: v.bau@unsw.edu.au 926045MCS 0 0 10.1177/0163443720926045Media, Culture & SocietyBaú research-article 2020 Special Issue: Independent Media Centres 20 Years On