Tactical Media - Tactical Media Versus Strategic Media

Tactical Media Versus Strategic Media

Tactical media is described as the rebellious user—examples of media tacticians include hackers, street rappers, or an innocent bystander filming an incident. An important factor in tactical media is the idea of "ground level" work, meaning that a power struggle exists: ordinary people who do not possess status or capital utilize technology to create a temporary reversal of power. Certain aspects that strengthen the magnitude of tactical media can include crisis, criticism, critique, or absurdity—in order to convey a social message.

Tactical media's counterpart is strategic media: a common analogy used to describe this phenomenon is an overseer controlling the masses. They are people who are the supplier of information: examples include producers, authors, and educators. They promote ideas that typically only benefit them, whereas tactical media tends to broadcast a message that criticizes a powerful entity, such as a corporation or strong organization.

There is some debate that tactical media resembles a strategy more than a tactic.