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Media Hacking is a term I use in Jamming the Media to refer to amateurs who produce various forms of media, making use of available technologies and resources and trying to overcome limitations, in much the same way that computer hackers do. Early hackers preached a "question authority" and "yield to the hands-on imperative" philosophy that's shared by most DIY media-makers. "Culture Jamming" is often used in a similar context, but it usually refers to forms of media sabotage (billboard hacking, media hoaxing, illegal postering). Media hacking is any form of do-it-yourself media manipulation done with little money, lots of passion, and heaping doses of good ol' Yankee ingenuity.
Another thing that media hackers share with computer hackers is frequent reliance on "social engineering." In hackerdom, social engineering is the fine art of conning people out of information and resources, usually by posing as someone else (a computer tech, fellow employee, janitor, etc.). It's a common way that so-called "dark-side hackers" get system information, passwords, credit reports, etc. Media hackers use similar forms of social engineering to less controversial ends: to get free printing services, Web space, equipment loaners, etc. When you've no money and have fallen prey to self-publishing addiction, you become extremely clever and resourceful. (E.g. When Kevin Smith was making the indie film Clerks, he got a student discount on film by signing up for classes, buying the film and then dropping the classes.)
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