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Nino Macharashvili !!

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University'of'Warwick'

MA'in'Creative'and'Media'Enterprises'

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4/10/2012'

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Acknowledgements..!

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Many'thanks'to:''

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Ruth' Leary! –! for!being!a! supportive,! encouraging!and!helpful! tutor!during! the!whole!

academic!year;! for!supervising!my!major!project!with!a!careful!and!diligent!guidance;!

and!for!teaching!the!best!lessons!through!her!own!bright!personality;!

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Dr.'Chris'Bilton!–!for!inspiring!and!thought<provoking!conversations!and!classes;!!

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CME'–!for!being!the!loving!family!for!me!while!studying!three!thousand!miles!far!from!

home;!

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OSF!–!for!sponsoring!my!studies!and!giving!me!this!wonderful!opportunity;!

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My'family!–!for!supporting!me!every!time,!everywhere!and!in!every!way;!!

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My'friends!–!for!distracting!me!from!the!studies!and!making!my!life!more!beautiful.!!

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CONTENTS'

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Acknowledgements.............................................................................................................2!

Introduction........................................................................................................................4!Research!Framework,!Questions!and!Structure!...................................................................................................!5!Methodology!........................................................................................................................................................................!6!

Chapter.1:.Who.are.the.professional.and.citizen.journalists?...............................................8!

Chapter.2:.When.did.they.meet?.......................................................................................10!

Chapter.3:.How.do.traditional.media.incorporate.citizen.journalism.in.their.everyday.

work?................................................................................................................................13!The!BBC!................................................................................................................................................................................!14!CNN!........................................................................................................................................................................................!16!Al!Jazeera!.............................................................................................................................................................................!17!CitJo.com!..............................................................................................................................................................................!17!

Chapter.4:.Where.does.citizen.journalism.find.its.place.in.the.traditional.media.business.

model?..............................................................................................................................19!

Chapter.5:.Why*Yes.and*Why*No?......................................................................................22!

Chapter.6:.Discussion..What*are.the.implications.of.the.findings?.....................................31!

Conclusion.........................................................................................................................37!

Bibliography'.......................................................................................................................39.

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Appendix!A!!……………………………………………………………………………………………………………43! !

Appendix!B!……………………………………………………………………………………………..………...……52! !!

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Introduction..!

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Imagine!it!is!an!ordinary!British!rainy!day.!The!alarm!clock!rings!at!the!usual!time:!you!

wake!up,!get!ready!and!set!off!for!work.!In!the!middle!of!the!journey,!you!get!stopped.!

The!road!is!closed:!you!see!several!police!cars,!unusual!smoke!and!a!crowd!of!people.!

You!do!not!know!what!is!happening!but!hope!that!you!will!catch!up!with!the!news!later.!

You! look! around,! though! you! cannot! see! any! journalists! –! there! are! no! cameras,! no!

microphones,!and!no!voice!recorders.!But!your!smart!phone!has!got!all!of!them,!as!well!

as!your!iPad.!What!would!you!do?!!

Recent! technological! progress! equipped! most! citizens! better! than! the! professional!journalists!were!a!decade!ago.!Gadgets!with!cameras!and!constant!access!

to!the!Internet!allow!ordinary!citizens!to!report!on!the!issues!that!they!are!interested!in!

or!come!across!by! accident.! They! can! record! a! video,! take! a! photo! or! just! write! about! the! story! they!think!is!worth!telling,!and!they!can!publish!their!journalistic!

products!online,!in!real!time,!using!social!media!tools,!and!share!the!story!with!others.!It!

is!called!citizen!journalism!–!“when!the!people!formerly!known!as!audience!employ!the!

press!tools!they!have!in!possession!to!inform!one!another”!(Rosen,!2008).!!

Now! imagine,! that! it! is! the! same! day.! But! this! time! you! are! a! news! producer! at! the!national! TV! station.! You! are! informed! that! there! is! something! <! worth! covering! < happening!nearby;!you!send!a!crew!to!report!on!the!story,!but!the!roads!are!closed!and!

they!cannot!reach!the!place.!You!have!no!image,!video!or!information!to!broadcast.!But!

when! you! log! into! your! Facebook! and! Twitter! accounts,! you! see! the! flow! of! posts,!tweets,! images!and!videos!from!the!scene,!published!by!the!by<passers!who!happened!

to!witness!the!story.!What!would!you!do?!!!

Editors! and! producers! in! the! traditional! media! outlets,! such! as! TV,! radio! and! print!

media,! have! faced! this! kind! of! cases! for! many! times! recently.! Emerging! form! of!

journalism! when! the! ordinary! citizens! manage! to! report! on! the! stories! like! 9/11! or!

London’s! bombings,!while!mainstream!media! is! not! capable! of! producing! journalistic!

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products!by!themselves,!make!professional!journalists!reconsider!what!is!their!job!in!‘a!

time!when!anyone!can!make!journalism’!(Jarvis,!2006).!!Some!see!the!citizen!reporting!

as! the! end! of! the! traditional,! mainstream! media,! while! others! argue! that! citizen!

journalism! will! never! replace! professional! journalism! and! it! should! be! employed! to!

complement! the! work! of! traditional! media.! Some! conventional! media! organizations!

gave! up! the! thoughts! of! citizen! journalism! as! of! their! rival! and! implemented! the!

strategies!and!tools!to!cooperate!with!their!citizen!colleagues.!However,!besides!being!

beneficial,! the! cooperation! between! these! two! also! faces! some! challenges! and!

difficulties.!!!

The! following! work! aims! to! study! the! relationship! between! these! two! forms! of!

journalism!–!professional,!mainstream!media!and!citizen!reporting;!also,!find!what!are!

the! best! practises! and! strategies! that! the! traditional!media! organizations! use! to! deal!

with! citizen! reporting,! and! investigate!what! threats! and! opportunities! are! created! by!

the!cooperation!between!them.!This!topic!has!been!the!focus!of!research!and!discussion!

for!many!scholars!and!industry!specialists!recently;!however,!as!this!relationship! is! in!

the!process!of!establishing,!it!develops!and!changes!daily.!The!thesis!tries!to!provide!the!

up!to!date!account!about!the!subject!and!thus,!contribute!to!the!media!scholarship.!Also,!

most!of!the!researches!made!on!this!topic!study!either!only!one!organization!or!just!one!

aspect!of! the! issue,!which!does!not!provide! the! readers!with! the!whole!picture!of! the!

phenomenon.! This! paper,! also,! tries! to! address! this! gap! and! present! the!

multidimensional!analysis!on!the!subject.!!

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Research.Framework,.Questions.and.Structure.

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To! meet! its! aims! and! present! a! complete! story! about! the! relationship! between!

mainstream!media!and!citizen!journalism,!the!paper!will!employ!the!concept!of!five!Ws!

and!one!H,!which!is!usually!followed!by!the!news!journalists!not!to!leave!any!hole!in!a!

story!while!reporting!on!the!news!of!the!day!(Porter,!2010).!This!framework!suggests!to!

ask! the! questions! Who,! What,! When,! Where,! Why! and! How,! in! order! to! produce! a!

comprehensive!account!on!the!topic.!!

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To! examine! the! interrelationship! between! traditional! media! and! citizen! journalism,!

employing!the!‘5W!&!H’!framework,!the!paper!asks!the!following!questions:!!

< Who!are!the!professional!and!citizen!journalists?!!

< When&did!they!meet?!

< How!do!traditional!media!incorporate!citizen!journalism!in!their!everyday!work?!

< Where! does! citizen! journalism! find! its! place! in! the! traditional! media! business!

model?!

< Why!YES!and!Why!NO!–!what!are! the!pros!and!cons!of! the!cooperation!between!

these!two?!

< What!are!the!implications!of!the!findings?!

The! answers! to! each! question! will! be! presented! in! separate! chapters! combining! the!

review! of! the! literature! on! the! topic! and! the! results! of! our! data! analysis.! !While! the!

chapters!Who,!When,!How,!Where!and!Why!will!be!more!descriptive,! the! last!chapter!<

What!<!will!provide!the!discussion!of!the!findings!and!their!implication!for!the!future!of!

journalism.! Operational! definitions! of! the! key! terms! will! be! presented! in! the! first!

chapter:!Who.!

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Methodology.

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As! the! answers! to! the! above! mentioned! questions! are! constantly! changing,! the! best!

people!to!ask!them!are!the!professionals!employed!in!the!media!industry!who!face!the!

same! questions! in! their! daily! work! and! contribute! to! seeking! for! the! answers.! The!

discussion!about!the!changing!relationship!between!the!mainstream!media!and!citizen!

journalism!is!going!online,!in!editorial!blog!posts!and!commentary;!also,!at!the!meetings!

and! conferences! held! recently! and! then! shared! online.! Because! of! the! limited!

accessibility!to!the!media!professionals!of!high!positions,!the!paper!will!be!based!on!the!

analysis! of! online! documents,! such! as! blog! posts,! articles,! interviews,! seminar! and!

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conference! audio! and! video! footages,! which! express! the! ideas! and! opinions! of! some!leading! media! professionals! about! the! topic.! ! To! collect! the! applicable! data,! we! were!searching! for! relatively! new! documents! discussing! the! relationship! between! the!traditional!media!and!citizen!journalism,!produced!by!experienced!industry!

employees,!some!of!them!with!the!prominent!positions!at!the!big!media!organizations!

such!as!the!BBC,! Guardian! and! Reuters.! After! an! extensive! research,! 108! online! documents! were!collected! out! of! which! 94! were! textual! and! 14! were! media! documents,! including! the!recordings! of! media! summits! and! conferences,! TEDx! talk,! media! seminars! and!workshops.!The!oldest!document!in!our!data!collection!is!from!2004,!though!most!of!the!documents! are! newer,! published! after! 2010.! As! the! research! topic! has! got! the!global!nature,!we!have!not!applied!any!geographical!boundaries!to!the!research.!The!full!list!of!the!collected!documents!with!the!relevant!

details!is!presented!in!an!Appendix!A.!!

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For!processing!the!raw!data!Thematic!Analysis!method!was!used,!which!is!‘a!process!of!

segmentation,! categorisation! and! relinking! of! aspects! of! data! prior! to! final!interpretation’!(Grbich,!2007,!p.!16!in!Matthews!and!Ross,!2010,!p.!373).!The!data!was!

categorised! in! five! themes! answering! to! the! questions! Who,! When,! How,! Where!and!What.!However,!not!every!item!of!our!collection!contained!the!valuable!information!for!our! research,! so! after! examination! of! all! of! them,! the! data! was! filtered! and! only! 48!documents! were! chosen! to! be! included! in! our! final! data! analysis.! The! results! of! the!thematic!analysis!are!illustrated!in!an!Appendix!B.!They!will!be!presented!in!the!

thesis!as! ‘Extracts’! with! two! part! numbers! from! which! the! first! one! will! be! identification!number!of!the!item!from!the!Appendix!B!–!Data!Analysis!Sheet;!and!the!

last!number!will!refer!the!category!under!which!the!Extract!was!analysed.!!

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To!examine!the!relationship!between!professional!and!citizen!media,!firstly,!we!need!to!

define!who!are!the!professional!and!citizen!journalists,!and!what!makes!them!different!

and!similar.!The!answer!to!these!questions!can!be!found!in!Chapter!1:!Who?!!!

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Chapter.1:.Who.are.the.professional.and.citizen.journalists?.!

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Defining!who!is!a!professional!journalist!while!journalism!is!largely!considered!to!be!a!

trade!rather!than!a!profession!(Smith,!1970s)!is!getting!even!harder!in!the!XXI!century.!

Now!everyone,!who!owns!a!personal!computer,!a!smart!phone!or!any!other!connected<

to<the<internet!gadget,!becomes!a!potential!reporter!as! ‘a!reporter! is! the!one!who!has!

the! news! and!who! is! trying! to! inform! others’! (Gillmor,! 2006,! p.127).! Sharing! stories!

found! around! oneself! is! becoming! less! difficult! after! the! range! of! technological!

improvements! –! the! invention! and! spread! of! personal! computers,! the! Internet,! free!

social!media!websites!and!mobile!devices!capable!of!capturing!and!sharing!media!files.!

However,! because! the! terms! ‘professional’! and! ‘citizen’! journalism!are!widely!used! in!

the!industry!and!the!paper!is!also!based!on!the!notion!of!the!difference!between!them,!

we!face!the!need!to!specify!their!meaning.!

One!of! the! terms,!which! is!used!as!a! synonym!of! ‘citizen! journalism’!and!was!defined!

earliest,!is!‘Participatory!Journalism’,!which!is!‘the!act!of!citizens!playing!an!active!role!

in! the! process! of! collecting,! reporting,! analysing! and! disseminating! news! and!

information’!(Bowman!and!Willis,!2003,!p.!14).!The!term!has!got!some!other!synonyms!

as!well,!such!as!!‘Open!Source!Journalism’!(Bentley!et!al,!2005),!‘Grassroots!Journalism’!

(Gillmor,!2006),!‘Public’s!Journalism’!(Haas,!2005),!‘Hyperlocal!Journalism’,!‘Distributed!

Jurnalism’! (Allan,! 2009,! p.! 18),! ‘User<generated! content’,! ‘Collaborative! Journalism’,!

‘Community!Journalism’,!‘Networked!Journalism’,!etc.!(Kelly,!2009,!p.!17).!!

A! citizen! journalist! can! be! anyone,! who,! in! any! way! or! form,! participates! in! news!

gathering! and! sharing.! National! Association! of! Citizen! Journalists! differentiates! ‘an!

accidental! journalist’! from! ‘a! citizen! journalist’.! The! first! one! refers! to! an! eyewitness!

who!happens! to!be!at! the!scene!of! the!event,!makes!a!recording!or! takes!a!photo!and!

publishes! it! online! (Ross! and! Cormier,! 2010,! p.! 58).! On! the! other! hand,! citizen!

journalists!are!the!ones!who!take!initiative!themselves!to!report!or!and!to!comment!on!

the! issues! that! they! are! concerned! about,! and! for! this,! they! use! the! tools! which! are!

provided!by!the!Internet!(Ross!and!Cormier,!2010,!p.!66);!some!call!them!‘Enthusiastic!

Citizen! Journalists’,! who! intentionally! look! for! stories! and! ‘act! as! “non<credential”!

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alternative!to!“professional”!journalists’!(Extract!16.1).!In!this!paper,!the!work!of!both!–!

accidental!and!enthusiastic!citizen!reporters!is!named!as!‘citizen!journalism’,!which!can!

be! shortly!defined!as! ‘non<journalists! engaged! in!activities! traditionally!performed!by!

journalists’!(Kelly,!2009,!p.!4).!

The! classification!of! citizen! journalism! types! is!based!on!administration!models! in! an!

explanatory!study!Citizen!Journalism!and!Democracy!in!Africa,!where!the!author!names!

two! types! of! citizen! journalism! –! institutional! and! non<institutional! (Banda,! 2010,! p.!

28).! In! non<institutional! citizen! journalism! model,! citizens! make! and! share! news!

voluntarily! and! without! any! professional! guiding,! editing! or! controlling;! while! in!

institutional!model!citizen!journalists!experience!some!kind!of!organizational!structure!

and!limitations,!such!as!vetting,!verifying!or!editing!their!works,!usually!by!the!editors!

of! their! host!websites,!who! are! professional! journalists.! The!websites! they! cooperate!

with!might!be!a!special!citizen!journalism!website!or!a!mainstream!media!organization!

website!trying!to!attract!and!get!citizens!involved!in!their!work;!such!platforms!can!be!

found,! for! example,! on! the!BBC!or!Guardian!websites! (Banda,!2010,!p.! 29).! Following!

our!research!questions,!the!paper!will!be!focused!on!the!institutional!citizen!journalism!

and! will! examine! the! ‘institutionalization’! of! citizen! journalism! by! traditional! media!

from!different!angles.!!

Professional! journalism,! which! is! also! called! traditional,! conventional! or! mainstream!

media,!can!be!defined!as!‘the!Big!Media!–!arrogant!institutions!–!which![in!XX!century]!

manipulated!everyone!and!treated!news!as!a!lecture’!(Gillmor,!2006,!p.!xiii),!where!the!

communication!was!only!one<sided!and!did!not!recognise!the!active!audience.!But!it!has!

changed!now!as!the!audience!want!to!participate,!and!they!have!the!tools!for!it,!because!

‘in!a!different! time,! these! same! “citizen! journalists”!would!have!been!called! sources!–!

and!would! have! needed! the! professionals! in! order! to! reach! a!wider! audience.! Today!

they!can!publish!on!their!own’!(Extract!21.1).!!

Citizen! journalists! usually! address! the! gap! of! the! mainstream! media! coverage;!

‘underserved!audience!could!take!matters! into! its!own!hands’!(Kelly,!2009,!p.!11)!and!

‘take!responsibility!and!power!to!cover!the!issues!that!mainstream!media!do!not!cover’!

(Extract! 44.1).! This! is! what! happened! during! Arab! Spring,! where! public! perceived!

bloggers! and! citizen! journalists! as! independent! news! sources! and! ‘as! opposed! to!

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mainstream! journalists!who!were! seen! as!mouth!pieces!of! authorities’! (Extract!19.1).!!

According!to!Sergey!Strokan,!Political!Commentator!of!Russian!Kommersant,! the!same!

happened!in!Russia,!where!Russian!media!failed!to!address!important!events!and!social!

media!filled!in!the!gap.!Strokan!suggests!that!‘the!less!efficient!traditional!media!is,!the!

stronger!citizen!journalism!becomes’!(Extract!19.2).!!

While! talking! about! the! differences! between! citizen! journalism! and! professional! one,!two!factors!were!emphasized!in!one!of!the!documents!from!the!data!collection. Those!

are! ‘the! amount! of! practice! each! gets’! and! ‘the! form! of! compensation’! (Extract! 36.1),!indicating! that! professionals! are! supposed! to! be! ‘doing! journalism’! as! their! main!job!and,!thus,!they!should!be!paid!for!it,!while!most!citizen!journalists!are!not!compensated!

or,! if! they! are! paid,! the! sum! they! get! is! very! symbolic! and! does! not! have! significant!material!value.!!!

However,!not!all!evaluations!of!citizen! journalists!have!been!positive.!A! journalist!and!

BBC!presenter!Andrew!Marr!criticized!citizen! journalists!and!called!them! ‘inadequate,!

pimpled! and! single’!who! are! angry! and! share! their! negative! opinions! online! because!

they!stay!anonymous!(Guardian,!2010).!!!

But,!whether!professionals! like! it!or!not,! ‘journalists!are!not!some!exotic!species,! they!

are! everyone! who! seeks! to! take! new! developments,! put! them! into! writing! and! share!them! with! others’! (Gillmor,! 2006,! p.! 110).! ! As! the! number! of! people! like! this!is!considerable,!citizen!journalism!gets!stronger!and!takes!us!to!Open!Journalism!–!where!readers! get! involved! in! news! and! bring! additional! value;! and! where! journalism! is! no!longer!just!for!journalists!(Extract!47.1).!!!!

Chapter.2:.When.did.they.meet?.

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Cooperation! between! professional! media! and! audience! is! not! a! new! phenomenon.!

Newspapers!and!magazines!have!asked!readers!to!write!letters!to!editor!for!long!time!

and! they! have! been! receiving! phone! calls! from! readers! with! the! tips! or! complaints!!

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(Gillmor,!2006,!p.!120).!For!example,!Reuters!has!been!using!forms!of!citizen!journalism!for!150!years.!According!to!its!editor!Mr.!Schlesinger,!when!he!was!China!bureau!chief!from!1991!to!1994,!Reuters!used!to!obtain!information!from!people!traveling!in!Tibet,!as!

news!agencies!were!unable!to!gain!access!to!the!country!for!their!own!staff!(Extract 1.2).! Thus,! mainstream! media! has! always! been! using! material! from! the! public,! but!what! has! changed! now! is! that,! ‘because! of! the! technology,! the! amount! of! available!information! is! much! bigger’! (Extract! 46.2)! and! more! effort! is! needed! to! handle! this!information.!!

What! could! have! been! considered! as! a! step! towards! the! current! model! of! citizen!

journalism!is!civic!or!public! journalism,!which!arouse!in!the!United!States! in!the!early!

1990s! and!was! characterized! by! ‘involving! readers! both! in! the! news<making! process!

and! the! use! of! news’!which!was! achieved! by! talking!with! them! and! arranging! public!

meetings,!so!that!newspapers!would!be! ‘framing!the!scope!of!reader! involvement! in!a!

way!that!produces!stories’! (Nip,!2006,!p.!216).!The!readers!participated! in!setting! the!

journalistic!agenda!<!‘at!least!in!an!advisory,!if!not!a!participatory!way’!(Kelly,!2009,!p.!

11).!!

The!new!word!in!forming!citizen!journalism!as!we!have!it!now!was!establishing!a!South!

Korean!website!OhMyNews.com!in!2000,!which!has!a!slogan!‘Every!citizen!is!a!reporter’!

suggesting! that! ‘citizens! could! be! more! than! passive! receptors’! and! ‘reminding!

professional!reporters!that!they!now!faced!competitions!from!an!unlikely!source’!(Kelly,!

2009,!p.!13).!!The!website!turned!out!to!be!a!successful!experiment!which!changed!the!

journalism!itself!‘by!enabling!news!consumers!to!become!producers!…![and]!participate!

in! the!production!of!news! in!ways! that! strongly!differ! from!those!of! the! conventional!

press’!!(Young,!2009,!p.!143).!

But! the! turning! point! for! empowering! citizen! journalism!was! the! series! of! tragedies!

from!the!early!00s.!The!most!prominent!example!of!citizen!journalism!may!be!the!9/11!

terrorist! attacks! in! the! United! States,! when! a! large! part! of! the! footage! the! American!

citizens! viewed! actually! came! from! personal! cell! phones! or! other! personal! video!

equipment’!(Extract!8.2).!

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9/11! was! followed! by! some! other! catastrophes! like! Virginia! tech! shootings,! Asian!

Tsunami! and! London! Bombings! in! 2005.! News! organizations! were! in! an! awkward!

situation! when! they! had! to! rely! on! the! ‘amateur’! footage,! mostly! recorded! by! the!

holidaymakers,!while!reporting!on!the!aftermath!of!the!South!Asian!Tsunami.!Instead!of!

the! catastrophe! scene,! professional! journalists! were! sent! to! the! airports! to!meet! the!

ordinary! citizens! with! their! amateur! cameras! full! of! original! material! depicting! the!

tsunami!as!it!happened.!As!one!British!newspaper!observed,!‘never!before!has!there!had!

been! a! major! international! story! where! television! news! crews! have! been! so!

emphatically! trounced! in! their! coverage! by! amateurs! wielding! their! own! cameras’!

(Allan,!2009,!p.!18).!As!for!covering!national!news,!the!day!of!London!bombings!was!the!

time!when! ‘the!BBC!knew!that!newsgathering!had!changed! forever’! (Extract!6.2).!The!

BBC!Six!O’clock!News!bulletin!was!led!by!the!video!footage!sent!by!the!tube!passengers!

and! it!was! the! first! time! such!material! had! been!deemed!more!newsworthy! than! the!

professionals’!material!(Extract!2.2).!!

According! to! the! Director! of! BBC! News! Helen! Boaden! (2008),! the! most! successful!

combination!of!mainstream!and!citizen!newsgathering!was! the!coverage!of! the! floods!

across! the!UK! in!2007,!which! ‘provided! the!audiences!with!crucial!public! information!

when!they!really!needed!it’!(Extract!6.2).!!

Another! important! point! for! successful! cooperation! between! conventional! and! citizen!journalism! was! in! 2009,! during! G20! protests! in! London! when! the! citizen! journalism!proved!itself!to!be!worthy!to!be employed!not!only!for!reporting!on!breaking!news,!but!it!can!also!offer!a!significant!help!in!the!serious!journalistic!investigation,!such!

as!a!police!misconduct!which!caused!a!death!of!a!man.!Ian!Tomlinson!died!during!G20!

protests!in!the! city! of! London! while! he! was! going! home! from! work.! The! Guardian! started!investigation!using!social!media!tools!and!in!a!couple!of!days!the!

journalist!Paul!Lewis!received! a! video! footage! from! an! American! investment! manager! who! was! in! London!during! those! days.! The! video! showed! that! Ian! Tomlinson! was! attacked! by! the! police!officer,! which! could! have! caused! his! death.! After! publishing! the! video,! a! criminal!investigation!started!(Guardian,!2009).!!One!of!the!first!successful!attempts!from!the!mainstream!media!to! incorporate!citizen!

journalism!was! in!2003!before! the! Iraq!war,!when!the!BBC!asked! its!audience! for! the!

! 13!

pictures! about! the! conflict! and! published! ‘journalistically! smart! and! emotionally!

moving’!photo!essay!(Gillmor,!2006,!p.!121).!But!by! that! time! the!BBC!was!one!of! the!

exceptional!media! organizations! to! be! cooperating!with! the! audience.! However,! even!

within! the!BBC,!which!had!a!clear!policy!about!cooperating!with!and!not! ignoring! the!

active!audience,!not!everyone!in!the!organization!was!able!to!recognise!and!accept!this!

shift.! The!BBC! editor! Richard! Sambrook!wrote! about! it! in! the!Nieman!Reports! saying!

that!the!changes!did!‘disturb!some!colleagues’!(Nieman!Reports,!2005).!!

Finally,!the!examples!of!successful!collaboration!between!traditional!media!and!citizen!

journalism!as!well!as! inevitable!growth!of!citizen!media’s!power!and!capabilities!have!

encouraged!more!mainstream!media!organizations!to!develop!new!strategies! in!order!

to! incorporate! citizen! reporting! in! their! everyday! work,! because! it! is! ‘the! best!

opportunity!in!decades!to!do!even!better!journalism’!(Gillmor,!2006,!p.!111).!!

!

Chapter.3:.How.do.traditional.media.incorporate.citizen.journalism.

in.their.everyday.work?.!

The! strategies,! tools! and! initiatives! that! mainstream! media! organizations! take! to!

incorporate! citizen! journalism! in! their! everyday!work! became! the! research! topic! for!

some! publications! lately.! The !paper! will! review !several!of!them!in!this!chapter!and!update!them!with!some!new!information!from!our!own!research!by!illustrating!several!

distinct!cases.!

In! November! 2006! Alfred! Hermida! and! Neil! Thurman! studied! twelve! UK! newspaper!

websites!and!found!that!all!of!them!offered!some!tools!for!reader!participation!except!

one!–!Independent.co.uk.!Researchers!identified!nine!different!formats,!which!were!used!

by! the! newspaper! websites! to! encourage! contributions! from! the! audience.! These!

formats! were:! Polls! –! topical! questions! with! yes/no! or! multiple! choice! answers;!

Messageboards!–! space! for! online! discussions!which! are!moderated;!Have!your!says! –!

areas!where!readers!send!an!answer!to!the!question!asked!by!a!journalist,!the!answers!

are! filtered,! edited! and! published! later;! Comments! on! stories! –! they! might! need! an!

approval! from! the! website! administration! to! be! published! online;! Q&As! –! questions!

!14!

which!are!sent!by!readers!to!the!journalists!or!invited!guests;!Blogs!and!Reader!Blogs!–!

spaces! for! readers! to!write! their! blogs! either! individually! or!with! others! sharing! the!

specific! topic!of! interest;!Your!media! –!photographs,! video!or!other!media!documents!

sent!by!readers!and!vetted!by!the!website!editors;!and!Your!story!<!!area!where!readers!

send! their! stories! which! are! edited! and! published! by! journalists.! (Hermida! and!

Thurman,!2008)!

The! research! also! made! a! comparison! with! the! similar! study! conducted! 18! months!

earlier!and!revealed!the!growth!in!three!formats:!Blogs,!Comments!on!stories,!and!Have!

your!says.!!For!example,! the!number!of!blogs!was! increased! from!seven! to!118!during!

this! period! of! time! (Hermida! and!Thurman,! 2008,! p.! 4).! This! comparison! shows! how!

changeable!the!picture!of!adopting!user<generated!content!by!mainstream!media!is!and!

how! important! it! becomes! to! study! the! topic! in! a! constant! regime! to! keep! the!

scholarship! of! media! studies! updated! about! the! question! of! relationship! between!

professional!and!citizen!journalism.!!

!

The.BBC..

!

As! ‘no! major! journalism! organization! has! done! more! to! involve! its! audience! than! the!British! Broadcasting! Corporation! (BBC)! (Gillmor,! 2006,! p.123),! it! is! worth! ! dedicating a separate subchapter to the BBC and exploring the ways it has been collaborating with its spectators recently. A!group!of!researchers!studied!the!forms!and!ways!of!incorporating!audience!material!

within!the!BBC!in!2008.!They!used!five!categories!of!Audience!Material! in!their!study.!

Those!categories!are:!Audience!Content!–!consisting!of!Audience!Footage!(photographs!

and! videos! from! the! scene! of! breaking! news),! Audience! Experiences! (case! studies!relevant!to!BBC!news!story)!and!Audience!Stories!(topics!which!are!not!on!BBC!agenda,!

but! are! interesting! to! the! Audience);! Audience! Comments! –! any! opinion<based! text! or!speech! contributed! to! the! BBC! coverage! of! news;! Collaborative! Content! –! similar! to!Audience! Content,! but! produced! with! the! help! of! BBC! staff;! Networked! journalism! –!professional!journalists!and!members!of!the!audience!working!together!to!get!the!whole!

! 15!

picture!of!the!story!from!different!perspectives,!while!sharing!facts,!questions,!answers,!

ideas! and! perspectives;! and! NonRnews! Content! –! any! content! which! is! produced! by!

audience!but! is!not!about!the!news,! for!example,!photographs!of!wildlife,!etc.! (Wardle!

and!Williams,!2008,!p.!10<11).!!

As! the! BBC!wants! ‘the! information! generated! to! be! editorially! valuable’! (Extract! 4.3)!

and! has! to! deal! with! the! big! amount! of! materials! it! receives! every! day! from! the!

audience,!the!corporation!created!‘the!UGC!Hub!–!a!seven<day,!24<hour!operation!at!the!

heart!of![their] newsroom’!(Extract!6.3).!The!hub!employs!23!journalists!who!vet,!edit,!

verify!and!publish!the!contributions.!!The!reason!to!locate!the!hub!in!the!middle!of!the!

newsroom! is! the! strategy! to! add! some! more! staff! in! case! there! is! an! overload! of!

contributions!from!the!audience.!This!usually!happens!on!a!big!story!day,!for!example,!

during!2007!July!floods!in!the!UK,!7!000!pieces!of!video!were!sent!to!the!BBC!just!in!a!

week! (Extract! 6.3).! ! The! hub! staff! is! divided! to! work! on! different! formats! of! user<

generated! content:! four! of! them! are! responsible! for! moderating! blogs! and! debates!

(Extract! 6.3),! while! there! is! a! special! team! which! does! fact<checking! using! different!

journalistic!ways!to!keep!the!accuracy!(Extract!32.3).!According!to!Matthew!Eltringham,!

editor!of!the!BBC!College!of!Journalism,!the!staff!members!try!to!get!in!touch!with!the!

person!who!sent! the! information,!photo!or!video!and!ask! the!questions! to!make! sure!

that!the!material!is!accurate.!However,!if!it!is!impossible!to!talk!to!the!person,!they!use!

different!tools,! like!observing!the!weather!in!the!photo!or!video!and!comparing!to!the!

time! and! location! of! the! photo;! or! paying! attention! to! the! accents! in! the! video,! etc.!

(Extract!32.3)!

The!BBC!also!tries!to!put!effort!and!look!for!the!audience!material,!because!‘just!waiting!

for! audiences! to! contact! the! BBC! is! in! itself! distorting! –! not! everyone! uses! BBC! News!and!those!who!take!the!trouble!to!contact!!…!may!not!be!representative!(Extract!4.3).!

The! BBC! journalists! establish! professional! relationships! with! the! representatives! of!blogosphere! in! the! relevant! field.! This! is! the! important! premise! for! developing!networked!journalism!in!the!future.!!

Even!though!the!BBC!is!very!actively!exploring!the!ways!to!cooperate!with!the!audience!

and!encourage! the!public!participation! in!news! covering!or!providing! commentary,! it!

still!has!not!found!the!best!model!which!would!effectively!and!successfully!employ!user<

! 16!

generated!content!in!its!everyday!work.!The!BBC!still!makes!mistakes!while!distributing!

fake! images! submitted! by! a! member! of! the! audience! (Extract! 29.6),! but! as! Helen!

Boaden,!BBC!News!director!said,!despite!the!mistakes,!‘[they]!are!still!learning’!(Extract!

6.3).!!

!

CNN.

One! more! interesting! case! to! look! at! is! CNN’s! iReport.com,! as! unlike! the! BBC,! CNN!provides! the! platform! for! citizen! contributors! to! share! their! stories! without! vetting,!editing,!moderating!or!fact!checking.!!All!published!items!have!got!‘Not!Vetted!for!CNN’!

banner,! which! takes! responsibility! for! any! inaccuracy! from! CNN.! As! the! website! says,!iReport! receives,! on! average,! 500! iReports! a! day.! Later! some! of! them! are! vetted! and!used! by! the! CNN's! non<user<generated! networks! and! platforms! after! getting! through!the!fact!checking!and!editing!process!(CNN,!2012),!which!is!performed!by!recent!college!

graduates!who!comprise!the!CNN!iReport!staff!and!producers!in!Atlanta!(Extract!17.3).!!

Kperogi! (2011)! studied! CNN! and! its! techniques! of! embracing! citizen! journalism!

concluding!that!CNN!‘is! tapping! into!a!mine!of! free! labour!from!all!over!the!world’!(p.!

321)!as!the!website!has!generated!several!hundred!thousand!journalistic!products!and!

what’s!more,!the!most!popular!ones!succeed!to!be!broadcasted!by!the!CNN!TV!channel.!

As! Kperogi! notes,! CNN! ‘takes! advantage! of! free! creative! labour’! (p.! 321)! not! only! by!

attracting! and! then! using! audience’s! journalistic! products,! but! also! by! giving! the!

amateur! journalists! the! tasks! through! the! special! section! of! the! website! called!

‘Assignment! Desk’,! where! CNN! producers! announce! the! topics! they! would! like! the!

website! contributors! to! report! on.! Thus,! CNN! goes! beyond! managing! the! received!

materials!and!encourages!the!production!of!new!ones.!To!help!the!improvement!of!the!

multimedia!works’! quality,! some! tips! and! tutorials! are! also! published! on! the!website!

(CNN,!2012).!By!establishing!a! framework!and!platform! for! amateur! and!enthusiastic!

citizen! journalists,! CNN! ‘will! benefit! in! the! long! term! as! it! will! create! a! higher! level!

engagement!–!this!is!the!long!view!rather!than!the!short!view!of!seeing!it!as!a! ‘recruit!

unpaid!citizen!journalists!instead!of!paying!a!highly!trained!journalists’!type!arguments’!

(Extract!20.3).!!

! 17!

Al.Jazeera.

One!more!interesting!case!to!include!in!our!chapter!is!Arabic<English!channel!Al!Jazeera,!

based! in! Qatar,! which! widely! employs! user<generated! content.! It! mainly! uses!Networked!journalism!‘to!ensure!accurate!information!from!citizen!journalists’!and!this!

is! achieved! by! ‘building! strong! relationships! with! trusted! sources'! (Extract! 23.3)! and!experts!who!know!the! local! language!and!can!help! in!checking!the!citizen!contributed!

content.! ! ! The! editor! of! Al! Jazeera! also! emphasizes! that! it! is! important! to! start!establishing! this! relationships! in! advance,! as! it! might! be! late! to! start! looking! for! the!necessary!people!when!something!happens!and!needs!to!be!checked.!The!final!product!

is!the!result!of!collaboration!between!‘journalists,!experts!and!citizens’,!where!the!‘final!

cut’! is! made! by! the! professionals! (Extract! 23.3).! The! biggest! activity! that! the! website!had!was!during!the!days!of!Egyptian!revolution!–!it!received!around!16!000!videos,!but!

finally!only!a quarter of!it!was!broadcasted!by!the!TV!channel.!!To! foster! the! citizen! journalism! in! the! region,! Al! Jazeera! started! an! educational!campaign,! which! aims! to! teach! citizens! how! to! become! journalists.! The! tutorials! are!licensed!under!Creative!Commons,!which!makes!them!available!for!sharing!freely!(Extract!26.3).!!

CitJo.com..

!

Different! way! of! collaboration! is! achieved! between! the! citizen! journalists! and! the!

traditional! media! organizations! through! the! platform! CitJo.com,! which! allows! citizen!

journalists!to!monetize!their!materials.!They!just!create!their!accounts!and!upload!their!

photos!or!videos!on! twitter!with! the!hashtag!CitJo.!They!can!either! set!a!price!on! the!

content!or!give! it!a!Creative!Commons! license.! If! the!material!attracts! the!attention!of!

the!mainstream!media,!they!can!buy!it.!!

The! platform! has! constant! contact! with! the! contributor! to! ensure! the! quality! and!

authenticity! of! the! media! product.! When! the! new! product! is! uploaded,! CitJo! staff!

! 18!

contacts! the!author!and!asks! the!questions! to!make!sure! that! the!events!are!correctly!

reported.! The! story! needs! to! be! supported! by! at! least! one! additional! source! to! be!

considered!valid!and!stay!on!the!platform.!!

There!are!three!categories!of!citizen!journalists!who!collaborate!with!the!platform:!the!

contributor!–!anyone!who!has!a!story,!photo,!or!video!to!share;!the!activist!–!who!wishes!

to! raise! awareness! on! a! specific! topic;! and!the!freelancer,! a! journalist! who! seeks! for! a!wider! audience.! The! platform,! in! collaboration! with! non<governmental! organizations,!encourages!citizen!journalists!to!get!the!training!and!enhance!the!quality!of!their!works.!

CitJo!also!facilitates!news!agencies!!to!create!specific!assignments!for!citizen!journalists.!

(Extract!28.3)!

Apart! from! the! above<mentioned! cases,! two! other! tools! employed! by! the! mainstream!media!were!revealed!by!the!research.!In!the!first!one,!the!traditional!media!outlet!tries!to! find! a! source,! or! in! some! cases,! a! citizen! reporter! using! social! media! according! to!their! special! needs! of! that! day.! For! example,! if! the! Guardian! is! writing! about! the! NHS!service,! it! tweets! and! asks! the! ‘insiders’,! for! example! someone! who! works! there,! to!contribute! some! stories,! which! would! complete! and! give! a different! angle! to! the!publication!prepared!by!the!newspaper.!The!second!one!also!seeks!for!the!help!from!the!audience,! but! in! that! case,! from! anyone! and! from! as! many! of! them! as! possible! to! get!involved! in! checking! huge! amount! of! information,! like! MP! expenses! check,! when!citizens! read! published! papers! to! discover! the! violations! about! the! expense! claims! by!the!members!of!the!Parliament.!(Extract!47.3)!!One! of! the! methods! to! filter! the! user<generated! content! on! websites! is! so<called!

Reputation!Method.!For!example,!Allvoices.com!uses! this!system:! it! is!a!combination!of!

citizen! journalism! and! mainstream! news! website,! where! nothing! is! censored,! but! is!

ranked! by! the! consumers! themselves! taking! into! consideration! the! provided!

information!and!the!credibility!of!the!story!(Extract!40.3).!!

To!attract!more!members!of!the!audience,!sometimes!the!traditional!media!outlets!get!

more!creative.!For!example,!when!Michael!Jackson!died,!the!New!York!Times!asked!the!

fans!to!submit!the!photos!taken!with!the!singer;!also,!during!the!American!presidential!

elections,!the!Guardian!asked!people!to!submit!messages!they!would!send!to!Obama!if!

! 19!

he!was!elected.!The!submissions!were!published!in!different!editions!of!The!Guardian,!

but!finally!were!also!issued!as!a!book.!!!(Extract!43.3).!!

As!we!see! from!the!models!presented,!some!media!organizations!actively!seek! for! the!

participation!and!contribution!from!the!audience.!But!most!of!the!user!participation!is!

moderated.! In! the!next!chapter!we!will!discuss!how!affordable! it! is! for! the! traditional!

media!organizations!to!keep!moderating!and!editing!citizen!contributions.!!

!

!

Chapter. 4:. Where. does. citizen. journalism. find. its. place. in. the.

traditional.media.business.model?.!

!One!of!the!arguments!that!supporters!of!citizen!journalism!generally!employ!is!the!cost< effective! nature! of! citizen! reporting.! If! the! media! organizations! had! to! send! the! crew!consisting!of!a!journalist!and!a!cameraman!to!the!scene!of!the!event!years!ago,!now!they!

can!get!the!same!material!from!the!citizen!journalists!faster!and,!in!most!cases,!for!free.!'

However,! cost<effective! nature! of! user<generated! content! might! be! illusory! and! not!sustainable.! As! our! research! shows,! in! most! cases! news! organizations! have! to! hire! an!extra! staff! to! deal! with! the! user<generated! content,! because! all! content! need! to! go!through! some! procedures! before! being! published! by! the! credible! news! organizations.!As!an!editor!at!Reuters!says,!‘before!![they]!run!it!as!a!Reuters!story!![they]!will!check!it,!

before!![they]!run!it!as!a!Reuters!fact,![they]!will!corroborate!it’!(Extract!1.3).!!

To! check! and! confirm! the! stories,! news! media! organizations! need! more! personnel,!which! increases! expenses! for! the! newsroom.! The! BBC,! for! example,! had! to! create! the!hub! employing! 23! people,! and! also! run! a! new! software! (Extract! 4.4),! while! the! small!organizations,!like!Independent.co.uk!do!not!have!enough!financial!means!to!moderate!

user! participation! and! offer! any! tools! for! it,! because! ‘it! would! drain! resources! away!from! […]! the! good! side! of! newspaper! model,! meaning! journalists! researching! and!validating! stories’! (Hermida! and! Thurman,! 2008,! p.! 8).! Besides! creating! a! UGC! hub,!some! years! ago! the! BBC! launched! a! citizen! involvement! initiative! iCan,! then! Action!

! 20!

Network.!However,!because!the!cost!could!not!outweigh!the!benefits!due!to!‘the!level!of!

involvement’!(Extract!4.4),!the!BBC!gradually!took!their!investment!from!the!project.!!

Hermida! and! Thurman! (2008)! found! that! ‘news! organizations! were! struggling! to!

balance!the!resources!needed!to!control!–!editorially!–!user<generated!content!with!the!

commercial! potential! of! user!media’! (Hermida! and! Thurman,! 2008,! p.! 8).! Traditional!

media!organizations!cannot!fit!citizen!journalism!within!their!business!models!because!

they!are!still!in!search!of!more!efficient!business!model!to!respond!to!‘the!migration!of!

media! to! the! Internet’! (Lacy!et! al,! 2010,!p.! 34).!The! Internet!has!become! ‘a!dominant!

medium! for! news! delivery’! (Herbert! and! Thurman,! 2007,! p.! 208),! more! and! more!

people! get! information! from! the! internet,! ‘by! some! accounts! the! Web! is! the! most!

popular! source! of! news! for! people! at! work! and! the! second! most! popular! at! home’!

(Lombardi,!2006!in!Herbert!and!Thurman,!2007,!p.!208).!So,! journalism,! including!TV,!

goes!to!the!Web,!though!it!still!does!not!succeed!to!make!money!online.!!They!cannot!get!

revenue!from!advertisement<based!model,!because!of!the!competition!–!there!are!many!

other! organizations,! which! are! capable! of! providing! better<targeted! advertisement!

service! online,! while! news! websites! only! offer! a! limited! niche! of! audience! to! the!

potential!advertisement!clients!(Extract!39.4).!!

Another!business!model!that!the!‘news!gone!online’!can!employ!is!‘paid!content!model’,!

which!is!based!on!subscription!fees.!!Some!argue!that!even!though!‘at!the!present!time,!

the! audience! does! not! want! to! pay! for! online! information,! in! order! to! sustain! high!

quality! reporting! and! writing,! they! must! embrace! this’! (Extract! 35.4).! Herbert! and!

Thurman!(2007)!also!suggest,!that!‘the!view!that!content!charging!is!impossible!may!be!

largely!based!on!precedent’!(p.!211).!They!mention!the!iTunes!example!and!say!that!‘if!

the!content! is!valuable,!not! freely!available!elsewhere,!and!the!payment!mechanism!is!

appropriate,! large!numbers!of!users!can!be!encouraged!to!spend!money’!(Herbert!and!

Thurman,!2007,!211).!

However,!if!we!apply!this!statement!to!the!news,!we!will!see!that!it!might!not!follow!the!

logic!as!news!are!characterized!to!be!spread!easily!and! freely,!especially! in! the!age!of!

social!networks.!Moreover,!if!there!are!free!alternatives!to!the!product,!the!feasibility!of!

the!subscription<based!online!news!model!will!become!questionable.!!This!assumption!

can!be!verified!by!the!survey!conducted!in!Hong!Kong!in!2009,!which!resulted!in!users!

! 21!

saying!that!they!would!not!pay!for!online!news!access!because!free!alternatives!existed!

online!and!offline,!which!suggests!that!‘users!did!not!perceive!online!news!as!something!

with! unique! value’! (Chyi,! 2009,! p.! 141).! That! is!why the online news publishers find it

difficult to rely on the subscription model to achieve economic viability. !

On!the!other!hand,!even!if!the!media!organizations!find!the!business!model!to!adapt!to!

going!online,!the!question!of!using!citizen!journalism!products!in!order!to!get!revenue!

arises,!as!‘most!citizen!journalists!are!not!paid!anything!for!their!work!and!they!might!

lack!the!motivation!to!help!a!for<profit!entity!continue!to!make!a!profit’!(Extract!35.4).!

What’s! more,! citizen! journalism! and! independent! websites! may! even! act! as!the!competitors!to!traditional!media!websites,!‘but!a!competitor!not!in!a!journalistic!way, but!in!an!audience!sense:!Huffington!Post!competes!with!Washington!Post!by!the audience!which!mainstream! media!need!as!much!as! the! social! media! for! business! reasons’!(Extract!46.3).!!

To! sum! up,! and! go! back! to! the! question! presented! by! the! title! of! this! chapter,! Citizen!journalism!struggles!to!find!its!place!in!the!traditional!media!business!model,!because!

the! model! is! in! a! transition! period! itself.! Some! think! that! journalism! cannot! make!money!any!more,!so!the!solution!might!be!establishing!a!mixed!system!of!state<funded,!

publicly! funded,! charity! or! philanthropically! funded! journalism! with! commercial!journalism!next!to!them!to!some!extent!(Extract!39.4).!Citizen!journalism,!as!non<paid!

contribution!from!the!audience,!might!find!its!place!in!this!model.!Though!it!should!be!

noted! that! there! are! some! exceptional! cases! when! the! contributors! are! asking! to! get!paid!for!their!materials,!but!in!most!occasions!the!concept!of!citizen!journalism!is!based!

on! free,! voluntary! assistance! from! public! to! the! mainstream! media.! However,! before!mainstream! media! finds! its! new! business! model,! it! has! to! make! a! choice! –! either! cut!back!on!traditional!forms!of!newsgathering!to!shift!money!to!managing!user<generated!

content,! or! keep! doing! what! they! do! now! –! pretty! much! nothing.! ‘Striking! the! right!balance!here!–!how!lean!can!a!news!operation!be!before!it!ceases!to!be!a!credible!news!

organization?!–!will!be!the!central!dilemma!as!we!move!from!the!broadcast!age!to!the!

network!age’!(Kelly,!2009,!p.!47).!

!

!

!22!

Chapter.5:.Why*Yes.and*Why*No?..!

!In! this!chapter!we!will!discuss!what!are! the!bright!sides!of! the!collaboration!between!

two! different! –! old! and! new! –! forms! of! journalism:! traditional! media! and! citizen!reporting.!We!will!also!address!the!challenges!and!disadvantages!that!the!cooperation!

brings!on!the!table!and!makes!some!think that it!is!better!for!them!to!stay!apart.!!!

!

Why$Yes?$Pros$of$cooperation$between$citizen$journalism$and$traditional$media$$

!

!

After!processing!the!selected!48!online!documents!and!analysing!them!thematically,!five!

categories!were!identified!under!the!theme!‘Why!Yes’:!!

!

!

1. It&is&free,&fast&and&easily&accessible&&

&

The! most! attractive! thing! that! the! traditional! media! professionals! see! about! citizen!

journalism!is!that!in!most!cases!it!is!free:!usually!citizen!journalists!share!their!materials!

without!asking!for!any!reward,!especially,!during!high!sensitive!and!important!events,!

like! catastrophes!or!disasters.!By! ‘bringing!citizens! into! their!news!reporting!process’!

the!mainstream!media! have! access! to! ‘the!most! up<to<date! and! exclusive! content! […]!

without! having! to! send! reporters! to! the! centre! of! the! story’! (Extract! 17.5).! The!

exclusivity!of!the!material!becomes!even!more!important!in!citizen!photojournalists,!as!

they! get! the! great! advantage! to! the!professional! photojournalists! just! by!being! in! the!

right! place! at! the! right! moment.! As! one! of! the! users! from! Flickr! –a! photo! sharing!

website!–! commented,!no!matter!how!good!professional!photojournalists!are! in!crisis!

situations,! ‘the! sheer! number! of! people! with! cameras! and! internet! access! makes! it!

inevitable!that!many!of!the!best!pictures!will!come!from!normal!people,’!(Liu!et!al,!2009,!

p.!61).!!

!

!

!

! 23!

2. It&gives&voices&to&people&&

&

Democratisation! of! news! is! the! second! most! often! mentioned! benefits! of! citizen!journalism! as! it! brings! in! the! voices! that! could! not! have!been heard! before! (Extract! 6.5).!Social! media! tools! let! ‘people! who! may! have! felt! marginalized! or! ignored!by!the!mainstream!press!![…]!find!a!home!by!posting!news!about!their community,!complete!with!cell!phone!video!clips!and!digital!camera!pictures’!(Extract!25.5).!

&

&

3. It&shows&different&perspectives&and&angles&

When!the!people!are!given!voices!and!they!express!themselves,!the!stories!mainstream!

media! report! on! become! more! diverse! and! covered! from! different! perspectives! and!

angles.! What’s! more,! reaching! the! different! voices! and! getting! different! perspectives!

happen!in!real!time,!for!example,!‘at!the!BBC,!the!use!of!texts,!e<mails!and!debate!forums!

gives![…]!access!in!real!time!to!the!views!of!the!active!members!of!the!audience’!(Extract!

4.5).!Stories,!which!are!enriched!with!different!perspectives!by!users,!are!also!put!into!

local!context,!which!professional!journalists!lack.! ‘But!what!news!organizations!lose!in!

trained!talent,!they![citizen!journalists]!gain!in!dedication,!because!citizen!reporters!will!

write! about! their! community! pro! bono,! if! only! to! highlight! an! issue! they!want! to! see!

above! the! fold’! (Extract! 25.5).! Citizen! reporters! can! also! be!more! creative! while! not!

being! constrained! by! the! professional! norms,! rules! and! practises,! they! can! ‘cover!

unusual! beats! ! […]! in! an! innovative! way’,! like! restaurant! inspections! in! their!

neighbourhood! or! the! protests! ‘that! do! not! bleed! enough! to! lead! nightly! newscasts’!

(Extract! 25.5).! ! Because! blood! attracts! the! mainstream! media,! as! ‘it! is! sold! better’,!

professional! journalists! usually! cover! ‘noisy’! topics! or! look! for! the! violence! in! their!

coverage! and! sometimes! even! exaggerate! it.! ! Citizen! contributions!play!here! the! vital!

role!as!they!show!the!picture!of!the!event!from!the!different!angle.!For!example,!during!

student!protests!in!London!in!2010,!‘whilst!tabloids!and!news!channels!were!displaying!

images! of! the! violence,! a! majority! of! the! footage! and! pictures! posted! online! were!

actually!of! the!banners!and!the! large!crowds!that!were!marching!peacefully!down!the!

street!–!a!very!sharp!contrast!to!the!picture!being!painted!by!the!mainstream’!(Extract!

11.5).!!

! 24!

&

4. It&is&self>regulatory&

The!main!concern!about!citizen!journalism!is!the!fact!that!the!information!spread!by!the!

ordinary! people! can! be! hoax.! It! is! difficult! to! regulate! because! ‘there! is! no!accountability!with!Twitter!or!social!media’!(Extract!39.6),!so!it!is!hard!to!find!someone!

who! will! take! responsibility! in! case! this! happens.! However,! the! nature! of! citizen!journalism!allows!citizen!reporting!to!be!self<regulatory.!When!something!fake!is!being!

distributed,!once!it!is!noticed,!with!the!help!of!quick!social!media!tools,!other!users!are!

informed!immediately.!Social!media!has!the!capacity!to!self<regulate.!For!example,!there!

were! the! rumours! about! animal! escape! from! London! zoo! and! the! photos! of! penguins!outside!the!zoo!made!in!Photoshop!were!also!distributed,!but!‘Twitter!users!were!good!

at!spotting!untrue!rumours’!(Extract!32.5).!!

In! their! discussions! media! practitioners! note! that! ‘there! has! always! been!

disinformation’! (Extract! 32.5)! and! ‘some! citizen! journalists! will! do! poor! quality! and!

inept! work;! however,! there! are! professional! journalists! who! will! also! do! the! same!

things’!(Extract!35.5).!!

One!of!the!good!examples,!how!citizens!can!cooperate!to!detect!the!hoax,!can!be!Kaycee!

Nicole’s!case.!Kaycee!was!a!blogger,!a!teenage!girl!who!had!a!cancer!and!was!writing!her!

diaries!online! for!years.!She!was!brave! to! fight!against!her!disease!and!eventually!got!

some!progress.!She!had!many!readers,!among!who!were!the!patients!or!the!relatives!of!

patients!who!were!inspired!by!Kaycee’s!story.!One!day!her!blog!announced!that!Kaycee!

died.!The!followers!sent!flowers!to!her!address.!However,!some!readers!questioned!the!

suspicious! chronology! of! her! life! and! a! sudden! death.! They! started! investigation,!

checked!the!facts!they!knew!about!Kaycee!from!her!blog!and!after!several!months,!the!

online!community!in!cooperation!with!each!other!found!out!that!there!has!never!lived!a!

girl!named!Kaycee!Nicole!who!had!cancer.!And!the!photo,!which!was!published!on!her!

blog,!belonged!to!a!different!person.!The!online!community!also!managed!to!track!down!

the! woman! who,! faking! her! identity! and! facts,! was! writing! Kaycee’s! blog! (Guardian,!

2001).!This!case!proved!that!even!though!it!is!easy!to!fake!your!identity!and!facts!online,!

the!online!community!has!ability!to!investigate!it!and!get!to!the!truth.!!

! 25!

&

5. It&might&be&alternative&to&the&mainstream&media&when&they&do&not&do&their&

job&

!

Apart! from! complementing! the! traditional! media,! citizen! journalism! is! also! capable! of!replacing!mainstream!media!when!they!fail!to!cover!the!events!well!enough.!This!is!the!

time!when!‘the!value!of!citizen!journalism!is!the!greatest’!(Nip,!2009,!p.!102)!and!might!

happen! in! three! cases.! First,! when! the! stories! are! from! the! places! like! Syria,! where!professional!journalists!cannot!go!(Extract!30.5)!and!are!replaced!by!the!citizens who!record!materials! and! upload! in! the! Internet.! Citizen! journalism! can! act! as! an! alternative! to!mainstream! media! in! the! countries,! where! the! mainstream! media! is! under! the! heavy!censorship!or!control!from!the!government!or!other!political!powers!and!are!restricted!to! do! their! job,! for! example,! as! it! was! in! Arabic! countries! two! years! ago.! That! is! why! ‘during!Arabic!protests!citizens!were!the!only!journalists!present!in!several!countries’!reporting,! recording! and! sharing! stories! from! the! centre! of! the! events.! In! those! crisis!situations! ‘citizens! showed! they! are! capable! of! acting! as! professionals’! (Extract! 31.5).!Citizen! reporting! is! also! a! significant! tool! for! covering! the! hyper! local! news,! which!concern! the! local! community,! but! are! not! big! enough! to!attract!the!attention!of!the!mainstream!media!(Extract!35.5).!!

!

Thus,! citizen! media,! being! fast! and! cheap,! enabling! people! with! different! opinions!express!themselves,!put!the!stories!in!multiple!perspectives!and!show!the!events!from!

different! angles.! Having! capacity! of! self<regulation,! citizen! reporting! can! either!complement!mainstream!media!or!be!an!alternative!to!them.!!!

!

!

!

Why$No?$Cons$of$cooperation$between$citizen$journalism$and$traditional$media$

!

!

However,! every! positive! side! of! cooperation! between! mainstream!media! and! citizen!

journalism!has!got! their!drawbacks,!which!challenge! the!opportunity!of!collaboration.!

The! data! analyses! categorized! the! following! five! factors,! which! concern! media!

professionals!about!the!partnership!of!professional!and!amateur!journalism.!!

!26!

1. Hoaxes,&low&quality&and&difficulty&of&verification&

The!main!concern!that!the!media!professionals!have!got!about!citizen!reporting! is!the!

quality! of! the!materials.! As! the!mainstream!media! has! not! found! the! strategy,!which!

would! enable! them! to! fact<check! and! edit! all! user<generated! content! quickly! and!

economically,!most!amateur!reporting!still!remains!of!low!quality!(Extract!15.6).!!

Besides!the!low!quality,!the!high!risk!and!number!of!easily!spread!hoaxes!is!the!issue,!

too,!which!mainstream!media!embrace!‘to!stay!relevant!to!their!audiences!and!to!stay!in!

business’!(Extract!22.6)!without!any!or!proper!fact!checking.!This!happened!to!the!BBC!

recently! when! it! published! a! photograph! circulated! on! Twitter! by! a! Syrian! anti<

government! activist.! The! photo! was! interpreted! as! showing! dead! civilians! after! a!

government!massacre!in!Houla,!Syria.!But!later!on!it!turned!out!that!the!photo!is!from!

2003! Iraq! war! and! its! circulation! around! the! social! media! served! the! purpose! of!

propaganda!(Extract!29.6).!Hoaxes!are!spread! in! the! Internet!easily,!because!whoever!

does! it,! stays! anonymous! and! does! not! take! the! responsibility.! This! is! one! of! the!

problems!of!the!‘democratized!internet’!(Fiedler,!2009,!p.!213).!!

Besides!the!hoaxes!and!fake!materials,!which!are!shared!on!purpose,!some!argue,!that!

the! social! media! limitations! and! unprofessionally! written! stories! encourage! their!

misinterpretation,! too,!as! ‘140!characters![of!one!Twitter!post]!cannot!handle!context’!

(Steiner!and!Roberts,!2011,!p.!202).!!

However,! Tom!Glocer,! the!Reuters! chief! executive,! noted! that! ‘the! instances! of!media!

organisations! falling! victim! to! hoaxes! or! publishing! inaccurate! information! were!

reasonably! rare’! (Extract! 1.5),! suggesting! that! traditional!media! organizations! should!

keep! looking! for! new!models! to! embrace! citizen! reporting! as! ‘the! occasional!mishap!

should!not!be!allowed!to!undermine!a!news!organization’s!commitment!to!empowering!

citizens! to! be! reporters,! a! praiseworthy! form!of! democratization! in! their! eyes’! (Allan!

and!Thorsen,!2009,!pp.!3<4).!

!

!

! 27!

!

2. New&means&of&propaganda?&&

&

Following!the!BBC’s!example,!when!it!distributed!the!photograph!which!was!used!as!a!

propagandistic!instrument,!Wall!(2009)!argues!that!citizen!journalism!might!become!a!

new!tool! for!propaganda!on! the!example!of!warblogs,!which! include!citizen<produced!

content,! written! in! the! conflict! zone! by! Iraqi! citizens,! Western! soldiers,! and! other!

amateurs.!These!blogs!have!become!the!part!of!the!traditional!media!reporting,!too,!and!

attracted! the!attention!of! the!audience!as!well!as!of! some!commercial!and! ideological!

apparatuses,!which!questioned!the!key!characteristic!of!warblogging:!its!independence.!

Some!fear!that!citizen!journalism!might!be!seen!and!used!as!a!new!tool!for!propaganda!

by!some!groups,!like!the!US!military!(Wall,!2009,!p.!41).!!

One!more!concern!about!misusing!citizen! journalism!by! the!authorities!addresses! the!

regimes!where!media! is! censored! and! so! is! the! Internet,! too,! like! China,!where! ‘state!

news! media! is! controlled,! both! directly! through! government! directives! as! well! as!

indirectly!through!self<censorship!phone!calls!when!that!self<censorship!fails!to!live!up!

to! government! censorship! standards’! (Extract! 38.6).! This! happened! while! citizen!

journalists!were! trying! to! cover! the!Wenchuan!Earthquake! in!2008.! Joyce!Nip! (2009)!

observes! that!citizen! journalism! ‘appeared! to!be! turning! into! the!new!battleground!of!

control! over! power’! (p.! 102),! as! some! of! the! posts! published! by! citizen! journalists!

seemed! to! be! official! in! tone! and! content.! Also,! the! mainstream! news! organizations!

received! instructions! to! focus! on! positive! aspects! and! they!were! prohibited! to! cover!

poor!construction!works,!problems!about!aid!delivery,!criticisms!about!rescue!progress,!

etc.!After!sending!out!the!censorship!instructions,!government!also!restricted!the!citizen!

reporting!websites:!some!videos!disappeared!and!some!were!displaced!(Nip,!2009).!!

Despite! these! restrictions! and! censorship,! citizen! journalism! still! played! its! role! in!

providing! information! and!monitoring! public! life! through! commentary! (Nip,! 2009,! p.!

103),!which!gives!a!bit!of!hope,!as! ‘with!the!aid!of!decentralized!and!globalized!online!

technologies,!citizen!journalism!is!able!to!move!out!of!the!margins,!inspiring!people!to!

! 28!

debate!and!to!act!in!a!away!that!can!threaten!the!authority!of!the!state’!(Nguyen,!2009,!

p.!161).!

!

3. Citizens’&lack&of&‘professionalism’&&

It!might!sound!ironic,!but!one!of!the!downsides!of!citizen!journalists!is!that!they!are!not!

professionals.!Firstly,!this!affects!the!way!they!report!on!issues!–!it!is!biased!and!lacks!

objectivity.!Cynics!might!argue,! that! in!certain!cases,! for!example,!war!reporting,!even!

professional! journalists!can!be!biased,! for!example,! towards!bad!news,!because,!as!we!

already!mentioned!in!the!previous!chapters,!bad!news!attract!the!attention!of!audience.!

But! in! the! case! of! professional! journalists,! they! have! been! trained! to! address! these!

issues!and!take!them!into!consideration,!unlike!citizen!journalists.!They!also!tend!to!be!

more!careful,!as!their!careers!depend!on!providing!correct!information.!‘News,!whether!

we!like!it!or!not,!is!a!commodity!and!accurate!news!is!probably!the!most!valuable!thing!

on! Earth’! (Extract! 24.6).! And! while! 'citizen! journalists! have! no! formal! training! or!

expertise,!they!routinely!offer!up!opinion!as!fact,!rumour!as!reportage,!and!innuendo!as!

information’!(Keen,!2007,!p.!47).!!

One!more!danger!that!the!lack!of!professionalism!brings!to!the!citizen!reporters!is!the!

unnecessary! risk! towards! their! own! lives.! There! have! been! fears! that,! for! example,!

during!Buncefield!fire!in!2005!or!similar!events,!‘public!might!put!themselves!in!danger’!

to!get!better!pictures.!So,!the!BBC!had!to!publish!a!special!announcement!about!it!on!its!

website!(Extract!2.6).!!

One!more!issue!that!the!lack!of!professional!knowledge!creates!about!citizen!journalism!

is! ensuring! all! citizen! journalists! to! acknowledge! and! follow! journalistic! ethics.! For!example,!there!was!an!occasion!when!someone!witnessed!a!man!committing!suicide!in!

front!of!a!train,!took!a!photo!of!the dead!body!and!shared!on!Twitter.!After!this,!the!son!

of!the!dead!person!saw!the!photo,!without!knowing!that!it!belonged!to!his!father!

(Extract!33.6).!!Lastly,!what!citizen!journalists!lack,!is!the!profession!itself!–!they!have!some!other!jobs!

to!do! and! they!do!not! get! paid! for! their!work;! so,! they!do!not!have! enough! time! and!

! 29!

motivation!to!cover!local!stories,!which!might!not!affect!hundreds!of!thousands,!‘it!is!all!

about! individuals! –! they! are!moms!who! take! children! to! school! in! the!morning,!who!

have! day! jobs! and! do! not! have! as! much! interest! in! news! or! in! journalism! as! the!

professionals!–!people!have!better!things!to!do’!!!(Extract!39.6).!!

!

!

!

!

!

4. Information&overload&

&

Easy! access! to! Internet! and! social! media! tools! –! such! as! social! networks,! blogs! or!

comment! fields! –! encourage!more!people! get! involved! into!discussion! and! contribute!

their! opinions! to! the! society.!However,! it!might!become!overwhelming,!while! ‘no!one!

serves! as! an! overarching! editor’! (Extract! 8.6)! and! it!might! lead! us! to! ‘an! overload! of!

opinion! as! opposed! to!more! solid,! investigative! fact’! (Extract! 27.6).! Too!many!people!

willing!to!express!their!opinions!make!it!more!difficult!to!find!the!information!you!need.!

Bringing!different!voices! into!reporting! ‘often!distort!the!news,!turning!the!music! into!

noise’! (Keen,! 2007,! p.! 53).! ! What’s! more,! ‘it! is! increasingly! difficult! to! discriminate!

between! fact,! opinion,! propaganda,! or! simply! the! bizarre! ramblings! of! a! chemically<

enhanced!former!actor’s!mind’!(Extract!16.6).!!

!

!

!

!

&

&

5. Not&representative&&

Even!though!the!Internet!has!enriched!the!news!with!many!voices,!it!does!not!mean!that!

everyone! wants! to! shout.! Media! professionals! have! been! mentioning! the!statistics! according! to! which! only! a! small! percentage! of! the! audience! make!

contributions! to! the! website! which! requires! a! significant! resource! to! be! facilitated!(Extract!4.6).! ! !For!example,! the!BBC! journalist!and!editor!Robert!Peston!hosts!a!blog,!

which!on!a!random!day!had!182!000!page!views,!but!just!253!comments,!which!is!less!

!30!

than!one!per!cent.! ‘This!highlights! the!difference! in! the!audiences!between!those!who!

are!happy!to!read!what!others!have!to!say!and!those!self!selecting!minority!who!want!to!

join! in! the! debate! themselves,! knowing! that! the! environment! can! be! robust! and! that!

people!might!disagree!with!what!they!have!to!say!‘(Extract!6.6).!!

Though!Kelly! (2009)! suggests,! that! the! ‘one!per! cent! rule’! is! completely! applicable! to!

citizen!journalism!as!well,!and!even!though!only!one!per!cent!of!visitors!to!the!website!

write! comments! or! engage!by!different! forms,! ‘for!most! readers,! it!will! be! an! avenue!

that!is!rarely!used,!more!appreciated!for!the!opportunity!of!interactivity!than!the!actual!

use! of! that! interactivity’! (Kelly,! 2009,! p.! 45).! On! the! other! hand,! taking! into!

consideration!that!even!in!this!century!all!people!do!not!have!access!to!the!Internet!or!

do!not!have!the!skills!or!experience!to!get! involved!in!online!debates,!we!can!say!that!

‘minding! the! digital! gap’! (Hargittai,! 2009)! is! quite! important! to! realize! that! the!

perspectives!or!opinions!which!are!popular!online!might!not!be!proportionally!popular!

and!representable!to!the!rest!of!the!community.!!

!

In! this! subchapter! we! categorized! the! concerns! that! have! been! identified! within! the!research!data!about!employing!citizen!journalism!by!mainstream!media.!These!worries!

mainly!consider!citizen!journalism!as!the!source!of!low!quality!information!and!hoaxes,!

with! little! or! no! effective! tool! of! fact! checking! and! verification.! This! leads! us! to! the!possibility! where! citizen! journalism! might! be! used! as! a! propagandistic! tool! by! the!governments!or!some!state!units!with!specific!interests!in!the!topics!that!media!cover.!

Citizens! are! not! professional! journalists! and,! thus,! they! lack! the! traits! that! could! have!been! communicated! during! the! professional! training,! like! the! importance! of! ethics! in!journalistic!practise!or!the!importance!of!lives!of!journalists!themselves.!!

&

&

.!

!

! 31!

.Chapter.6:.Discussion..What*are.the.implications.of.the.findings?*.!

!

'

After!looking!at!the!relationship!between!traditional!media!and!citizen!journalism!from!

different!angles,!asking!and!answering!questions!Who,!When,!How,!Where!and!Why,!we!

have! reached! the! point! where! we! need! to! discuss! what! are! the! implications! of! our!

findings!and!what!the!future!of!journalism!looks!like.!!

!

!

Shifting&control:&from&a&lecture&to&a&conversation&

&

With! the! audience! being! better! equipped! with! the! tools! to! get! involved! in! the! news!

production! process,! and! if! ignored! by! the! mainstream!media,! make! and! share! news!

themselves,! journalism! is! becoming! more! democratized.! If! before! the! relationship!

between!journalists!and!audience!was!like!a!lecture,!where!Big!Media!was!talking!and!

others!–! listening,!now!it!has!become!more! like!a!conversation!(Gillmor,!2006)!where!

public!also!wants!to!get! involved,!comment,!gather!and!share!the! information,!as!they!

‘own! and! carry! around! powerful! media<creation! tools! such! as! personal! computers,!

digital! cameras,! smart! phones! and! much! more’! (Gillmor,! 2009,! p.! 1<2).! For! most! of!

journalism’s! history! audience! was! at! the! end! of! the! production! chain! –! news! was!

coming! from! one! sender! and! was! delivered! to! many! recipients! without! opportunity!

messages! to! be! directly! responded.! But! ‘we! live! in! the! network! age! now,! where! the!

many!talk!to!the!many,!bypassing!the!one!completely’!(Kelly,!2009,!p.!1).!

Besides!getting!equipped!with! the! tools,! the!democratization!process!was! fostered!by!

the! increased! accessibility! to! the! media! products,! too.! If! decades! ago! media!

organizations!were!responsible!for!creating,!manufacturing,!distributing!and!delivering!

products! to! the! audience,! now! the! process! has! become! easier:! most! of! the! media!

products! can!be!easily! retrieved! through!different!online!networks!or!platforms.!This!

flexibility! and! ! ‘evolutionary! changes! turn! more! consumers! into! creators’! (Gillmor,!

2009,!p.!1<2)!and!enable! journalists!and!media!organizations! to! ‘invite! their!audience!

into! the!process’! to!produce!news.!This!would! introduce! the! transparency,!which!was!

!32!

missing!from!traditional!media!before!now,!and!which!now!would!be!‘the!beginning!of!a!

new!kind!of!connection!between!the!journalist!and!the!citizen’!(Rosenstiel!and!Kovach,!

2001,!p.!191<192).!!

And!new!kind!of!connection!offers!news!outlets!‘enthusiastic!creative!voices!hoping!to!

get!heard’!(Extract!25.5).!John!Seerly!Brown,!chief!scientist!of!Xerox!Corporation,!notes!

in!the!book!The!Elements!of!Journalism,! that!we! ‘move!to!a!two<way!journalism’! in!the!

era! when! you! do! not! need! a! special! degree! or! equipment! to! become! a! reporter! or!

commentator,! at! least!on!your!blog.!Here! journalist! can! shift! their! role! and!become!a!

‘forum! leader’,!or!a!mediator,! rather! than!a! teacher!or! lecturer.!And! the!audience!will!

become! not! a! consumer,! but! a! ‘pro<sumer’,! as! ‘a! hybrid! of! consumer! and! producer’!

(Rosenstiel!and!Kovach,!2001,!p.!24),!which!will!take!us!to!‘Media!convergence’,!where!

information! moves! from! and! towards! old! and! new! media! and! helps! ‘reshaping! the!

relationship!between!media!producers!and!consumers’!(Jenkins,!2006,!p.!19).!

!

This! new! relationship!makes! citizens! strive! to! transcend! the! passive! freedom! of! ‘the!

right!to!know’,!so!that!they!will!experience!the!active!freedom!of! ‘the!right!to!express’!

(Young,! 2009,! p.! 143).! This! is! the! principle! which! was! used! by! one! of! the! most!

successful! citizen! journalism! websites,! the! South! Korean! OhmyNews! to! attract! many!

enthusiastic! people.! Oh! Yeon<ho,! editor! and! founder! of! the! website! said:! “With!

OhmyNews,!we!wanted! to! say!goodbye! to!20th<century! journalism!where!people!only!

saw! things! through! the! eyes! of! the! mainstream,! conservative! media”! (Bowman! and!

Willis,!2003,!p.!11).!!

!

!

!

Chance&to&do&better&journalism:&together&they&know&more&and&they&can&do&more&

&

'

After!realizing!that!citizen!journalism!is!not!a!threat!to!mainstream!media!but!it!is!more!

an!opportunity,! traditional!media! started! collaborating!with! enthusiastic! citizens! and,!

as! a! result,! we! got! several! exemplary! cases,! where! traditional! media! and! citizen!

! 33!

journalism! proved! that! they! can! do a better! job! together,! rather than! separately.! For! example,! the! case! of! Ian! Tomlinson’s! death,! or! the MPs’! expenses! scandal.! The!collaboration!between!these! two! ‘can! enable! ordinary! people! to! hold! powerful! organizations! to! account’!(Extract! 41.5);! It! also! enables! professional! journalists! to! get! diverse! information,!because!‘as!a!reporter!you!cannot!be!everywhere,!but!

billions!of!people!are!everywhere.!That’s! the! power! of! citizen! journalism’! (Extract! 7.5).! According! to! Gillmor! (2006),! it!boils! down! to! very! simple! thing:! members! of! audience! collectively! know! more! than!media! professionals! do! (p.! 111).! Journalists! often! work! on! their! stories! individually,!which!means!that!they!are!only!one,!while!there!are!hundreds,!thousands!or!millions!of!people! outside! the! newsroom,! who! know! that! topic! better.! And! it! has! never! been! so!easy!to!find!those!people!very!fast!–!using!the Internet!and!social!networks.!!Kelly! notes! (2009)! that! the! collaboration! not! only! benefits! and! completes! the! stories!

that! citizen! and! professional! journalists! are! covering! together,! but! it! also!might! have!

beneficial! impact! on! the! content<generating! users,! who! are! involved! in! the!

collaboration,! which! can! ‘make! them! more! interested! in! their! communities,! it! can!

demystify!the!political!process,!it!can!excite!them!about!the!things!the!best!journalism!

strives!to!do:!explain,!crusade,!call!to!account’!(Kelly,!2009,!p.!2).!!!

Also,!‘more!people!become!citizen!journalists,!more!educated!society!we!have’!(Extract!

44.5),! which! means! that! by! involving! ordinary! members! of! public! in! news<making!

process,!not!only!journalism!gets!better,!but!the!society!itself,!too.!!

The! relationship! between! citizen! journalism! and! traditional! media! is! mutually!

beneficial,! as! ‘citizen! journalists! without! professionals! make! a! network! of! little! use,!

although! they!may! have! good! intentions’! (Extract! 20.4).! This! is! because! today! every!

Internet<user! is!a!potential!citizen! journalist!and!when! it!comes! to!collaboration,! they!

find!it!difficult!to!coordinate!with!each!other!because!they!are!many,!do!not!know!even!

about!each!other!and!cannot!manage!themselves!as!a!team.!This!is!where!professional!

media!can!help!them!with!their!experience,!institutional!capacities!and!better!access!to!

the!bigger!audience.!!

On! the! other! hand,! traditional!media!will! benefit! from! the! collaboration!with! citizen!

journalists! in!many!ways.! For! them,!user<generated! content! ‘will! be! a!way! to!keep! in!

! 34!

near<constant!touch!with!an!audience!that!can!function!as!a!permanent!focus!group.!It!

will!also!be!a!way!to!find!sources!quickly’!(Kelly,!2009,!p.!46).!

Steiner!and!Roberts!(2011)!also!discuss!the!benefits!of!collaboration!between!these!two!

and!say!that!it!enhances!the!media!literacy!among!both!–!citizen!journalists!and!media!

professionals.!They!suggest,!that!the!citizens!learn!how!to!work!with!different!forms!of!

news,!how!they!can!ask!for!the!information!they!might!need!for!different!purposes!and!

how!to!consider!ethical!issues!while!covering!different!stories.!As!for!professionals,!they!

can!observe!their!citizen!colleagues!to! learn!how!they!understand!news,!which,! in!the!

end,!will!make!their!work!more!effective!(Steiner!and!Roberts,!2011,!p.!207).!!

And! finally,! all! these! benefits! that! each! side! get! from! the! collaboration! will! have! a!

positive! impact! on! the! work! they! do,! which! ultimately! means! a! better! overall!

journalistic!practise.!The!argument!is!like!this:!‘the!more!people!are!involved,!the!better!

the!quality!of!information!and!the!better!for!democracy’!(Steiner!and!Roberts,!2011,!p.!

196).!!

'

!

&

Future&perspectives&&

&&

Studying! and! analysing! the! relationship! between! traditional! media! and! citizen!journalism! illustrates! that! the! changes! in! the! industry! promises! to! take! us! to! better!journalism! with! a! convergence! culture,! which! ‘shows! a! rather! inevitable! yet!problematic! plethora! of! possibilities‘! (Deuze,! 2011,! p.! 262).! In! this! chapter! we! will!discuss!what!!these!challenging!possibilities might be.!!As! traditional!media! and! citizen! journalism!start! cooperating,!professional!media!will!

have! to! implement! some! changes! in! its! professional! role.! Besides! attracting! and!

encouraging!citizen!journalists!to!get!involved!in!reporting!or!commenting,!professional!

media! will! have! to! moderate! the! participation! and! ensure! the! quality.! The! surveys,!

studying!how!mainstream!media!incorporate!user<generated!content,!show!that!‘while!

news! organisations! are! opening! their! doors! to! the! public,! they! are! also! retaining! the!

traditional!gate<keeping!role!of!journalists’!(Alfred!Hermida!and!Neil!Thurman,!2008,!p.!

! 35!

1.)! Gatekeeping! and! gatewatching! roles! will! be! the! most! important! ones! for! the!

mainstream!media!while!collaborating!with!citizen!journalism,!as!they!will!have!to!cope!

with!the!big!number!of!contributions!from!the!citizens,!filter,!verify!and!distribute!them.!!

While!getting!the! information,!photographs!and!video!footage!from!citizen! journalists,!

mainstream!media!might!need!to!focus!on!the!analysis!and!the!depth!of!the!discussion!

about! the! topic,! rather! then! sending! the! journalist! or! a! cameraman! to! the! scene! to!

report!from!there,!as!the!reporters!will!be!replaced!by!citizens!readily!available!on!the!

place!to!cover!the!breaking!news.!!

Thus,!mainstream!media!will!have!to!work!out!the!strategies!how!to!ensure!the!quality!

of! the! media! products! they! will! publish! under! their! name! as! it! will! affect! their!professional!reputation.!Managing,!editing!and!vetting!the!user<generated!content!and!

allocating! the! staff! to! do! so! is! the! challenging! task! for! mainstream! media,! as! our!research!showed,!they!have!not!found!a!feasible!model!yet!to!do!so.!!Besides! the! strategy! which! enables! the! high<quality! fact! checking! and! fully<exclusive!hoax!!possibilities,!mainstream!media!need!a!model!that!can!be!commercially!feasible,!too.! As! Beckett! notes,! ‘in! the! digital! era! the! Internet! will! provide! vast! amounts! of!communication!and!informational!data!and!activity.!But!if!it!is!not!trusted!then!it!is!not!news!journalism’!(Becket,!2008,!p.!59).!!To!be!trusted,!the!

facts!must!be!checked.!But!more! facts! and! information! mainstream! media! outlet! receives,! more! difficult! and!expensive! it! becomes! to! verify! all! of! them.! This! is! the! main! challenge! that! the!mainstream! media! face! now! in! terms! of! incorporating! citizen! journalism! in! their!everyday!work.!!However,! finding! the! niche! of! topics! around! which! mainstream!media! would! like! to!

cooperate! with! citizen! journalists! can! be! a! possible! solution! in! this! challenging!

situation,!as!‘the!real!value!of!citizen!journalism!was!its!ability!to!address!niche!markets!

otherwise!ignored!by!mainstream!media’!(Gillmor!in!Keen,!2007,!p.!51).!And!‘today!the!

only! ‘right’!business!model! is!one! that!works!within! local!market! conditions,! and!any!

media!development!program!that!seeks!to!provide!meaningful!support!must!be!tailored!

to!that!reality.!You!need!to!match!the!model!to!the!place!…!The!only!real!mistake!these!

days!is!not!to!try!something!new’!(Foster,!2011,!p.!6).!!!

!36!

To!support!this!idea!we!can!refer!to!Forde’s!study!(2011)!suggesting!that!the!practise!of!

engaging! audience! by!media! has! been!most! successful! in! Australia.! She! explains! this!

trend!with!two!reasons:!‘firstly,!community!broadcasters!are!intimately!located!in!their!

communities!of! interest!and!cover!news!and! information! immediately!relevant! to! this!

group;! and! secondly,! community! broadcasters! involve! their! community! of! interest! in!

their!programming,! including!their!news!programme,!which!is!appreciated!not! just!by!

those!involved,!but!also!by!other!audience!members’!(Forde,!2011,!p.!90).!!

To!sum!up,!analysing!the! findings!to!the!questions!Who,!When,!How,!Where!and!Why!

allow!us! to! conclude! that! the!nature! of! news,! journalism!and!media! has! changed! –! it!

became!more!interactive!allowing!the!audience!to!get! involved,!express!their!opinions!

about! certain! topics! and! sometimes,! create! and! distribute! their! own! journalistic!

products!and!lead!some!initiatives.!To!respond!to!these!changes,!mainstream!media!has!

to! firstly,! acknowledge! the! new! reality! and! accept! the! fact! that! they! have! lost! the!

monopoly! on! news;! secondly,! find! the! right! model! which! will! be! technically! easily!

administered!and!economically!–!profitable!or,!at! least,!not!very!expensive,!which!will!

allow! them! to! cooperate! with! citizen! journalists,! and! get! valuable! and! credible!

materials.!And!finally,!to!manage!to!do!so,!the!paper!suggests!mainstream!media!outlets!

to!identify!their!specific!niche,!so!that!they!can!focus!on!that!and!build!a!big!network!or!

potential!citizen!journalists,!and!collaboration!with!them!might!even!become!profitable!

one!day.!!

!

!

!

!

.!

!

! 37!

Conclusion.!

!

As! a! result! of! the! recent! technological! progress,! the! process! of! newsgathering,! news!making!and!news!consuming!has!changed!a!lot.!An emerging!form!of!journalism!–!citizen!reporting!–!has!been!developing!in!last!two!decades.!Mainstream!media!first!

perceived!it! as! a! danger,! simplifying! the! nature! of! their! work! and! threatening! the! job! places! of!professional!reporters.!But!after!some!events,!when!citizen!reporters!

managed!to!prove!they! could! do! a! valuable! job! and! even! help! traditional! media! to! cover!!very!important!news!where!the!professional!journalists!could!not!get!to!the!

scene!on!time.!!

The!paper!studied!what! is! the!relationship!between!citizen! journalism!and!traditional!

media.!To!offer!a!new!perspective!about!the!topic!and!contribute!to!the!field,!the!thesis!

investigated!the!subject!from!diverse!angles!asking!the!‘5W!and!H’!questions.!!

To! answer! these! six! questions,! the! paper! collected,! filtered! and! analysed! the! online!

documents! concerning! the! relationship! between! mainstream! and! citizen! media! and!

produced!by!media!professionals!who!have!to!deal!with!all!these!issued!on!a!daily!basis.!!

After!providing!basic!definitions!and!historical!review!of!the!topic,!the!paper!presented!

the! current! tendencies! and! strategies! that!mainstream!media! use! to! embrace! citizen!

reporting.!After!describing!these!technologies,! the!paper!tried!to!address!the!question!

about!business!model!and!commercial!feasibility!of!the!relationship!between!these!two.!

However,!no!main!business!model!was!identified!by!the!study,!which!must!be!caused!by!

the!fact!that!due!to!taking!most!of!the!news!online,!mainstream!media!is!still!looking!for!

the!business!model,!which!will!enable!them!to!get!sufficient!revenue.!!

Not! having! a! feasible! business! model! to! incorporate! citizen! journalism! in! everyday!work! is! one! of! the! challenges! that! mainstream! media! face! now.! Difficulty! in! verifing!all!user<generated!contributions!is!also!an!important!issue!for!traditional!media!trying!to!keep!their!reputation!as!good!as!possible.!But!on!the!other!hand!the!citizen!

journalism!materials! are! very! attractive! for! traditional! media! outlets,! as! they! are! cheap,! fast! and!diverse!giving!the!most!exclusive!and!up!to!date!photo!or!video!footage!about!the!event.!!

!

! 38!

The!paper!also!discussed!the!implications!of!the!findings!and!noticed!that!the!reality!in!

media! industry! is! changing! daily! –! the! same! is! true! about! the! relationship! between!

traditional! media! and! citizen! journalism,! as! they! do! not! have! long! history! of!

collaboration!!and!still!do!not!have!clear!strategies!about!the!future.!The!paper!provides!

different! examples! and! case! studies! to! give! an! interesting! overview! of! the! topic! and!

support!the!arguments.!!

However,! the! paper! has! got! important! limitations.! As! it! tackled! with! the!

multidimensional! analysis! of! the! topic,! it! lacked! the! opportunity! to! investigate! each!

question!with!the!enough!depth.! It!also!partially!addressed!the!question!of!what!roles!

geographic!location!or!political!situation!have!in!the!relationship!between!citizen!media!

and! traditional! journalism,! whereas,! these! factors! have! important! influence! on! the!

practices!and!development!of!this!relationship.!!

The!paper! tried! to!give! the!profound!account!of! the!current! tendencies! in! citizen!and!

professional! media! relationship! and! cooperation.! However,! the! situation! is! changing!

with! the! speed! of! Internet! and! the! answers! to! our! questions! might! sound! totally!

different!just!after!a!little!time.!!

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! 39!

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! 43!

Appendix A: List of online documents (please, note, that the row A refers to the number of the initially collected documents, which were

later filtered and only the ones numbered in the row ‘B’ were included in thematic data analysis which is presented in an Appendix B).

A B Name Type Author Date Hyperlink

1 - Citizen Journalism and the BBC article Richard

Sambrook

BBC journalist

and executive 2005 http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reportsitem.aspx?id=100542

2 - The future is here, but do News Media

Companies See It?

article Shayne Bowman

and Chris Willis

journalists, media

consultants,

authors 2005

http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/article/100558/The-

Future-Is-Here-But-Do-News-Media-Companies-See-It.aspx

3 - Where citizens and Journalists Intersect article Dan Gillmor

journalist 2005

http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/article/100559/Where

-Citizens-and-Journalists-Intersect.aspx

4 - With Citizens' Visual News Coverage

Standards Don't Change

article Santiago Lyon

and Lou Ferrara

editors. The

Associated Press 2005

http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/article/100561/With-

Citizens-Visual-News-Coverage-Standards-Dont-

Change.aspx

5 - Journalism as a Conversation article Jean K. Min

Director,

OhMyNews 2005

http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/article/100562/Journa

lism-as-a-Conversation.aspx

6 - Fear, Loathing and the Promise of Public

Insight Journalism

article Michael Skoler

News director,

Minnesota Public

Radio 2005

http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/article/100563/Fear-

Loathing-and-the-Promise-of-Public-Insight-Journalism.aspx

7 - How Partcipatory Journalim Works article Steve Safran

director of digital

media, NECN 2005

http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/article/100564/How-

Participatory-Journalism-Works.aspx

8 - Citizens Media: Has it Reached a Tipping

point?

article Jan Schaffer

Executive director

of J-Lab 2005

http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/article/100565/Citize

ns-Media-Has-It-Reached-a-Tipping-Point.aspx

9 - Reconnecting With the Audience article Clyde H. Bently

journalism

student, manager

of citjo website 2005

http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/article/100566/Recon

necting-With-the-Audience.aspx

! 44!

10 - Creating a New Town Square article Leslie Dreyfous

McCarthy

writer 2005

http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/article/100567/Creati

ng-a-New-Town-Square.aspx

11 - Things I Wish I'd known Before I Became

a Citizen Journalist

article

Barry Parr

journalist 2005

http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/article/100568/Things

-I-Wish-Id-Known-Before-I-Became-a-Citizen-

Journalist.aspx

12 - Defining a Journalist's Function article William F. Woo

director of the

graduate

journalism

program, Stanford

Uni 2005

http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/article/100569/Defini

ng-a-Journalists-Function.aspx

13 - When the Internet Reveals a Story article Seth Hettena

military writer

and supervisory

correspondent,

The Associated

Press 2005

http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/article/100570/When-

the-Internet-Reveals-a-Story.aspx

14 - Top Ten Ideas of '94: News Turns from a

Lecture to a Conversation

blog Jay Rosen

academic, founder

of PRESSthink 12/29/2004 http://archive.pressthink.org/2004/12/29/tp04_lctr.html

15 1 Reuters to evolve with citizen journalists article Spephen Brook

press

correspondent 5/4/2006

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2006/may/04/reuters.pressa

ndpublishing

16 2 How 7/7 'democratised' the media article/blo

g

Torin Douglas

Media

correspondent,

BBC news 7/4/2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5142702.stm

17 - It's all about the conversation blog David Schlesinger

Reuters Editor 10/27/2006

http://blogs.reuters.com/reuters-editors/2006/10/27/its-all-

about-the-conversation/

18 - Yahoo and Reuters launch the latest citizen

journalism experiment, but will users bite?

blog Steve O'Hear

technology

journalist, blogger 12/4/2006

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/social/yahoo-and-reuters-launch-

the-latest-citizen-journalism-experiment-but-will-users-

bite/33

19 - Where should we draw the line? blog David Schlesinger

Reuters Editor 4/19/2007

http://blogs.reuters.com/reuters-editors/2007/04/19/where-

should-we-draw-the-line/

20 3 Virginia Tech and social media: some

questions for newsrooms

blog Mark Jones

Reuters Editor 4/19/2007

http://blogs.reuters.com/reuters-editors/2007/04/19/virginia-

tech-and-social-media-some-questions-for-newsrooms/

21 - Are Ethics Missing in Citizn Journalism? blog Pam Gaulin

blogger 4/27/2007

http://voices.yahoo.com/are-ethics-missing-citizen-

journalism-310750.html

! 45!

22 4 Value of Citizen journalism blog/ Peter Horrocks

BBC editor 1/7/2008

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2008/01/value_of_citiz

en_journalism.html

23 - Huff Post is death to professional

journalism, says Keen

article Laura Oliver

5/2/2008

http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/huff-post-is-death-to-

professional-journalism-says-keen/s2/a531521/

24 - Tricky Relationship Between Mainstream

Media and Citizen Journalism

blog Mac Slocum

O'Reilly's Online

Managing Editor 10/1/2008

http://radar.oreilly.com/2008/10/tricky-relationship-between-

ma.html

25 5 Citizen Journalism and Traditional Media blog a teacher,blogger,

citizen journalist

10/20/2008

http://teacherdudebbq.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/citizen-

journalism-and-traditional.html

26 6 The role of citizen journalism in modern

democracy

blog/speec

h

transcript

Helen Boaden

Director, BBC

News 11/13/2008

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2008/11/the_role_of_c

itizen_journalism.html

27 7 Citizen journalists will bring the what,

while professionals bring the why

blog Patrick Thornton

Technologist and

journalist 2/8/2009

http://patthorntonfiles.com/blog/2009/02/08/citizen-

journalists-will-bring-the-what-while-professionals-bring-the-

why/

28 - Citizen Journalism: A Recipe for Disaster Comment

ary

Ron Steinman

Editor, The

Digital Journalist,

TV News

producer Dec-09

http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0912/citizen-journalism-a-

recipe-for-disaster.html

29 8 Citizen Journalism vs. Television

Journalism

article Krisi Carter

journalist 1/4/2010

http://suite101.com/article/citizen-journalism-vs-television-

journalism-a185487

30 - Citizen Journalism: transforming or

undermining traditional media?

blog

1/16/2010

http://communicationreimagined.wordpress.com/2010/01/16/c

itizen-journalism-transforming-or-undermining-traditional-

media/

31 9 Citizen journalism not a threat - Larsen interview Humayan Kabir

Solana Larsen -

managing editor

of the Global

Voices 3/18/2010

http://www.inwent-iij-

lab.org/projects/2010/wordpress/2010/%E2%80%9Ccitizen-

journalism-not-competitor-of-professional-

journalism%E2%80%9D-solana-larsen/

32 10 Andrew Marr says bloggers are 'inadequate,

pimpled and single'

news

article

John Plunkett

journalist 10/11/2010

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/oct/11/andrew-marr-

bloggers

33 11 Citizen journalism vs. BBC article Lewis Froude

Blogger, TV

producer 11/14/2010

http://passroundthechemicals.com/tv/citizen-journalism-vs-

bbc/

34 - Citizen Journalism: Are We Giving

Validity to an Unreliable Source or is it an

Efficient Addition to the News media

Industry

Zach

2/3/2011

http://politicsandthenewmedia.commons.yale.edu/2011/02/03/

citizen-journalism-are-we-giving-validity-to-an-unreliable-

source-or-is-it-an-efficient-addition-to-the-news-media-

industry/

! 46!

35 - Web 2.0 has made it highly convenient for

citizen journalists to thrive and made

citizen journalism a legitimat source of

news information

blog

Raymond Aquirre

Freelance Writer 2/20/2011

http://suite101.com/article/journalism-in-the-age-of-social-

media-a345599

36 - What effect has the internet had on

journalism?

article Aleks Krotoski

The Observer

journalist 2/20/2011

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/feb/20/what-

effect-internet-on-journalism

37 - 11 layers of citizen journalism article/blo

g

Steve Outing

analyst, consultant 3/2/2011

http://www.poynter.org/uncategorized/69328/the-11-layers-

of-citizen-journalism/

38 12 Rodney King and the Rise of the Citizen

Photojournalist

blog Dan Gillmor

3/2/2011

http://mediactive.com/2011/03/02/rodney-king-and-the-rise-

of-the-citizen-photojournalist/

39 13 Traditional media divided how to promote

citizen journalism ethics

news

article

Susan Schept

3/5/2011

http://ijnet.org/stories/traditional-media-divided-how-

promote-citizen-journalism-ethics-world-press-freedom-day

40 14 CNN 'Open Stories' combine citizen

journalism and professioal reporting

article Katherina Kieck

3/23/2011 http://www.springwise.com/media_publishing/openstories/

41 15 Will good journalism be the first casualty of

the digital revolution in the media?

blogpost

Nicola Hebden

freelance jounalist 3/24/2011

http://nicolahebden.com/2011/03/24/will-good-journalism-be-

the-%EF%AC%81rst-casualty-of-the-digital-revolution-in-

the-media/

42 16 Formalizing Citizen Journalism

3/31/2011

http://pacific-tier.com/blog/2011/03/31/formalizing-citizen-

journalism/

43 - UNESCO General Director: Citizen

journalism will not replace media

professionals

news

article

4/29/2011

http://ijnet.org/stories/bokova%E2%80%99s-teleconference-

citizen-journalism-will-not-replace-professional-press-world-

press-f

44 - A situational Benefit of citizen journalism

5/14/2011

http://pacific-tier.com/blog/2011/05/14/a-situational-benefit-

of-citizen-journalism/

45 - Citizen Journalism Puts a Win in the First

Amendment Column

blog John Savageau

blogger 5/22/2011 http://pacific-tier.com/blog/tag/citizen-journalism/

46 - Crowded Journalism blog Michael Skoler

web developer 6/1/2011

https://drumbeat.org/en-US/challenges/open-webs-killer-

app/submission/255/

47 - Best Practices for Social Media

Verification

article Craig Silverman

6/3/2011

http://www.cjr.org/the_news_frontier/best_practices_for_soci

al_medi.php?page=1

48 - Digital citizen journalism leads to new

forms of local decision making

article David Frohlich

Guardian

Professional 6/27/2011

http://www.guardian.co.uk/local-government-

network/2011/jun/27/preston-bespoke-digital-local-decision-

making

49 - Anonymity of Reporters

7/1/2011 http://www.journalismethics.ca/anonymity-of-reporters.html

50 - Delegating Trust: An Argument for an

'ingredients label' for News Producst

7/1/2011

http://www.journalismethics.ca/delegating-trust-an-argument-

for-an-%E2%80%9Cingredients-label%E2%80%9D-for-

news-products.html

! 47!

51 - Cell Journalism

7/1/2011 http://www.journalismethics.ca/cell-journalism.html

52 - Credibility

7/11/2011 http://www.journalismethics.ca/credibility.html

53 17 The future of citizen journaism, traditional

media and good stories

blog Chris Barrett

new media

producer 8/24/2011

http://www.invokemedia.com/the-future-of-citizen-

journalism-traditional-media-and-good-stories/

54 18 The Future of Citizen Journalism: A

conversation with Brian Conley,

Director/Co-Founder of Small World News

Interview Evagelina Emily

Tavoulareas

10/10/2011

http://www.changemakers.com/blog/future-citizen-

journalism-conversation-brian-conley

55 19 In the aftermath of the Arab Spring

revolutions, journalists ask: 'Who is a

journalist?'

Sueli Brodin

10/21/2011

http://www.ejc.net/magazine/article/in_the_aftermath_of_the_

arab_spring_revolutions_journalists_ask_who_is_a_jo/

56 - The Difference Between Citizen And

Professional Journalism

blog Kreaty Ferguson

Freelance Writer 11/4/2011 http://www.barutiwa.com/op-ed/007.html

57 - What makes a professional journalist?

Ethics

blog Jim Breiner

11/11/2011

http://newsentrepreneurs.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/what-

makes-professional-journalist.html

58 - Cool Story, Bro: Is Every Citizen a

Reporter?

Carla G

11/13/2011

http://www.yalelawtech.org/uncategorized/cool-story-bro-is-

every-citizen-a-reporter/

59 20 CNN's iReport paves the way for citizen

journalism, but it shouldn't replace the work

of professional journalists

Comment

ary Jonathan Frost

blogger,student 11/16/2011

http://wannabehacks.co.uk/2011/11/16/cnns-ireport-paves-

the-way-for-citizen-journalism-but-it-shouldnt-replace-the-

work-of-professional-journalists/

60 21 Citizen Journalism: Do We All Want The

Same Thing?

blog Jodie Mozdzer

reporter, Valley

Independent

Sentinel 1/24/2012

http://connecticutspj.org/citizen-journalism-do-we-all-want-

the-same-thing/

61 - Guardian pins digital future on citizen

journalism

article Katherine

Rushton

Media, telecoms

and technology

editor 1/25/2012

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechn

ologyandtelecoms/9039292/Guardian-pins-digital-future-on-

citizen-journalism.html

62 - Citizen Journalism – Is it a threat to real

Profession of Journalism?

blog Naziafatma

Media &

Communications

Student 2/3/2012

http://naziafatma.wordpress.com/2012/02/03/citizen-

journalism-is-it-a-threat-to-real-profession-of-journalism/

63 22 Citizen Journalists, Leave My Job Alone! blog TemilolaOladepo

Journalism

Graduate 2/15/2012

http://teesdiary.wordpress.com/2012/02/15/citizen-journalists-

leave-my-job-alone/

64 - Citizen journalism: A leech on society, or

under unfair fire?

blog Dominic Valente

2/15/2012

http://www.statepress.com/2012/02/15/citizen-journalism-a-

leech-on-society-or-under-unfair-fire/

! 48!

65 - Motorcycle taxi driver, citizen journalist online

news 2/16/2012

http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/easier-

stuff/280116/motorcycle-taxi-driver-citizen-journalist

66 23 Collaboration is Key: professional and

citizen journalism after WikiLeaks

article Hannah Vinter

journalist 2/20/2012

http://www.editorsweblog.org/2012/02/20/collaboration-is-

key-professional-and-citizen-journalism-after-wikileaks

67 - Social media editors; bridging the gap

between professionals and citizen

journalists

blog

Samrana Hussain

2/22/2012

http://www.newmediaskool.org/index.php?option=com_conte

nt&view=article&id=1703:social-media-editors-bridging-the-

gap-between-professionals-and-citizen-

journalists&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50

68 - Discussing the relationship between citizen

journalists and professionals

blog Belinda Alzner

2/23/2012

http://j-source.ca/article/discussing-relationship-between-

citizen-journalists-and-professionals

69 24 Comment: We need war reporters, not just

citizens with camera phones

article,

comment

Dr. Matthew

Ashton

blogger, political

lecturer 2/26/2012

http://www.politics.co.uk/comment-

analysis/2012/02/26/comment-we-need-war-reporters-not-

just-citizens-with-phone-c

70 - Citizen journalism isn't professional, but it

is journalism

blog Michael Trice

Blogger 3/16/2012

http://www.partisans.org/2012/03/citizen-journalism-

isn%25e2%2580%2599t-professional-but-it-is-journalism

71 - BBC Nws launches 'responsive' site as 26%

of hits come from mobile

blog Sarah Marshall

journalist 3/28/2012

http://blogs.journalism.co.uk/2012/03/28/bbc-news-launches-

responsive-site-as-26-of-hits-come-from-mobile/

72 - Citizen Journalism and the capital T Truth blog Mathew Ingram

3/28/2012

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-03-28/syria-

citizen-journalism-and-the-capital-t-truth

73 25 Why Citizen Journalism matters? blog

6/9/2012

http://www.citizenmedianetwork.org/2012/05/09/why-citizen-

journalism-matters/

74 26 Are you a real citizen journalist? article Michelle

Schusterman

journalist 3/31/2012

http://matadornetwork.com/change/are-you-a-real-citizen-

journalist/

75 - How New Media Has Transformed

Traditional Journalism

blog Guest Blogger

4/12/2012

http://www.johnchow.com/how-new-media-has-transformed-

traditional-journalism/

76 27 The war on war: citizen journalism vs.

professional reporting

blog Julia McDonald

blogger, MA

student at La

Trobe University 5/1/2012

http://www.upstart.net.au/2012/05/01/the-war-on-war-citizen-

vs-professional-journalism/

77 - "Citizen journalism" focuses on Israeli

occupation

article Noah Browning

correspondent,

reuters 5/23/2012

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/23/us-palestinians-

israel-videos-idUSBRE84M0FQ20120523

78 - As Seen on TV: Citizen Journalism Worthy

of Your Local News

article Dave Sniadak

Jun-12 http://www.videomaker.com/article/15412/

79 - Scotland's Olympic torch relay: how citizen

journalists have charted the journey so far

blog David

McGillivray

project lead of

Citizen Relay 6/15/2012

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2012/jun/15/citizen

-journalism-olympics-2012?newsfeed=true

! 49!

80 28 Cultivating Citizen Journalism Features Eliot Benman

6/21/2012

http://businesstodayegypt.com/news/display/article/artId:421/

Cultivating-Citizen-Journalism/secId:5

81 - User generated content and 'Arab Spring'

coverage

blog Steve Herrmann

editor, BBC news 6/26/2012

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2012/06/user_generate

d_content_and_ara.html

82 29 BBC Fooled by Syrian Rebel Propaganda

Photo on Twitter

news

article

n/a

n/a 7/4/2012 http://pdnpulse.com/tag/citizen-journalism

83 30 The Rise of Citizen Journalism article Kate Bulkley

journalist 7/19/2012

http://m.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/jun/11/rise-of-citizen-

journalism?cat=media&type=article

84 31 Social media and citizen journalism as

assistance for professional journalism

blog

admin'

admin 7/22/2011

http://www.newsmeback.com/blog/citizen-journalism/social-

media-and-citizen-journalism-as-assistance-for-professional-

journalism/

85 32 A day without journalists: could citizen

journalism fill the void?

blog Melanie Hall

Journalist, blogger 7/26/2012

http://www.melanie-hall.co.uk/2012/06/day-without-

journalists-could-citizen.html

86 33 Thursday Bram on Citizen Journalism interview Thurdsay Bram

Blogger, former

journalist n/a

http://www.ourblook.com/future-of-journalism/Thursday-

Bram-on-Citizen-Journalism.html

87 34 Brian McNeil on Citizen Journalism interview Brian McNeil

Wikinews

contributor n/a

http://www.ourblook.com/Citizen-Journalism/Brian-McNeil-

on-Citizen-Journalism.html

88 35 Kirsten Johnson on Citizen Journalism interview Kirsten Johnson

lecturer, former

TV producer n/a

http://www.ourblook.com/Citizen-Journalism/Kirsten-

Johnson-on-Citizen-Journalism.html

89 36 Bob Rosenbaum on Citizen Journalism interview Bob Rosenbaum

media consultant n/a

http://www.ourblook.com/Citizen-Journalism/Bob-

Rosenbaum-on-Citizen-Journalism.html

90 - Adam Stone on Citizen Journalism interview Adam Stone

publisher n/a

http://www.ourblook.com/Citizen-Journalism/Adam-Stone-

on-Citizen-Journalism.html

91 37 Thom Clark on Citizen Journalism interview Thom Clark

president of the

community media

organization n/a

http://www.ourblook.com/Citizen-Journalism/Thom-Clark-

on-Citizen-Journalism.html

92 - Citizen Journalism v Professional

Journalism

blog Gari Sullivan

writer, cit

journalist, lecturer 6/3/2012

http://garisullivan.co.uk/citizen-journalism-v-professional-

journalism.html

93 38 Citizen Journalism: Viable In a Censored

Internet?

blog Anne

blogger 2/2/2011

http://politicsandthenewmedia.commons.yale.edu/2011/02/03/

citizen-journalism-viable-in-a-censored-internet/

94 - Citizen reporters' can't fill role of true

journalists

blog Leonard Pitts Jr.

journalist 7/24/2012

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/06/24/4583216/viewpoints-

citizen-reporterscant.html

! 50!

Multimedia data

95 39 The future of newsgathering and the

changing media landscape

discussion

Gavin Sheppard, marketing

director, Media Trust;

Paul Lewis, special projects

editor for the Guardian;

Matthew Eltringham, editor of

BBC College of Journalism;

Mark Evans, head of home news

at Sky News;

Ravin Sampat, editor at Blottr.

7/28/2012

http://www.frontlineclub.com/events/2012/06/third-

party-event-the-future-of-newsgathering-and-the-

changing-media-

landscape.html?utm_source=Frontline&utm_campaign

=6c2a15f75a-25+June&utm_medium=email

96 40 The Future of News: The Role of Citizen

Journalists TV

Programm

e

Clarence Page, columnist

Chicago Tribure;

Jay Rosen, professor of

journalism at

New York University

4/15/2010 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euguG925MvM

97 41 Citizen Journalism TEDx

Talk Paul Lewis - journalist

5/14/2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9APO9_yNbcg

98 42 Citizen Journalism' Changing Face of

News

TV

Programm

e Close

Up Donald Matheson - lecturer 6/3/2012

http://tvnz.co.nz/close-up/citizen-journalism-changing-

face-news-video-4864029

99 - Nominations for the Citizen Journalist

awards

TV

Programm

e 2/4/2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SLmN6eNMXk

100 43 Recording The Police: Is Citizen

Journalism Agains t the law?

a short

film

David Rittgers, Legal Policy

Analyst

Radley Balko, Senior Editor,

Reason Magazine

Clark Neily, Senior Attorney,

Institute for Justice

7/11/2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MPLeS1xVv8

101 - Abby Martin of Media Roots on Citizen

Journalism at SFSU Media Literacy Event

Event

Talk

Abby Martin, founder of Media

Roots 3/15/2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kl4L1M8TY4

! 51!

102 - Internet at Liberty 2012: Citizen

Journalism Workshop

Workshop

footage

Kathleen Reen, Internews

Kolsoom Lakhani,

Invest2Innovate

Sahar Habib Ghazi, Hosh Media

Ruby Tugade, Ustream

Burt Herman, Storify

7/11/2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cBV9N_kEts

103 44 Citizen journalists: news for the future TV

interview

Luke Rudkowski, independent

journalist 7/14/2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJhnChDUHxM

104 45 The use of citizen journalism by traditional

media seminar

Nic Newman, digital media

consultant 3/4/2011

http://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/use-citizen-journalism-

traditional-media-audio

105 46 Breaking News: The Changing

Relationship Between Blogs and

Mainstream Media discussion

David Levy, Richard Sambrook,

John Kelly, Jonathan Ford

10/30/200

9

http://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/breaking-news-changing-

relationship-between-blogs-and-mainstream-media-

audio

106 47 Open Journalism: Lessons from the

Guardian, BBC World Have Your Say and

Register Citizen

podcast

Dan Roberts, national editor, the

Guardian

Matt DeRienzo, group editor of

Journal Register Company

newspapers in Connecticut

Ros Atkins, presenter of World

Have Your Say 7/6/2012

http://blogs.journalism.co.uk/wp-

content/uploads/2012/07/Open-journalism-

podcast.mp3

107 48 Who pays in the digital age? Part 4: Does

citizen journalism have a place in news, or

is it amateurish and untrustworthy?

Conferenc

e

Chris Ahearn, president of

Reuters Media

• Jane Martinson, media editor

of the Guardian

• Jonathan Miller, CEO of digital

media at News Corporation

• Tony Orsten, chief executive

officer of twofour54, Abu Dhabi

• Amra Tareen, founder of the

website allvoices.com

October,

2010 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/8583724.stm

108 - Rival publications differ on citizen

journalism conferenc

e

Sheilla Sackey

Journalist 3/15/2010

http://www.inwent-iij-

lab.org/projects/2010/wordpress/2010/rival-

publications-differ-on-citizen-journalism/

! 52!

Appendix(B:(Thematic(Analysis(Chart(

Ex.(

№!

Who!

(1)!

When!

(2)!

How!

(3)!

Where!

(4)!

Why!

Yes((5)( No((6)(

1 … citizen journalism [is]

not a new phenomenon

and Reuters had been

using forms of it for 150

years; Mr Schlesinger

[editor] commented that

when he was China bureau

chief from 1991 to 1994,

Reuters obtained

information from people

traveling in Tibet as they

were unable to gain access

to the country for their

own staff.

… contributions from

outsiders [to Reuters] has to

go through the same editorial

processes as those filed by

staff.

"Before we run it as a Reuters

story we will check it, before

we run it as a Reuters fact we

will corroborate it. Nothing

will get through as a Reuters

report unless it's gone through

a Reuters process."

David Schlesinger, the

company's global managing

editor and head of editorial

operations, added that in the

event of a major story that

prompted people to send in a

vast amount of photographs

and video clips, such as the

London July 7 bombings, the

organisation may need to

reallocate editorial resources.

"The new participatory

journalism is leading to a

much richer telling of

stories," Mr Linnebank [the

Reuters editor in chief] said.

The Reuters chief executive,

Tom Glocer, said the

instances of media

organisations falling victim

to hoaxes or publishing

inaccurate information were

reasonably rare.

2 [On 7/7/2005] Dramatic

stills and video sequences

from passengers on the

Tube trains led the BBC

Six O'Clock News bulletin,

the first time such material

had been deemed more

newsworthy than the

professionals' material.

The BBC's interactive team has taken on extra staff and new

software to cope with the flow of material.

They [contribution from

citizen reporters] not only

conveyed the choking,

claustrophobic atmosphere

but also provided significant

evidence, helping identify

the time of the explosions.

There have been fears that

the public might put

themselves in danger by

trying to get better pictures

of events such as the

Buncefield fire, so there is

now a clear warning on the

relevant page of the BBC

website.

3

The Virginia tech

shootings, alongside the

Asian Tsunami and

London’s 7/7 bombings,

have been a defining

moment for citizen

The iconic video from Jamal

Albarghouti — was

submitted to CNNs i-

reports citizen journalism

project. Widely lauded, it

nevertheless led observers …to ask whether the lure of

!53!

journalism. recognition by traditional

media is prompting citizens

to take unnecessary risks.

4 News organisations need to make sure their audiences are

aware of the ways in which they can send such information they

come across as “accidental journalists” and news organisations

need to be able to handle sudden peaks in provision of such

material. One of the reasons we will be situating our UGC team

in the heart of the newsroom is that we will be able to

supplement the team by reassigning journalists working on

other tasks when there are spikes in contributions.

There is no doubt that the

stronger voice of the

audience is having a

beneficial effect on the

range of stories and

perspectives that journalists

cover. At the BBC, the use

of texts, e-mails and debate

forums gives us access in

real time to the views of the

active members of our

audience.

… we are having to apply

significant resource to a

facility that is contributed

regularly by only a small

percentage of our

audiences.

Where the BBC is hosting

debate we will want the

information generated to be

editorially valuable.

And the extra effort we

intend to put into this level

of added-value journalism

will also involve going out

proactively to look for such

material. Just waiting for

audiences to contact the

BBC is in itself distorting.

Not everyone uses BBC

News and those who take

the trouble to contact us may

not be representative. Our

interactive journalists

already have a very involved

relationship with the

blogosphere in their relevant

area of expertise.

Some years ago [BBC] set up a

citizen involvement initiative

called variously iCan, then

Action Network. We have

gradually withdrawn investment

from that because the level of

involvement in it compared to

the cost was inappropriate.

5 jThe difference is not

between new and

traditional channels but

The traditional media,

through the compromises

they have made either with

! 54!

between good and bad

journalism, in that

respect both sides have

lot to answer for.

the political administrations

or vested economic interests

have left the moral high

ground and headed for the

swamps.

6 But for Newsgathering,

what happened on 7 July

three years ago marked a

watershed: the point at

which the BBC knew that

newsgathering had

changed forever. In one

sense it was just an

example of what might be

called "accidental

journalism".

But accidental journalism

is nothing new. When

Abraham Zapruder took

his Bell & Howell movie

camera to Dealey Plaza in

Dallas, Texas on 22

November 1963 he had no

idea he would capture the

most iconic example of

citizen journalism. He

recorded less than 30

seconds of film - the

assassination of President

Kennedy.

We were better prepared

for the Glasgow airport

bombing. Here too, the

mobile phone images

captured the drama long

before conventional news

crews could arrive. I was

actually at Glasgow and

The challenge for news

organisations is in learning

how to integrate the opinions

of their readers, listeners and

viewers in new ways.

And we're still learning.

The need to be able to

handle all this user-

generated content is

affecting the way we

structure ourselves. We have

established what we call the

UGC Hub - a seven-day, 24-

hour operation at the heart

of our newsroom.

The hub has 23 staff and

works with every part of

BBC journalism. Four staff

from Have Your Say work

solely on moderating blogs

and debates. And it's needed:

on an average day the hub

will handle 12,000 e-mails

and around 200 pictures. On

a big story day those

numbers go through the

… it can really enrich our

journalism and provide our

audiences with a wider

diversity of voices than we

could otherwise deliver.

As well as voices we might

not otherwise hear from,

there are stories about which

we would never have known.

For many of our audiences,

this has opened their eyes to

something very simple: that

their lives can be

newsworthy - that news

organisations don't have a

monopoly on what stories

are covered. Indeed, that

news organisations have an

appetite for stories they

simply couldn't get to

themselves and they value

information and eye witness

accounts from the public - as

they always have done.

If good journalism is to

survive it's essential we all

adapt in this way.

Take Robert Peston's blog

on who benefits from the cut

in interest rates. On the day

of publication, it had

182,000 page views. And

253 comments.

This highlights the

difference in the audiences

between those who are

happy to read what others

have to say and those self

selecting minority who want

to join in the debate

themselves, knowing that the

environment can be robust

and that people might

disagree with what they have

to say.

These numbers are also a

useful warning not to set too

much store by the tone of the

comments.

Those who join in the debate

are by definition a vocal

!55!

became part of that

newsgathering process.

Using only my mobile, I

was able to get on air

immediately.

The most successful

combination of

conventional and citizen

newsgathering was the

coverage of the floods that

swept across the UK last

year [2007]. This coverage

won an award for

innovation at the Royal

Television Society. It was

truly greater than the sum

of its parts. It provided our

audiences with crucial

public information when

they really needed it.

It wasn't long ago that

bloggers and traditional

news organisations were at

each others’ throats. In

truth, many big

organisations were slow to

respond and saw the

internet as more of a

threat than an opportunity.

roof. Some 7,000 pieces of

video came in to the hub in

one week during last July's

floods.

The hub is now a

fundamental part of BBC

journalism, providing a rich

memory bank of case studies

and a pool of potential story

ideas.

But as I list this roll-call of

reservations, they only serve

to reinforce something I've

always known: that the key

aptitude for any editorial

leader is good judgement. It

was when I joined the BBC;

it still is today.

minority. They certainly

have a place in a vibrant

and impartial news

environment but they need to

be kept in perspective.

We must always be cautious

of over-interpretation - of

concluding too much from

the select few that interact

with us online. As yet they

are still but one sub-set of

our audience.

bullying by blog is a

phenomenon that many

newspapers are struggling

with in relation to their

columnists. It's one of the

darker sides of the great

push to more connection and

transparency.

And we absolutely must

beware of how one of the

strengths of the internet - its

speed - can become a

terrible weakness if the

information is not true.

7 … army of active

citizens who want to

report about the world

around them — for free.

They can cover far more

ground than professional

journalists and can

provide coverage of

Citizen journalism won’t replace in-depth reporting anytime

soon — if ever. You probably won’t see citizens uncovering

government corruption, but citizen journalism offers the ability

to cover breaking news better than professional journalists ever

could. Faster, better, uncensored and in real-time.

Citizens can handle the what, while professional journalists

can handle the why.

As a reporter you can’t be

everywhere, but billions of

people are everywhere.

That’s the power of citizen

! 56!

events as they happen in

real time — not

afterwards.

.. and journalism will be better than ever before. It’s not us

versus them. It’s we.

journalism.

8 The most prominent

example of citizen

journalism may be the 9/11

terrorist attacks, when a

large part of the footage

the American citizens

viewed actually came from

personal cell phones or

other personal video

equipment.

Despite television

journalism seeming more

professional, edited, and

easily digestible, the use of

citizen journalism by

television broadcast news

stations gives credit to the

news form. And by

channelling the best of

citizen journalism into a

forum which is easy to take

in and edit, perhaps the

televised version is actually

giving viewers the best of

citizen journalism.

The problem with citizen

journalism, however, is that

the results are spotty.

… there are thousands of

mundane, seemingly useless

blogs and nonsensical

articles that come with the

territory. The availability of

citizen journalism is

overwhelming, and no one

serves as an overarching

editor.

9 “The local citizen usually try

to highlight their local

problems through our

website—Global Voices.”

Ms. Larsen said the Global

Voices usually wants to

express the voice of the

general people instead of

proving it as the platform of

journalism.

10 Andrew Marr has

dismissed bloggers as

"inadequate, pimpled and

single", and citizen

journalism as the

"spewings and rantings

of very drunk people late

"It is fantastic at times but

it is not going to replace

journalism."

"Most of the blogging is too

angry and too abusive.

Terrible things are said

online because they are

anonymous. People say

things online that they

wouldn't dream of saying in

!57!

at night". person."

11 “… the most 12 powerful

images of the student protest

were broadcast online

before they hit television

screens”. The most

memorable footage was

being broadcast on internet

platforms like Flickr and

Youtube as it was

happening. What’s

surprising is that whilst

tabloids and news channels

were displaying images of

the violence, a majority of

the footage and pictures

posted online were actually

of the banners and the large

crowds that were marching

peacefully down the street- a

very sharp contrast to the

picture being painted by the

mainstream. This footage

really strengthen’s the ideas

proposed by Thomas Meyer

that the time difference

between an event happening

and it being reported is

getting closer to the zero

point ie: it’s getting reported

there and then. The scary

thought is that as technology

continues to develop, this

time is going to become

even shorter which raises the

question; will there become

a point where the citizen

journalists become more

powerful than the

! 58!

professional journalists.

12 Stacey’s picture, like the

other material I’ve

highlighted here, made its

way to wide viewership

largely because traditional

media organizations gave it

a push. That will be less and

less necessary as social

media become the news-

access tools of choice for a

new generation that

consumes, produces and

shares news in varying

ways. Big media will always

have a role, an important one

for some time to come, but

it’s no longer clear that

they’ll be as

overwhelmingly essential

even in the “distribution”

arena.

Not every person who captures

a newsworthy image or video

necessarily wants to be paid.

But many do, and right now, for

the most part, their

compensation is a pat on the

back. Eventually, someone will

come up with a robust business

model that puts a welcome dent

into this modern version of

sharecropping.

Creative commons

… media from average

people can make a real

difference, too, and it does

again and again

We will be better off, in the

end, as more and more

journalistic media creation

of this sort becomes part of

the mainstream. This isn’t

good news for professional

spot news photo and video

journalists, who are much

less likely to be at the scenes

of newsworthy events than

their “amateur” fellow

citizens. But we will have

more genuine media than

before, as in the authenticity

of the London image, and

that is a good thing for us

all.

13 Government regulations can

be effective in holding new

media journalists

accountable in some

countries, said Nigerian

blogger Aliyu Tilde after

watching the session.

Nigerian officials recently

began to require that

subscriber identification

module cards – also known

as SIM cards -- in mobile

phones be registered. Since

registration started, the

Miklos Haraszti, the

moderator of the panel, said

that with the ease and

immediacy of posting on the

Internet, there is little time

for fact checking and

“ethics, by and large, has

collapsed online.” It used to

be the editor’s decision

whether or not to identify a

source. Now the sources

decide whether they want to

make themselves known, he

said.

!59!

number of anonymous posts

online has dropped

dramatically, he said.

14 CNN has some 750,000

active citizen iReporters, it

says. But while the news site

will sometimes vet and

incorporate an iReport story

into its main news coverage,

most citizen-contributed

stories have remained

separate in the iReport

section.

“Open Stories”, that aims to

take that concept a step

further by crowdsourcing

coverage of important topics

through a combination of

citizen and professional

journalists.

http://ireport.cnn.com/open-

stories.jspa

“What we’re working

toward here is a true

collaboration among a news

organization and the many

people who experience an

event first-hand.”

15 Marr harbours a somewhat

legitimate fear that the

quality of journalism will

deteriorate as more people

publish under the guise of

being a journalist. There is

no vetting system to check

the quality of those

! 60!

reporting, no assurance they

know the industry, how to

treat sources, document an

interview or even ethically

present the information they

glean from those sources or

interviews.

16 Citizen Journalists come

in two major

categories. The first is

an accidental journalist,

or a person who just

happens to be at the

scene of an event. This

person will record the

event, or portions of the

event, for later analysis

by potentially a global

audience. The second

are those who

intentionally seek out

events, and provide their

own analysis (along with

raw source materials) of

events. This person will

often act as a “non-

credentialed” alternative

to “professional”

journalists. Let’s call

them “Enthusiast Citizen

Journalists.”

An aspiring Enthusiastic

Citizen Journalist,

professional who needs to

provide a blogging presence,

or simply want to explore

the technique and craft of

new media journalism, can

use several training

resources, which are

available for free or for

some fee online.

With several million people

already blogging in some

form, that is a lot of “stuff”

for the Internet-enabled

community to slog through

in an attempt to discover

useful information. It is

increasingly difficult to

discriminate between fact,

opinion, propaganda, or

simply the bizarre ramblings

of a chemically-enhanced

former actor’s mind.

17 CNN has been the most

successful in this regard.

Its iReport section

receives thousands of

submissions daily. The

top videos and articles

Bringing citizens into their

news reporting process

would not only allow the

networks to have the most

up-to-date and exclusive

content, it would enable

them to get this content

!61!

are vetted and fact-

checked by recent college

graduates who comprise

the CNN iReport staff and

producers in Atlanta.

There has been no other

successful business model

for user generated

content. In 2007, ABC

News created iCaught, a

prime time network news

program based on citizen-

generated content. The show

failed to garner a sufficient

viewership and was

cancelled after just six

weeks. Al Gore’s

production, called Current

TV, originally created over

half of its programming

from short content generated

by independent filmmakers.

Current TV would actually

pay filmmakers whose

content made it onto air.

This business model also

failed after only a couple

years on TV.

either free or for very little,

without having to send

reporters to the centre of the

story.

18 The input of local citizens is

essential for us to ensure we

can provide a nuanced

perspective that doesn't lose

the local context.

What we've found is that

today, user-generated

content is easier to find,

however what remains the

same (from the Haitian

earthquake, to protests in

Tahrir Square, the rebellion

in Libya, or the tsunami in

Japan) is that user-generated

! 62!

content largely lacks context

and is often of low technical

quality. Small World News

focuses on providing

training to locals in

journalism, production, and

storytelling to enable

citizens to leverage available

media tech to create

compelling human stories

from the frontlines.

19 [in Arab Spring]

bloggers and social

media users became

increasingly viewed and

described by the public

as “independent” “news

sources” and “citizen

journalists” as opposed

to mainstream

journalists who were

seen as mouth pieces of

the authorities.

Ivan Nikoltchev, head of

the Media Unit at the

Council of Europe’s

Directorate General of

Human Rights and Legal

Affairs, analysed the

question from a broader

democratic perspective:

“There is no fundamental

need to define who is a

journalist and who

should be accredited. If

the main objective is to

ensure that the public is

informed, so that it can

participate well in the

Sergey Strokan (Political

Commentator,

Kommersant): The less

efficient traditional media

is, the stronger citizen

journalism becomes. When

Russian media failed to

address important events,

it was social media that

filled in the gap. We need

to understand that we have

a new competitor. If we

did our job well, the

competition would be

smaller. This is not merely

a question of technology,

but a matter of

responsibility, our

responsibility. We should

not be scared. We live in

an increasingly globalised

and interdependent world.

If we understand that our

responsibility is first and

foremost to our audience,

and not to our editors or

owners, then journalism

will not die.

“Citizens don’t have the

skills that journalists

have. They can’t verify

and analyse like we can.

As journalists we do have

the expertise to evaluate

and uncover information.

We have the expertise to

verify.”

Seen in this light, citizen

news reporters are not a

threat to the profession

but rather a resource.

“We need to have more

confidence as professional

journalists in social

media. The public has

always been there and

they have always had

voices,” Sambrook

explained.

Another delegate warned

against the risks for the

public to rely blindly on the

internet as a source of

information: “Internet is a

new force, with tremendous

possibilities. At the same

time, it’s one big dump.”

!63!

democratic process, it

does not matter whether

the information process

happens through

traditional journalism or

citizen blogs, as both can

be considered as

democratically relevant

forms of journalism.”

20 These aren’t people

interested in being

journalists, but they’re

interested in

participating.

CNN creating a framework

for those people to

participate will benefit in the

long term as it’ll create a

higher level engagement –

this is the long view rather

than the short view of seeing

it as a ‘recruit unpaid citizen

journalists instead of paying

a highly trained journalists’

type arguments.

CNN have just released a vastly

improved iReport network,

which aims to harness its

million users more effectively as

citizen journalists. The new

design leans far more towards

that of a social network, now

containing features such as

groups, profile pages, and

geotagging functionality.

Lila King, participation director

at CNN Digital said that they

“want to create a social network

for news, one that connects

people with the stories and

sources. The new iReport

invites people to participate in

the reporting of stories that

matter to them.”

Citizen journalists without

professionals are a network of

little use, although they may

have good intentions.

21 Citizen journalism is

anything from a person

submitting a photograph

of a car crash, to a full-

! 64!

blown citizen-run news

blog.

In a different time, these

same “citizen

journalists” would have

been simply called

sources – and would

have needed the

professionals in order to

reach a wider audience.

Today they can publish

on their own.

22 Citizen Journalism opened

up a multiplicity of platforms

where news stories that

would have otherwise gone

unnoticed, find a ready

audience.

Also, it instantly redefines

the concept of ‘breaking

news’.

The downside to Citizen

Journalism is the explosion

of hoaxes – false reports and

footage being fed to

established news

organisations – who have to

take a bite of the CJ freebie

for various reasons such as

the need to stay relevant to

their audiences, and to stay

in business.

23 One way to ensure accurate

information from citizen

journalists is to build strong

relationships with trusted

sources. "Don't wait until

something's trending on

Twitter before you report it,"

Minty advised. At Al

Jazeera, he said, "getting in

early and building these

relationships is absolutely

pivotal to what we've done".

Minty also stated that Al

Jazeera also uses experts

with the right language skills

Citizen reporters can send in

stories from areas that

professional journalists have

difficulty accessing, such as

Syria, and can report on

things that large news outlets

fail to cover.

Where collaboration is

successful, citizen

journalism can produce a

real social impact,

especially in countries

where official media is

Citizen media helped the

spread of unverified

information. Sankarshan

Thakur, Roving Editor

at The Telegraph, New

Delhi, said that although

"citizen journalism is

nothing to wish away, even

less to ignore," it was

important to recognise

"loose chat as loose chat,

and not as information".

There has to be context to

stories, he stated, as well as

"rigor and fact-checking"

!65!

and local knowledge to

verify citizen contributions.

In the end, he said, only a

small proportion of citizen

journalism submissions are

broadcast by Al Jazeera: of

the 16,000 videos that came

to the news organisation

during 11 days of Egyptian

revolution, less than 300 or

400 made it to TV screens.

Haski stated that content was

the result of a collaboration

between "journalists, experts

and citizens". One third of

content, he said, comes from

a "collaborative relationship

with contributors", whose

input can be as major as

sending in whole texts, or as

minor as checking spelling.

However, Haski stated that

readers felt reassured that

professional journalists, who

worked within a transparent

set of guidelines, had the

"final cut".

heavily restricted.

Where citizen and

professional journalism

combine, the end result can

meet the standards of

truthfulness, accuracy and

objectivity. "The two

shouldn't view each other as

rivals," he [Haski] stated.

that professionals can

provide.

24 Citizen-journalism can be a

force for good, but just as

easily can lead to confusion

and information over-load.

Cynics would argue that war

reporting is just a tool of

governments and the multi-

nationals, and that even if the

journalists aren't biased

towards either the left or

right, or one side of a

! 66!

conflict or another, they still

suffer from a range of other

biases. For instance a

commercial bias towards

reporting on stories or

images that they think will

be more likely to lead to

higher newspaper sales or

ratings. Equally they could

be accused of bias towards

bad news rather than good.

All these criticisms are valid

to a certain extent but

mainly because there's no

one clear definition of what

news actually is. Is it what

people want to know or is it

what they need to know?

Journalists are increasingly

being trained to think about

these issues and take them

into account. Also

journalists depend for their

careers on supplying truthful

and useful information.

News, whether we like it or

not, is a commodity and

accurate news is probably

the most valuable thing on

Earth.

25 Many user-generated

outlets won fans during

natural disasters, such as

the Southeast Asian

tsunami of 2004, where

people armed with cameras

captured the first few

images of waves

thundering into buildings.

It’s important to recognize

citizen journalism’s position.

Right now, it won’t replace

mainstream news. Whether

by design or not, it hasn’t

gained enough credibility to

win over major media

conglomerates en masse.

The “old” Web was seen as

merely a passive tool, where

citizens simply watched and

read content. But the Web

2.0 phenomenon is ushering

in the age of participation —

Web surfers want to control

what they read and the

simple solution is to create

!67!

Also, the Virginia Tech

shooting gave iReport.com

chilling images from a

student’s mobile phone

camera. It wasn’t

traditional journalism but

it was unfiltered, raw.

And for a grassroots media

trend, that’s fine. Its appeal

lies in its underground

attitude that is more

rebellious than conformist.

Eventually, though, media

giants will realize how

citizen journalism opens up

the newsroom to include

contributions from the very

readers publishers are trying

to woo. The truly

progressive news executives

will run with this new

opportunity instead of

twiddling thumbs and

worrying about how to edit

contributions.

that content themselves.

People who may have felt

marginalized or ignored by

the mainstream press, for

instance, could find a home

by posting news about their

community, complete with

cellphone video clips and

digi-cam pics.

News outlet need to wake up

to what a new era is offering

them: enthusiastic creative

voices hoping to get heard.

They might not have

journalistic training, and

they may not understand

libel law. But what news

orgs lose in trained talent

they gain in dedication,

because citizen reporters

will write about their

community pro bono, if only

to highlight an issue they

want to see above the fold.

In citizen journalism,

unusual beats can be covered

in an innovative way —

imagine citizen bloggers

writing about all the

restaurant inspections in

their neighbourhood, or the

non-violent protests that

don’t bleed enough to lead

nightly newscasts.

26 Al Jazeera, a news network

based in Qatar, has

launched an educational

campaign that will attempt

to teach individuals how to

! 68!

become citizen journalists.

They’ve created a series of

video tutorials, which can be

found on their YouTube

channel, Al Jazeera

Unplugged.

The first few videos cover

how to set up Twitter and

Facebook accounts, and are

available in English,

Bosnian, and Turkish, with

plans for more languages in

the works. According to

GigaOm, Al Jazeera social

media head Riyaad Minty

explained that future videos

will be more advanced,

covering issues such as

using mobile phones “in a

time of crisis” and how the

professional media can

locate and use valid reports

from citizen journalists.

All of Al Jazeera’s citizen

journalist videos will have a

Creative Commons license,

meaning others can remix

and share them freely.

27 While it may be easy for

citizen journalists to post

content via their cell phones

to social media, such as

Twitter, the lack of

verification of the story and

the ways in which the

content is interpreted can

turn into a giant game of

Chinese Whispers. A story

!69!

has the potential to be

twisted and manipulated

over time, which may result

in losing the intended

message or the meaning.

There is a much lower risk

of this for professional

content. The context of a

story can be articulated and

is not necessarily limited to

only 140 characters.

… with the amount of access

to technology available, it

can sometimes be an

overload of opinion as

opposed to more solid,

investigative fact.

Twitter users have been

known to fake the death of

celebrities, yet, it is also a

first source for news for

many people, and even the

news networks. How can a

source that fakes people’s

death simultaneously be

responsible for war updates?

28 CitJo.com – the platform

allows users to monetize

citizen journalism content by

creating an account and

posting photos and videos to

Twitter with hashtag CitJo.

The citizen jourlist can then

set a price on the content or

grant a Creative Commons

license. Content can also be

uploaded directly to the

Social media and citizen

journalism have served as a

vital tool for traditional news

media companies since the

beginning of the current

uprising in the Middle East.

They provide imagery and

eyewitness accounts of

events that professional

journalists often have

difficulty accessing due to

! 70!

platform. Media companies

can then search for content

they wish to purchase.

CitJo maintains working

relationships with

contributors to ensure

quality and authenticity.

When content is submitted,

CitJo contacts the citizen

journalist to question the

submitter on the events

recorded. The content is

then compared with reports

coming out of traditional

media and social media. A

story that is not supported

by at least one additional

source is considered invalid.

Citjo works with three

categories of citizen

journalism: the contributor,

anyone who has content to

share; the activist, a citizen

journalist that wishes to raise

awareness of a specific

cause; and the freelancer, a

journalist who would like to

gain exposure to a larger

clientele. CitJo is actively

working with several NGOs

to help train its citizen

journalists. In addition, news

agencies will soon be able to

create specific assignments

for citizen journalists.

dangerous conditions and

restrictions on media in the

region.

… citizen journalism has

forced traditional media

sources to improve the

accuracy of their reporting

and report on events they

otherwise would not have.

29 The BBC recently suffered a

!71!

predictable consequence of

relying on citizen

journalism: It published a

photograph circulated on

Twitter by a Syrian anti-

government activist that

purportedly shows dead

civilians after a government

massacre last month in

Houla, Syria. The image turns

out to have been

misappropriated and

mislabeled for the purposes

of propaganda.

The photo was actually a

2003 photograph from Iraq

by Getty images contract

photographer Marco di

Lauro. The image shows

dozen of bodies dug up from

a mass grave. They were

victims of a brutal

crackdown by former

dictator Saddam Hussein

against a Shi’ite uprising

after the 1991 Gulf War.

Harrington argues that the

mistake was a predictable

consequence of the rush by

the BBC and other news

organizations to embrace

citizen journalism, while

mouthing all the right words

about upholding standards

for accuracy, fairness and

objectivity.

One would think that a few

! 72!

glaring errors like this might

make reputable news

organizations realize that

there are no shortcuts to

gathering and vetting news–

and also make them twice

shy about crowd-sourcing

news in order to save money.

30 Shaw says that ITN's

documentary, Syria's Torture

Machine, for Channel 4,

drew on about 30,000 clips

that have been uploaded on

various social network sites,

including "trophy videos"

from Syrian military

torturers and footage from

local families and citizens

caught up in demonstrations.

"I think there is a sense that

objective journalism is not

the same as trawling social

networks for citizen

reportage and imagery, but

there are two problems with

that view," says Shaw. "First

there are places like Syria

where journalists haven't

been able to go and second

there is an extraordinary

resource on social networks

for current affairs, even

though we have to take

extraordinary caution to

verify what we use."

"There are two big

downsides to 'found' video:

the first is provenance; it

takes money and time to

check that it is real and not

faked; the second risk is that

just because you can shoot

on a camera phone doesn't

mean you should. I worry

that commissioners will use

this as an excuse to cut

budgets for factual even

further."

31 Breaking news quickly

draw professional

journalists but first who

!73!

take the picture, video or

share it on social media

is usually citizen

journalist or freelance

photographer. This does

not apply to all but very

often first news we hear

from citizen journalists

and not traditional

media.

It is raw and rough but it

is first and fresh. The

way people like news.

That is kind of symbiosis

between citizen

journalism and social

media all for better and

faster reporting.

During the Arab protests

citizens were the only

journalists present in several

countries and they were the

only bypass for media. In

these crisis situations

citizens showed they are

capable of acting as

professionals.

32 However, there were ways

that journalists can check the

accuracy of UGC,

said Matthew Eltringham,

editor of the BBC College of

Journalism, who explained

that the BBC has a team in

place whose main job is to

verify information.

Yet this scenario of a

country without journalists

was similar to what

happened during the riots

last August, said Lewis, as

the violence continued into

the early hours.

Chairing the event, TV and

radio presenter Nikki

Bedi pointed out the

inaccurate tweets that were

circulating on the night of

the riots, and highlighted the

importance of journalists

verifying information so the

public can know what's

! 74!

"The teams get in touch with

the people who sent the

tweet," said Eltringham. "If

that’s not possible, there’s a

whole series of tests we put

it through. If it’s a video,

what accent are they using?

What’s the weather like? If

it's sunny in the video but the

weather says it was raining

there at that time, then that's

another test."

"Through no fault of their

own, Sky and the BBC were

forced to pull out their

teams. And if you turned on

the TV, you could only see

what had happened up until

that point when they pulled

them out. But if you went

online, you had a constant

stream of people updating

and that was quite

journalistic," explained

Lewis, special projects

editor at the Guardian.

"There’s always been

disinformation," replied

Lewis. "What’s interesting is

not that it's propagated in

social media but that it has

the ability to self regulate,"

adding that Twitter users

were good at spotting untrue

rumours.

really going on.

"I remember reading tweets

that a D&G shop had been

smashed in Westfield, but

there isn't even a D&G shop

in Westfield," she said.

Blottr featured a story on its

website yesterday (June 28)

about someone who had

spotted the decapitated body

of a man who had just

committed suicide by

walking in front of a train,

and had decided to post a

photo of the corpse on

Twitter. The picture was

seen by the victim's son

before he knew it was his

father.

"That's morally

reprehensible," said Bedi.

33 It's easy to get a citizen

journalist to cover a big

story that affects hundreds of

thousands, but it's rare for an

unpaid journalist to do an

expose on the local hospital.

Even if you can find such a

person, there's an obvious

difference in how a citizen

journalist might cover a

local story and how a paid

freelancer would tackle it.

Especially key is the fact

that a professional is more

!75!

strenuous in fact-checking

— many citizen journalists

have minimal understanding

of libel. Furthermore, a paid

freelancer typically has more

time to spend on a story —

she doesn't need to work

around her day job to

interview sources.

34 For every newspaper that exists

today there would be different

criteria in selecting the citizen

journalists they should recruit.

Regardless of the newspaper, I

think one of the most important

things they should consider is

nurturing talent. Are you a local

newspaper? 90%+ of your

income from print adverts

targeted at people in the area?

Then you should be looking for

the local citizen journalists who

sit next to their police scanner

and report on the drug busts and

local fires. Assume you will

have to invest in improving their

writing skills, be relaxed about

them publishing elsewhere, and

pay them enough money to

make it worth their while to

give you first option on

material. If they could afford to,

they would be on the scene at

these fires and such; Wikinews

has a few contributors who put

that much dedication into

tracking local events. If these

people are getting to the scene

by bicycle before your paid

How newspapers or other

mainstream media sources

could be as-they-are saved

by citizen journalists is a

whole other ball of wax. I

have absolutely no idea how

that could work out in the

long run, but it certainly isn't

what seems prevalent at the

moment - recruiting the most

ill-informed and highly

opinionated 'citizen

journalists' on the basis of

how many page views they

might add to your website.

! 76!

reporters, you're perhaps paying

the wrong people.

So, like anyone who takes

citizen journalism seriously, the

lack of an experienced and

critical editor is where I see a

need for the mainstream to get

involved.

35 Local newspapers should not

rely on citizen journalists to

help them survive. Most citizen

journalists are not paid

anything for their work and lack

the motivation to help a for-

profit entity continue to make a

profit. Citizens cannot and

should not be viewed as free

labour. Local newspapers need

to look at ways to generate

revenue, and citizen journalism

is not the way to do that.

Newspapers should consider a

subscription-based business

model where people have to pay

to view online content. I know,

at the present time, the audience

doesn't want to pay for online

information, but in order to

sustain high quality reporting

and writing, they must embrace

this. If you think back to the

early days of cable television,

many people initially were

resistant to pay for premium

programming channels like

HBO. Now millions of people

pay a lot of money each month

to view these channels. The

Citizens can provide

pictures and commentary

about events;

Some citizen journalists will

do poor quality and inept

work; however, there are

professional journalists who

will also do these same

things.

Citizen journalism can be a

powerful tool for reporting

hyperlocal news (news that

is specific to one community)

because people care about

their community and have a

hunger for finding out what

is going on. People care

about school board and local

planning meetings, and these

are stories that citizens who

attend these meetings can

report on and post to a web

site.

Citizen journalism helps

democratize information,

and this, in fact, is one of its

greatest strengths. More

However, it is difficult for

citizen journalists to

objectively report on a story.

!77!

Millenial generation has grown

up paying for television and

they are used to paying for

premium services. People will

pay for great reporting.

voices in news coverage lead

to a greater diversity of

perspectives and better

ideas.

36 The primary differences

between citizen

journalism and the other

variety, whatever it's

called, are: 1) the

amount of practice each

gets, 2) and the form of

compensation.

In reality, most citizen

journalists are one-story

reporters. They are interested in

a specific topic – whether it's

governance of the local schools

or model railroading – and they

disappear when that topic has

been resolved or otherwise

ceases to be of interest. So

citizen journalists are going to

come and go. Most important is

to make them feel welcome

while they're with you; provide

them with resources to learn

what they need to know; reward

them with recognition, credit

and small gifts (T-shirts,

identity pins, etc.); and never

forget to thank them for their

effort to make the world more

transparent.

37 With smaller staffs chasing

fewer stories, citizen

journalists could help local

papers keep a broader mix

of stories and community

reporting in front of readers.

Citizen journalists can also

show editors or remaining

beat reporters where there is

keen community interest

about certain issues and

! 78!

institutions that could

heighten reader interest.

38

In China, state news media

is controlled, both directly

through government

directives as well as

indirectly through self-

censorship phone calls when

that self-censorship fails to

live up to government

censorship standards. This

governmental hold on the

media extends into the non

state-run online sphere.

Blogs, forums, chat rooms,

and independent news sites

all are shaped by the

government’s desire to mold

its citizens’ knowledge of

events to its own benefit: the

state and private companies

together operate a network

of censorship devices, such

as algorithms that screen for

and then censor posts

containing certain pre-

selected key words. In this

context of governmental,

private, and self censorship,

in this context where words

posted online can lead to

arrest offline—well known

blogger-activist Hu Jia was

recently tracked down and

arrested for posting material

that “subverted state

authority,” for example—

can citizen journalism truly

!79!

thrive? And if it can, is it the

same citizen journalism that

we call citizen journalism in,

say, a city in New England?

In my opinion, the answer is

no. Simply put, if the

government is weeding out

citizen generated articles

that offer opposing views

from its own state-run

media, what is left is no

longer citizen journalism,

but a different venue for the

same government sponsored

opinions offered in legacy

newspapers. That is, what’s

left when the dissenting

viewpoints and creative

interpretations of events are

deleted from the Internet is

just a platform for citizens to

create content that agrees

with official news. After all,

while this material is not

state-sponsored, it is state-

selected.

39 Number of independent

organizations started to

address a validation problem

and deal with UGC

App date and time and

location and user ID

submission.

ITV producer uses the term

citizen journalism rather

than UGC and says that it

Journalism (including TV) goes

online, but it cannot make

money online, because there are

some other organizations that

can provide more well-targeted

advertisement service. In the

future there will be less and less

money for journalism. There

should be a mixed system of

state funded journalism and

There are 16 million people

and 1/3 has the technology

in their pocket better than

any news media

organizations had 10 years

ago.

Able to cover local news.

Opportunity to start a

sustainable future of

There is no accountability

with Twitter or social media.

The question of trust – how

can you trust someone you

cannot see face to face?

! 80!

will take the most significant

role in newsgathering

process in the future.

Fact-checking from media

organizations – weather

check, etc.

Blottr – created a network of

citizen journalists (who they

trust, via twitter, skype, etc),

send them back the videos

and ask to verify them. Not

paid.

News organizations learn on

their mistakes.

Rule number one: always

meet the source in real, face

to face.

foundation - publicly funded,

charitable funded,

philanthropically funded

journalism and next to them

commercial journalism to some

extent – mix of all them.

thousands of community

reporters.

Social media has the

capacity to self-regulate.

For example, there were the

rumours about London’s zoo

and photoshoped penguins’

photos … Consumers

figured it out by themselves,

that it was not true.

40 When the people known

as former audience use

the tools they have now

to inform each other –

that is citizen journalism.

The same as non-

traditional journalist,

who, along with the

technological changes,

found new ways to find

and cover news.

A turning point that

changed journalism was 11

September 2001.

www.allvoices.com –

combination of citizen

journalism and mainstream

news; nothing is censored;

credibility ranking –

consumers rank the

uploaded materials

themselves taking into

consideration the

information provided.

Openness + community

standards – consumers

flagging what is reliable and

what violates the norms.

Reputation system.

When citizen journalists

want to be trusted, they need

to earn this trust – they need

to tell people who they are;

they need to correct

themselves when they are

wrong; they have to engage

with the people who they

talk to; they have to be

reliable.

They come from the

community, which they are

trying to inform, and unlike

professional journalists, they

have the connection to this

community.

It’s all about individuals

– they are moms who

take children to school in

the morning, who have

day jobs and do not have

as much interest in news

or in journalism as the

professionals – people

have better things to do.

!81!

More sophisticated audience

as well.

Giving voices to everybody.

41 Someone who witnesses,

records and shares

something ‘not right’,

that disturbs and

concerns him/her.

It can enable ordinary

people to hold powerful

organizations to account.

Verification is very

important, but quite difficult

most of the times.

42 When people see the video

on internet, they know it’s

only one side of the story

and they are more sceptical;

but when the mainstream

media shows the same clip,

they consider it more

serious. That’s why

mainstream media should

perform more gatekeeping.

Citizen journalism holds the

powerful on account, when

you get whole range of other

voices that are not usually

heard in the public debate,

that adds something to the

public domain. The ability

of individuals to tell their

own stories.

Just one side of the story;

The louder the better heard.

43 Different countries have

different legislation about

making video recordings.

Even in the USA, some state

wiretapping laws, written

before the age of ubiquitous

recording devices, prohibit

recording these events and

then further criminalize the

publication of the recordings

on the Internet.

44 People taking

responsibility and power

to cover the issues that

mainstream media do not

cover.

More people become citizen

journalists, more educated

society we have.

45 Three different stories:

Chile Miners – happening

online, which would not

They (BBC staff working on

UGC) encourage citizens to

get involved in reporting

BBC employes 23 people

working on UGC (2011)

Far more time is spent by

users on social networks

rather than with the

! 82!

happen 10 years ago;

audience contributed in

different ways;

G20 process April London

– a story of Ian

Tomlinson’s death;

Covering demonstrations –

television took a back-step,

not able to cover the

demonstrations, mobile

photo covering.

Traditional TV coverage

was replaced by the user-

generated content.

news or recording and

sharing their views on

particular subjects. They use

different tools for that –

good example how

mainstream media works

with citizen journalists.

CNN’s ireporter.

Newspapers – running live

pages, for example during

elections; sometimes more

creative; NYT – Michael

Jackson died – fans pictured

with him sent photos to the

mainstream media.

Guardian – if Obama is

elected, tell us your message

to him. It was published and

then citizen material turned

into a book.

MP’s expenses scandal –

papers were published and

citizens were reading

through them to find some

stories.

Newspapers – MyTelegraph

– just launched where people

can write about anything;

it’s not producing news,

more like gathering opinions

about ‘soft’ topics.

Guardian – comment is free

– contributors selected by

the Guardian; started with

unpaid bloggers and now

traditional media;

There is always someone

outside who knows about the

story more than a

professional journalist;

Getting more engagement;

big competition between

media outlets, everyone

wants to keep their

audiences more engaged.

Easier distribution through

social media and networks.

BBC gets 5 million page

clicks from Facebook

through personal

recommendation.

1. They are not rivals,

they work together;

2. Moderation is

good;

3. It’s about

journalism as a

conversation.

!83!

they are paying them, taking

30 bloggers to write about

the issues people are

interested in.

Search based reporting –

mainstream media writing

what people search for most.

46 When we talk about

citizen journalism, we

mean different things:

making video and

sending to news

organisations –

eyewitness;

Opinion, debate,

discussion in social

media is also part of

citizen journalism and is

embraced by media

organisations (it was

radio callings decades

ago);

Network journalism –

when you use the

audience to inform and

direct your journalism.

Mainstream media has

always been using material

from the public, but now

because of the technology

the amount of information

available is much bigger.

Sky news has got a Twitter

correspondent, who observes

what’s going on Twitter and

reports about it.

In the world of interconnection

and in the interdependent world,

the model when a journalist is

sent from London bureau to the

place of news and talk to people

he doesn’t know is not working

and the technology and network

we have nowadays make is look

stupid. Mainstream media

doesn’t see social media as a

threat, but maybe as a

competitor, but a competitor not

in a journalistic way, but in an

audience sense: Huffington Post

competes with Washington Post

by the audience which

mainstream media need as

much as the social media for

business reasons.

Web is the place where the

news is broken.

Journalists should be better

at labelling things.

47 Open Journalism –

readers want to get

involved in news; experts

can bring some

additional value to the

story news outlets work

on; journalism is not just

for journalists.

Publishing the day agenda

and getting feedback from

the audience. Encouraging

them to contact on twitter.

For example, Guardian

tweets that they are working

on NHS report and are

looking for people with first-

hand experience, for

Transparency brings trust in

consumers.

! 84!

example, those working in

hospitals. Reality check

website asking audience to

help in checking huge

amount of information, like

MP expenses check.

48 Citizen journalism will not

replace professional

journalism; it will

complement it.

Citizen journalists build on

the reputation by others

flagging their contribution.

Citizen journalism brings in

voices.