Citizen Journalism

Professionalization through attrition? An event history analysis of mortalities in citizen journalism

“…While that may suggest a move toward some forms of professionalization within the field, some of the characteristics typical of "online journalisms" (e.g., non-staff contributors, lack of moderation) do not appear to have hurt the field. Likewise, being a political site -part of what Wall ( 2015) calls "The Resistance" -was neither help nor a harm to a site's risk of mortality.…”

“…Often heralded for their radical potential to provide news from civil society or provide the kind of news that profit-driven professional news outlets ignore, citizen journalists need not reproduce the types of structures or norms commonplace in professional journalism (Fanselow, 2009;Meadows, 2012;Reese, Rutigliano, Hyun, & Jeong, 2007;Rutigliano, 2008;Schaffer, 2007;Wall, 2015). Despite the optimistic claims of many scholars and pundits regarding the democratic potential of citizen journalism (CJ), recent research indicates a decline in .…”

“…Despite a reputation for being amateurs, multiple studies have shown that many -if not a majority -of citizen journalists have some background in professional journalism (Carpenter, Nah, & Chung, 2013;Lindner, Connell, & Meyer, 2015). Some research has conflated CJ with community journalism, while more recent analyses have shown hyperlocal, "newspaper replacement" journalism to be merely one branch of the CJ (Wall, 2015). Others have defined CJ by its radical political potential and, though Wall (2015) calls "The Resistance" is only one form of CJ.…”

“…Some research has conflated CJ with community journalism, while more recent analyses have shown hyperlocal, "newspaper replacement" journalism to be merely one branch of the CJ (Wall, 2015). Others have defined CJ by its radical political potential and, though Wall (2015) calls "The Resistance" is only one form of CJ. Moreover, some community sites are, in fact, political (Lindner et al, 2015).…”

“…By contrast, many community sites are quite conventional, seeking to emulate the olden days when many small towns had local newspapers to cover civic events (Wall, 2015). Such sites often maintain a community calendar of events and report on stories of hyperlocal interest.…”