Citizen Journalism

Citizen Journalism and its Future

J 349T Writing for Online PublicationInstructor: Seth C. Lewis

[email protected]

Part I: A most useful definition

Jay Rosen, 2008

“When the people formerly known as the audience employ the press tools they have in their possession to inform one another, that’s citizen journalism.”

“When the people formerly known as the audience employ the press tools they have in their possession to inform one another, that’s citizen journalism.”

“When the people formerly known as the audience employ the press tools they have in their possession to inform one another, that’s citizen journalism.”

“When the people formerly known as the audience employ the press tools they have in their possession to inform one another, that’s citizen journalism.”

“When the people formerly known as the audience employ the press tools they have in their possession to inform one another, that’s citizen journalism.”

“When the people formerly known as the audience employ the press tools they have in their possession to inform one another, that’s citizen journalism.”

Some key features of citizen-J

• Absence of a “middle man” in doing news• Interpersonal form of newsflow (a “person

talking,” like a blog)• The act of citizens “playing an active role in

the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information” (Bowman and Willis)

Part II: Doing citizen journalism

How does this work in practice?

• You write about a city council meeting on your blog

• Capture eyewitness moment with your digital camera and post to a news site

• Grab video of something newsy and post to YouTube

• In other words …– Create, augment, or fact-check media on their

own or in collaboration with others

How online news sites use citizen-J

Pros in charge Amateur control

Opening up to comments

Add-on reporter

Citizen bloghouse

Stand-alone citizen site; minimal editing

Hybrid: pro + citizen

Wiki-style

11 Layers of Citizen Journalism

Pros in charge Amateur control

Opening up to comments

Add-on reporter

Citizen bloghouse

Stand-alone citizen site; minimal editing

Hybrid: pro + citizen

Wiki-style

Layer 1: Opening up to comment

• Letting readers comment on news site• Most basic form of participation• Only comments on stories? …– Why not classifieds, obituaries, letters to editor?

• But, how do you handle the toxic stuff?– Require users to register (name/e-mail)– “Moderation a virtue?”

Layer 2: Citizen add-on reporter

• Solicit info/experiences from community• Example– say there’s an issue piece on car thefts; “tell us

your own experience”; submit photos, etc.

Layer 3: Open-source reporting

• Collaboration between pro journalist and readers on a story– “expert readers” add knowledge, ask questions– Sometimes even do actual reporting

• Examples– “We’re doing an interview with X; what do you

want us to ask?”– Circulate a draft version of report to bloggers, etc.– Highlight reader tips in pop-up boxes online?

Layer 4: Citizen bloghouse

• Invite anyone to blog on your site• … or invite selected people to blog• Aggregate local blogs (like Greensboro101)• Examples– Austin American-Statesman’s reader blogs– Bluffton Today’s community blogs

Layer 5: ‘Transparency’ blogs

• Invite panel of readers to critique your work• Think of it as “citizen ombudsmen”• Milder form: the editor’s blog pulling back the

curtaining on the newsroom

Layer 6: Stand-alone citizen site

• Now we’re really getting serious …• Users submit whatever they want• Think lots of submitted photos• Editors’ job?– Ensure minimum level of quality (line-editing)– Modest monitoring of content

• Essence: citizens’ more or less “own” the site

Layer 7: Citizen site … unedited

• Costs less, and fits better in the spirit of citizen journalism

• On safer legal ground?• Regulate content through “report

misconduct” buttons?• Not a lot of success stories so far?

Layer 8: Add a print edition

• Cull the best submitted content for print• Keep editing to bare minimum• Lend credibility and visibility to citizen site• Primary source of revenue• … But, is something lost here?• Examples:

• YourHub• Northwest Voice• Bluffton Today

Layer 9: Pro + citizen hybrid

Layer 10: pro + am under one roof

• Only nice in theory? …

Layer 11: wiki journalism

90-9-1 Principle

Or, Jay Rosen’s 1% doctrine

• Of citizen-generated news …– 1% is high quality– 10% is … well, OK– The rest is garbage