Is citizen journalism dead? An examination of recent developments in the field

Abstract

The reliance on untrained reporters with limited or no understanding of journalistic standards has become increasingly widespread particularly in less democratic environments and these practices have impacted news gathering and reporting. There however has been some debate about the conceivability, capacity, reliability and acceptability of citizen journalists due to the lack of the professional standards associated with the profession. Even so, diverse forms of citizen journalism continue to emerge and develop in several countries in the Global South, such as Zimbabwe and Mozambique, examined in-depth in our study of the current frameworks, trends, practices and principles of citizen journalism in Africa. Buoyed by what appears like a slump in global citizen journalism research, we identify specific cases to rethink the concept, seeking to theoretically contribute to new directions on the phenomenon’s role in African societies. Our analysis suggests that a reconceptualization of citizen journalism is imperative thanks to several factors, including improved access to the Internet and changing attitudes toward political dissent and participation, citizen journalism in Africa is taking new directions.

News Values Revisited: A Comparison Between Citizen and Mainstream Media in Hong Kong

“…The broader implication is that Citizen Journalism is increasingly becoming a credible force to reckon in the already ample panorama of the existing media, thus contributing to broadening pluralism for the benefit of the society. Although this might be in line with trends witnessed in other areas of the world (e.g., Mutsvairo & Salgado, 2020), in the specific context of Hong Kong the role of Citizen Journalism is likely to remain an unfulfilled promise for the foreseeable future.…”

Legal and Ethical Aspects of Social Media User Provision of Information to the Public Regulation: The View of Media Regulatory and Self-Regulatory Bodies in Lithuania

“…Bodrozic & Paulussen (2018) underscore that the role of non-professionals is important when covering problems that do not attract the attention of media outlets. Mutsvairo & Salgado (2020) argue that the extent of significance of non-professional provision of information to the public is decided by every country's social and political context, social and economic factors, political openness, and cultural norms. This proves the potential of SM users' activities in the public information field and possibilities for equating the activities of information provision to the public by SM users to professional activities of journalists.…”

Civic Journalism as a Phenomenon of Digital Civilization

“…In the countries where mass media is under the control of political authorities, citizens often get information that is not credible and tends to manipulate public opinion. In such countries the activities of citizen journalists are viewed by the political elite as cyberdissidence (Bentley 2011;Mutsvairo and Salgado 2022;Noor 2017).…”