Theorizing Citizenship in Citizen Journalism

Abstract

New WalkLeicester LE1 7JA+44 (0)116 252 5294 vpc2@le.ac.uk 2 ABSTRACT Citizen journalism has become a prominent term referring to a variety of newsgathering and reporting practices conducted via a range of new digital technologies. The scholarly literature on citizen journalism, however, has tended to concentrate on its significance for journalism theory and practice whilst comparatively neglecting underlying questions about the theories of citizenship utilized within citizen journalism. This article examines the range of theories of citizenship at work in citizen journalism, highlighting problems in trying to locate citizen journalism practices and practitioners within definitional debates around citizenship. It explores how some theories construct citizen journalism as a tool for citizenship whilst others construct it as constituting a form of citizenship in its own right. The article identifies a range of problems within these theories in terms of their capacity to understand the relationship between citizen journalism and citizenship. It argues that fully understanding and situating citizen journalism requires moving beyond the journalismcentered focus which dominates the literature towards a consideration of citizen journalism that incorporates theories and practices of citizenship alongside those of journalism.

“The first combat meme brigade of the Slovak internet”: hybridization of civic engagement through digital media trolling

“…not by professional journalists, can be considered as citizen journalist content (Wall, 2015). At the same time, it involves investigative and reporting activities that are aided by new digital technologies (Campbell, 2014). This may, however, include a wide variety of cases, including individuals who happen to be at the right place at the right time as well as frequent contributors, bloggers, or individuals acting like journalists despite lacking press credentials (Wall, 2019).…”

“…There are several important aspects to be highlighted in terms of the relevance of this concept for the object of this study. Firstly, compared to traditional journalists, the motivation of citizen journalists typically exceeds merely reporting in order to bring social and political change (Campbell, 2014;Wall, 2019). This possibly relates to their dissatisfaction with traditional journalism and their performance and challenging the state of mainstream media corporations (Goode, 2009), as studies suggest a relation between lack of trust and seeking alternative sources of information (Kaufhold et al, 2010).…”

Citizen Journalism at The Margins

“…Citizen journalism is not just contentious in relation to the professional versus amateur debate therefore, but also invites broader conceptual considerations of the term-such as the role of citizenship within citizen journalism (Campbell 2014) or what motivates such journalistic practices (Kim and Lowrey 2014). Furthermore, we know more about citizen journalism by some marginalised groups than others.…”

Computer Supported Collaborative Work trends on Media Organizations: Mixing Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches

“…Additionally, the lack of relevant training, the news media change as described above and the recent global economic crisis contribute to an augmentation of the need for a collaborative media environment. At the same time, research has shown that the co-creation of news is explained by the development of participatory and grassroots journalism (Paulussen et al, 2007;Campbell, 2015;Wall, 2017;Gillmor, 2006) as well as the raising of innovative forms of news production (Lăzăroiu, 2014;Hermida, 2013) like mobile news and social networks (Westlund, 2015;Chan-Olmsted et al, 2013). Recent studies show that the interaction between new media teams (Lewis & Westlund, 2015) and the co-creative behavior of the team members (Agarwal & Barthel, 2015) enhances outcomes.…”