Participatory Journalism

Who makes the news in a digital age? Participatory Journalism offers fascinating insights into how journalists in Western democracies are thinking about, and dealing with, the inclusion of content produced and published by the public. A timely look at digital news, the changes it is bringing for journalists and an industry in crisis Original data throughout, in the form of in-depth interviews with dozens of journalists at leading news organizations in ten Western democracies Provides a unique model of the news-making process and its openness to user participation in five stages Gives a first-hand look at the workings and challenges of online journalism on a global scale, through data that has been seamlessly combined so that each chapter presents the views of journalists in many nations, highlighting both similarities and differences, both national and individual

Notes on Authors vii Acknowledgements x Authors’ Note xii Chapter 1: Introduction: Sharing the Road 1 Part I: The Impact of Participatory Journalism 11 Chapter 2: Mechanisms of Participation: How audience options shape the conversation 13 Alfred Hermida Chapter 3: The Journalist’s Relationship with Users: New dimensions to conventional roles 34 Ari Heinonen Part II: Managing Change 57 Chapter 4: Inside the Newsroom: Journalists’ motivations and organizational structures 59 Steve Paulussen Chapter 5: Managing Audience Participation: Practices, workfl ows and strategies 76 David Domingo Chapter 6: User Comments: The transformation of participatory space 96 Zvi Reich Part III: Issues and Implications 119 Chapter 7: Taking Responsibility: Legal and ethical issues in participatory journalism 121 Jane B. Singer Chapter 8: Participatory Journalism in the Marketplace: Economic motivations behind the practices 139 Marina Vujnovic Chapter 9: Understanding a New Phenomenon: The signifi cance of participatory journalism 155 Thorsten Quandt Chapter 10: Fluid Spaces, Fluid Journalism: The role of the “active recipient” in participatory journalism 177 Alfred Hermida Appendix: About Our Study 192 Glossary 203 References 209 Index 220