Citizen Journalism

Lewis Friedland & Nakho Kim

The phenomenon of citizen journalism arose in the late 1990s, powered by new ways of user participation including the Internet. Initially identified with individual blogging, the term citizen journalism soon became an umbrella concept encompassing both personal blogging and institutional practices by news organizations. By the early twenty-first century, citizen journalism utilized the practices and technology of web 2.0 for production and distribution while fulfilling some of the social functions carried out by traditional journalism. Some definitions of citizen journalism include any form of user-generated content. Here the definition of citizen journalism is more strict and refers to contribution to discussion in the public sphere, whether in the form of simple information, synthesis, reporting, or opinion. The contributions can range from very local to global, entering into the “conversation of democracy” in media critic James Carey's phrase. As long as their contents meet this definition, citizen journalists can be individuals ...

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