Introduction

Welcome! In this wiki I explore the relationship between professional journalism, citizen journalism and mainstream media.

The advent of the internet called for innovation in traditional media. However, swift technological upgrades produced the emergence of a new breed of content producers that have generated both fear and enthusiasm among media organizations and journalists. Citizen journalism has come to reshape the notions of what journalism is today and what role the audience enacts in a media environment that facilitates people’s participation in the production of news.

Because new media technologies have allowed average citizens to tell stories in their own terms and share them at a very low cost, the authority of mainstream media as gatekeepers, agenda-setters, and frame builders has been shaken up. We do not depend solely on mainstream media to access information anymore. Information is now everywhere and anyone with minimum writing skills, a smartphone and an internet connection can break the news and give their personal spin on information. Now, does that mean mainstream media and professional journalists are becoming obsolete? Hardly so.

A clear concept of what professional and citizen journalism are might be the first step to reach a better understanding of their role in today’s news production. Therefore, in the first and second sections I address different definitions of the professional and citizen journalism that have been advanced so far, and I explore how these concepts relate to each other. Apart from defining the practices, I try to identify the practitioners. Is a college degree the defining factor to become a professional journalist? Are citizen journalists mere eyewitnesses who tweet or are they closer to what we consider a reporter?

Building up from that, the third section is concerned with the different areas in which citizen journalists become more helpful for mainstream media’s news production. In this wiki, I add to the argument that professional and citizen journalism are complementary. This implies that they both have strengths and weaknesses they can work out by collaborating actively. So in section three, I explain the major role citizen journalism has today in the coverage of breaking news and high risk situations.

          The fourth section of this wiki I discusses the challenges citizen journalism and mainstream media face in relation to one another. Acknowledging the hardships that emerge from the interaction between professional and citizen journalists is as important as highlighting the benefits of such collaboration. Therefore, I delve into the difficulties related to audience participation in the news production and the credibility issues that rise from mishandling user generated content.

          In the conclusion , you will see that I intend to join the ongoing *conversation* about citizen journalism’s role in mainstream media. I would like this to be a space for meaningful debate. Therefore, I encourage you, fellow prosumer, to help me enhance this wiki by commenting and linking to information you deem meaningful to the discussion. Visit the Ground Rules section to get more details about what I am looking for in your contributions.

This is the only thing I am 100% sure about here: I do not hold the truth. So I NEED and APPRECIATE your contributions! Thank you, and enjoy the wiki!