Citizen Journalism

Emerging Patterns and Trends in Citizen Journalism in Africa: A Case of Zimbabwe

by Simon Columbus

Mutsvairo, B. & Columbus, S. (2012). Emerging Patterns and Trends in Citizen Journalism in Africa: A Case of Zimbabwe. Central European Journal of Communication 5(1), 123-137.

While it has generally been accepted that non-professional media actors empowered by novel digitally networked... more While it has generally been accepted that non-professional media actors empowered by novel digitally networked technologies are changing the media landscape in the West, this is less obvious in the case of sub-Saharan Africa. Recent years, however, have seen the emergence of a diverse range of citizen media in Africa, enabled by technologies such as mobile phones, blogs, micro blogs, video-sharing platforms and mapping. rough in-depth and focus-group interviews with selected experts and citizen journalism practitioners, as well as a review of the existing body of research, this study aims to identify emerging patterns and trends in African citizen journalism, paying particular attention to the Zimbabwean case. The research hopes to establish the notion that digital technology-enabled citizen journalism, although still restricted to a subset of African countries, provides a powerful counter-narrative to professional media that are often constrained, or even controlled, by national governments.

African Citizen Journalists' Ethics and the Emerging Networked Public Sphere

by Simon Columbus

Mutsvairo, B., Columbus, S., & Leijendekker, I. (2012, April 20). African Citizen Journalists' Ethics and the Emerging Networked Public Sphere. Presented at the International Symposium on Online Journalism, University of Texas, Austin.

Citizen journalism is emerging as a powerful phenomenon across Africa. The rise of digitally-networked technologies... more Citizen journalism is emerging as a powerful phenomenon across Africa. The rise of digitally-networked technologies such as the Internet and mobile phones is reshaping reporting across the continent. This change is technological – with social media platforms enabling new forms of publishing, receiving, and discussing stories – as well as cultural – with idiosyncratic conventions emerging on these platforms. This study surveys the ethical beliefs of citizen journalists in several sub-Saharan African countries. We find that they are driven by a sense of social responsibility and a wish to inform their readers and the general public. Citizen journalists show a clear anti- authoritarian strain and an antipathy towards government regulation, yet most see themselves as subject to the same ethics that guide traditional journalism. We then investigate the implications of these ethics for the emerging networked public sphere. The emergence of a digitally-networked public sphere has been hailed as a revival of bottom-up democracy in the West, but its consequences for African countries are rather ambiguous. We therefore set out to disentangle the possible relationship between citizen journalism and the emerging networked public sphere.

New Media and Collective Action in the Middle East: Can Sociological Research Help Avoiding Orientalist Traps? Sociologica, 5, 3: 1-17.

by Armando Salvatore

This is the introductory piece to the Symposium (section) of Sociologica on New Media and Collective Action in the Middle East.
You can download all other pieces from the journal’s site after signing up (free access) at the link
www.sociologica.mulino.it

Abstract: Since Max Weber, sociology has not been immune from orientalist bias concerning the normative irreducibility... more Abstract: Since Max Weber, sociology has not been immune from orientalist bias concerning the normative irreducibility of Western modern achievements. This problem becomes more acute with regard to the role of media in the public sphere. The article first looks at Western perceptions of the protests in Iran that followed the contested presidential elections of 2009 and at the “Arab Spring” of 2011 (and particularly at the role of the blogosphere and of social networks as factors of mobilization) as a major test of the resilience of orientalist preconceptions. The author further argues how the focus on “new media” within collective action and revolutions, instead of helping break up orientalist bias, might have provided them a new ground, located right at the core of the sociology of media and communication, and resulting in trivializing the much more complex types of agency at work in the uprisings. The article concludes by showing how the studies collected in this symposium not only help us avoiding this neo-orientalist trap but go one step
further in problematizing taken for granted, sociological notions of collective action, the public sphere and even “media.”

Keywords: Orientalism, collective action, new media, public sphere, revolution.

"Raise your head high, you're an Egyptian!" Youth, politics, and citizen journalism in Egypt

by Henri Onodera

(2011) Sociologica 5(3): 1-22. doi: 10.2383/36422.

A period of relative opening in Egypt’s media landscape, which started in the mid-2000s, witnessed an increase in new... more A period of relative opening in Egypt’s media landscape, which started in the mid-2000s, witnessed an increase in new forms of political communication, especially through the new media technologies of the internet and mobile phones. In this context, notions of “citizen journalism” and cognates have gained prominence in Egyptian public life. This article focuses on young pro-democracy activists in Cairo and argues that citizen journalism has provided them a useful “tactic” in the wider politics of knowledge and mobilization during those years. It shows that, though being initially a global label appropriated by young bloggers, “citizen journalism” has functioned as a travelling concept that carries ambiguous notions of the self and its agentic capacities.

Recasting Social Media Users as Brand Ambassadors: Opening the Doors to the First ‘Social Suite’

by Avery Holton

Co-authored with Mark Coddington, University of Texas at Austin. Published in Case Studies in Strategic Communication, 2012.

Professional sports teams have struggled to incorporate social network sites into their existing branding and media... more Professional sports teams have struggled to incorporate social network sites into their existing branding and media strategies, wrestling with issues of access and trust. This case study examines an innovative effort by one organization, Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Indians, to create a physical space for online discussion about their team. In that space, called the “Social Suite,” local social media users were given exclusive access to watch the team’s games from a suite, along with access to team staff and information. Through in‐depth interviews and participant observation this study found suite users saw themselves not as members of the media, but as active participants in the team’s own online marketing efforts. This self‐perception corresponded with team executives’ goal to use the suite as a way to reverse negative online discussion about the team by creating a network of influential “brand ambassadors” who spread positive perceptions about the organization. This novel approach—one that illustrates the changing landscape of media and communication
practice and theory—may serve as a model for other sports teams and businesses as they work to integrate the public into their digital and online efforts.

“Human Rights and Wrongs: Blogging News of Everyday Life in Palestine"

by Cynthia Carter

co-authored by Zayyan, H. and Carter, C. (2009) in Allan, S. (ed), Citizen Journalism: Global Perspectives, New York: Peter Lang.

Feminidades, masculinidades e inclusión social

by Maria Amelia Viteri

Tema Central, Diario El Telégrafo, Suplemento Carton Piedra, Marzo 04, 2012, "Quién va a confrontar a la supremacía varonil"?

Journalism Innovation and the Ethic of Participation: A Case Study of the Knight Foundation and its News Challenge

by Seth Lewis

Lewis, S. C. (2010). Journalism innovation and the ethic of participation: A case study of the knight foundation and its news challenge. Unpublished dissertation, Austin, TX: University of Texas.

The digitization of media has undermined much of the social authority and economic viability on which U.S. journalism... more The digitization of media has undermined much of the social authority and economic viability on which U.S. journalism relied during the 20th century. This disruption has also opened a central tension for the profession: how to reconcile the need for occupational control against growing opportunities for citizen participation. How that tension is navigated will affect the ultimate shape of the profession and its place in society.

This dissertation examines how the leading nonprofit actor in journalism, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, has sought to help journalism innovate out of its professional crisis. This case study engages a series of mixed methods—including interviews, textual analysis, and secondary data analysis—to generate a holistic portrayal of how the Knight Foundation has attempted to transform itself and the journalism field in recent years, particularly through its signature Knight News Challenge innovation contest.

From a sociology of professions perspective, I found that the Knight Foundation altered the rhetorical and actual boundaries of journalism jurisdiction. Knight moved away from “journalism” and toward “information” as a way of seeking the wisdom of the crowd to solve journalism’s problems. This opening up of journalism’s boundaries created crucial space in which innovators, from inside and outside journalism, could step in and bring change to the field. In particular, these changes have allowed the concept of citizen participation, which resides at the periphery of mainstream newswork, to become embraced as an ethical norm and a founding doctrine of journalism innovation. The result of these efforts has been the emergence of a new rendering of journalism—one that straddles the professional-participatory tension by attempting to “ferry the values” of professional ideals even while embracing new practices more suited to a digital environment.

Ultimately, this case study matters for what it suggests about professions in turbulent times. Influential institutions can bring change to their professional fields by acting as boundary-spanning agents—stepping outside the traditional confines of their field, altering the rhetorical and structural borders of professional jurisdiction to invite external contribution and correction, and altogether creating the space and providing the capital for innovation to flourish.

The Tension between Professional Control and Open Participation: Journalism and its Boundaries

by Seth Lewis

Lewis, S. C. (in press). The Tension between Professional Control and Open Participation: Journalism and its Boundaries. Information, Communication & Society. (Expected publication date: 2012)

Amid growing difficulties for professionals generally, media workers in particular are negotiating the increasingly... more Amid growing difficulties for professionals generally, media workers in particular are negotiating the increasingly contested boundary space between producer and user in the digital environment. This article, based on a review of the academic literature, explores that larger tension transforming the creative industries by extrapolating from the case of journalism—namely, the ongoing tension between professional control and open participation in the news process. Firstly, the sociology of professions, with its emphasis on boundary maintenance, is used to examine journalism as boundary work, profession, and ideology—each contributing to the formation of journalism’s professional logic of control over content. Secondly, by considering the affordances and cultures of digital technologies, the article articulates open participation and its ideology. Thirdly, and against this backdrop of ideological incompatibility, a review of empirical literature finds that journalists have struggled to reconcile this key tension, caught in the professional impulse toward one-way publishing control even as media become a multi-way network. Yet, emerging research also suggests the possibility of a hybrid logic of adaptability and openness—an ethic of participation—emerging to resolve this tension going forward. The article concludes by pointing to innovations in analytical frameworks and research methods that may shed new light on the producer–user tension in journalism.

Il giornalismo partecipativo è la nuova frontiera dei contenuti sul web

by Giulia Franchi

In collaborazione con il sito www.supermoney.eu

Il portale SuperMoney (http://www.supermoney.eu/) ha lanciato... more Il portale SuperMoney (http://www.supermoney.eu/) ha lanciato una nuova testata giornalistica on line, SuperMoney News (http://news.supermoney.eu/), che fa del giornalismo partecipativo il suo cavallo di battaglia. Il giornalismo partecipativo è basato sui concetti di condivisione e di meritoricrazia: ogni autore viene infatti retribuito in base all'effettivo successo degli articoli pubblicati sul web. Un apposito software calcola il numero esatto di lettori per ogni contenuto: maggiore sarà la popolarità riscossa in rete, più alti saranno i ricavi. Un’opportunità da non perdere per tutti coloro che si interessano di attualità, amano scrivere e vogliono pubblicare contenuti originali su una testata giornalistica on line.

Dynamically Gated Conceptual Communities

by Luisetta Mudie

La manipulación informativa y la desinformación: La anomia de los receptores y el fomento de víctimas propiciatorias

by Luis Miguel Romero Rodríguez

The Gautrain: Active Communication Research on the Manifestations of the Hacker Ethic by Citizen Journalists

by Maritha Pritchard

An exploratory analysis of citizen journalists as editorial gatewatchers: a case study of Gautrain blog posts vis-à-vis completion for the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup

by Maritha Pritchard

Crossing boundaries: New media and networked journalism

by Robin Mansell

Creatures in Captivity and Ethics

by Poppy Valentine

Prisons. Factory States. Low-Wage Workers. Child Sex Trade. Animal Abuse for: Clothing, Entertainment and Food. I... more Prisons. Factory States. Low-Wage Workers. Child Sex Trade. Animal Abuse for: Clothing, Entertainment and Food. I really could go on with other outlets of injust captivity, but this covers some major ones.

Twitter: Microphone for the masses?

by Dhiraj Murthy

Nunny TV: Life after Libraries Change Lives; Film, community media and the furture of libraries.

by Phillip Smith

Paper given at the

Cilip Libraries Change Lives Conference
Tuesday 6 July 2010,

Guardian News and Media Centre
Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9AG
for the Chartered Institute of Librarians and Information Professionals.

Nunny TV provides video cameras, edit facilities and training for the community to make short films about their... more Nunny TV provides video cameras, edit facilities and training for the community to make short films about their opinions, concerns, and passions, and helps people learn transferable skills through fun and creative media projects. Originally supported by Neighbourhood Renewal money, find out what happened after funding ceased. How did recognition from Libraries Change Lives help us gain support from local decision makers enabling our project to become sustainable? And what’s the future hold for Nunny TV since our key member of staff has moved on to work for a major London production company?

The Citizen Journalist as Gatekeeper: A Critical Evolution from the Public Journalism Movement

by Aaron Barlow

Moyo, L (2011) Blogging down a dictatorship: human rights, citizen journalists and the right to communicate in Zimbabwe in Journalism 12(6): 745 - 760.

by Last Moyo

This article examines the use of blogs to mediate the experiences of citizens during a violent election in Zimbabwe.... more This article examines the use of blogs to mediate the experiences of citizens during a violent election in Zimbabwe. It focuses specifically on how people disseminated and shared information about their tribulations under a regime that used coercive measures in the face of its crumbling hegemonic edifice. The article frames these practices within theories of alternative media and citizen journalism and argues that digitisation has occasioned new counter-hegemonic spaces and new forms of journalism that are deinstitutionalised and deprofessionalised, and whose radicalism is reflected in both form and content. I argue that this radicalism in part articulates a postmodern philosophy and style as seen in its rejection of the elaborate codes and conventions of mainstream journalism. The Internet is seen as certainly enhancing the people’s right to communicate, but only to a limited extent because of access disparities, on the one hand, and its appropriation by liberal social movements whose configuration is elitist, on the other. I conclude by arguing that the alternative media in Zimbabwe, as reflected by Kubatana’s bloggers, lack the capacity to envision alternative social and political orders outside the neo-liberal framework. This, I contend, is partly because of the political economy of both blogging as a social practice and alternative media as subaltern spaces. Just as the bloggers are embedded to Kubatana’s virtual space to self-publish, Kubatana is likewise embedded to a neo-liberal discourse that is traceable to its funding and financing systems.