Citizen journalism

Abstract: The history of journalism in elective democracies around the world has been described as the emergence of a professional identity of journalists with claims to an exclusive role and status in society, based on and at times fiercely defended by their occupational ideology. Although the conceptualization of journalism as a professional ideology can be traced throughout the literature on journalism studies, scholars tend to take the building blocks of such an ideology more or less for granted. In this article the ideal-typical values of journalism’s ideology are operationalized and investigated in terms of how these values are challenged or changed in the context of current cultural and technological developments. It is argued that multiculturalism and multimedia are similar and poignant examples of such developments. If the professional identity of journalists can be seen as kept together by the social cement of an occupational ideology of journalism, the analysis in this article shows how journalism in the...

Abstract: "We the Media, has become something of a bible for those who believe the online medium will change journalism for the better." - "Financial Times". Big Media has lost its monopoly on the news, thanks to the Internet. Now that it's possible to publish in real time to a worldwide audience, a new breed of grassroots journalists are taking the news into their own hands. Armed with laptops, cell phones, and digital cameras, these readers-turned-reporters are transforming the news from a lecture into a conversation. In "We the Media", nationally acclaimed newspaper columnist and blogger Dan Gillmor tells the story of this emerging phenomenon and sheds light on this deep shift in how we make - and consume - the news. Gillmor shows how anyone can produce the news, using personal blogs, Internet chat groups, email, and a host of other tools. He sends a wake-up call to newsmakers - politicians, business executives, celebrities - and the marketers and PR flacks who promote them. He explains how to successfully play by the rules of this new era and shift from "control" to "engagement." And, he makes a strong case to his fell journalists that, in the face of a plethora of Internet-fueled news vehicles, they must change or become irrelevant. Journalism in the 21st century will be fundamentally different from the Big Media oligarchy that prevails today. "We the Media" casts light on the future of journalism, and invites us all to be part of it. Dan Gillmor is founder of Grassroots Media Inc., a project aimed at enabling grassroots journalism and expanding its reach. The company's first launch is Bayosphere.com, a site "of, by, and for the San Francisco Bay Area." From 1994-2004, Gillmor was a columnist at the "San Jose Mercury News", Silicon Valley's daily newspaper, and wrote a weblog for SiliconValley.com. He joined the "Mercury News" after six years with the Detroit Free Press. Before that, he was with the "Kansas City Times" and several newspapers in Vermont. He has won or shared in several regional and national journalism awards. Before becoming a journalist, he played music professionally for seven years.

Abstract: Within volunteered geographic information (VGI), citizen science stands out as a class of activities that require special attention and analysis. Citizen science is likely to be the longest running of VGI activities, with some projects showing continuous effort over a century. In addition, many projects are characterised by a genuine element of volunteering and contribution of information for the benefit of human knowledge and science. They are also tasks where data quality and uncertainty come to the fore when evaluating the validity of the results. This chapter provides an overview of citizen science in the context of VGI – hence the focus on geographic citizen science. This chapter highlights the historical context of citizen science and its more recent incarnation. It also covers some of the cultural and conceptual challenges that citizen science faces and the resulting limitation on the level of engagement. By drawing parallels with the Participatory Geographic Information Systems (PGIS) literature, the chapter offers a framework for participation in citizen science and concludes with the suggestion that a more participatory mode of citizen science is possible.

Abstract: The past two decades have seen a proliferation of large- and small-scale experiments in participatory governance. This article takes stock of claims about the potential of citizen participation to advance three values of democratic governance: effectiveness, legitimacy, and social justice. Increasing constraints on the public sector in many societies, combined with increasing demand for individual engagement and the affordances of digital technology, have paved the way for participatory innovations aimed at effective governance. Deepening legitimation deficits of representative government create opportunities for legitimacy-enhancing forms of citizen participation, but so far, the effect of participation on legitimacy is unclear. Efforts to increase social justice through citizen participation face the greatest obstacles. The article concludes by highlighting three challenges to creating successful participatory governance: the absence of systematic leadership, the lack of popular or elite consensus on the place of direct citizen participation, and the limited scope and powers of participatory innovations.