What can engaged journalists learn from academic research, and what academic research would be most useful to us? We took on this topic with a panel of researchers, Jacob Nelson of Arizona State University, Talia Stroud of the Center for Media Engagement, and Nikki Usher of the University of Illinois, who believe in helping working journalists.
A collaborative relationship between citizen journalists and professional journalists has long been an aspiration for many media scholars. While tensions surrounding professional control are significant, scholars also have to consider the structural dynamics of content online and across social media networks, particularly in an era of the corporatized and commercialized Web. The rise of social discovery tools and algorithms is also addressed. This article aims to bring to light these concerns and moves the conversation about citizen journalism forward by proposing a model that identifies the pathway through which news organizations gather, select, package, and disseminate citizen journalism content.
