Will Evolving Forms of Journalism Be an Improvement?

A major change emerging in the digital age has been the rise of participatory journalism. "User generated content" is a broader term for all the ways in which individuals have expanded opportunity to produce and distribute their ideas and products across the Internet.

Participatory journalism can take two forms: civic journalism and independent digital voices. Civil journalism refers tot he journalistic practice of engaging communities in dialogue. Many media outlets have tried to strengthen their ties tot he community by encouraging comment and reporting about important civic concerns. The second form of participatory journalism refers to the explosion of voices have have developed as independent news reporting and commentary. There are blogs, digital newsletters, Web sites, YouTube videos, and more, where individuals report and comment on the news.

Deuze, Bruns, and Neuberger offer case studies of three newspapers on three different continents that have adopted different approached to participatory news. Deuze et al. view these as hybrids of the top-down process of traditional journalism and the bottom-up process of grassroots involvement. On the other hand, David Simon readily admits that the industry has harmed itself with its business practices and failure to adapt to the digital environment. His point is straightforward. Journalism is a profession. It requires full-time commitment and consistent attention. It cannot become the province of the occasional commentator.

Eran Ben-Porath argues that the primary change in journalism in this era has been the shift from traditional practices to dialogic formats in which conversationally based news has become predominant. When dialogue, rather than reporting, is the format, the authority of the journalist is lessened, conversationalists are often not journalists but commentators or partisan spokespersons, and the audience changes from receivers of information to witnesses of conversation. Ben-Porath also argues for diminished authority and accountability for the news organization; the organization did not make the "claims"; their guests did. Thus the organization's accountability for accuracy is diminished.