Schaffer. 2007

Citizen NewsCitizen NewsVenturesVentures

The Fusion of NewsThe Fusion of Newsand Schmoozeand Schmooze

New Roles for CitizensNew Roles for Citizens• Competitor• Collaborator, tipster• Expert, source• Watch dog• Writer, storyteller, blogger• Photographer• Movie maker• Creative writers, poets

New Roles for Journo’sNew Roles for Journo’s• Viral Reporter/ Investigator• “Content Wrangler”• Niche product developer• Driveway Rot Rescuer• Social Relationship Entrepreneur

CitMedia TypesCitMedia TypesSolo Jo’s Cmty Co-ops

Blog Aggregators Individual sites

Syndicated SitesSyndicated Sites BackFence.comBackFence.com

13 towns 4 states

YourHub.comYourHub.com 44+ towns8 states

Legacy Media SitesLegacy Media Sites• BlufftonToday.comBlufftonToday.com

• NorthwestVoice.com

It’s not Big-J “Journalism”Local Fretting

Irreverent Voice

Collaborative news

Civic Activism

Notable AttributesNotable Attributes• Inclusiveness• Intimacy• Passion for Community• Humor • Civic Engagement

Architecture of Architecture of ParticipationParticipation

For a Culture of For a Culture of ContributionContribution

CitMedia Research

Key FindingsKey Findings

• Bridge media: News + civic participation

• Fusion of news + schmooze• Metrics > community impact • Don’t need to make $$• Expect to continue

Shoestring OperationsShoestring Operations

• Founders supply start-up funds.• Don’t need $$ to continue• Wish to pay token $$ to contributors

Little AccountabilityLittle Accountability

• 60% don’t require real names• 70% don’t require valid e-mail• 67% remove bad content after posting• Minimal problems

CitMedia: Claims successCitMedia: Claims success

Reported ImpactReported Impact

Plan to Stick Around

MSM SchizophreniaBuy Fresno Famous Decline TCDaily Planet

Denounce GL Wiki Troll NewWest

Knight Citizen News NetworkWhat we like Search by state

Learning modules News, how-to’s

www.KCNN.org

The Institute for Interactive Journalism

www.J-Lab.orgwww.J-NewVoices.orgwww.J-Learning.org www.KCNN.org www.KCNN.org