The source, the resource and the collaborator: The role of citizen journalism in local UK newspapers

Abstract

The rise of citizen journalism and widespread use of multimedia technology via Web 2.0 is a growing field of research. Yet the impact on local newspapers in the UK has received limited attention from scholars. At the time of this study, Northcliffe Media’s flagship newspaper the Leicester Mercury was piloting a project with community reporter network Citizens’ Eye to incorporate reader content into the newspaper and its website. This article explores the nature of this experimental relationship and the economic motivations behind it. It identifies that citizen journalists have a variety of fluid roles which flow between source, resource and collaborator. However, the key to the success of the project is the creation of distinctive boundaries between low level reporting carried out by community reporters and investigative journalism carried out by employed, trained staff. The research was conducted via a case study incorporating interviews and observation.