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While both the journalism industry and journalism studies research have long celebrated engagement as both a normative goal and a potential revenue source, scant evidence exists illustrating how an organization can turn engagement into profit. This study, utilizing a case study of the sports and culture news organization Defector, examines how one newsroom monetizes engagement. Through the lens of market theory for news production, the study examines what engagement practices Defector enacts, and how those successfully catalyze subscribers to pay almost 50% more annually for the ability to engage with the organization. Lastly, the study introduces, to journalism studies, the concept of market alignment, a necessity for monetizing engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores what motivates data journalists to engage with audiences and their strategies for incorporating audiences into their work. Building on scholarship on audience engagement and participatory journalism, we investigate how data journalists perceive the role of audience; the stage of the reporting process at which the audience is engaged; and how optimistically or sceptically data journalists view the audience's capacity to contribute to the data journalism reporting process. Using a news media logics theoretical framework, we find data journalists are primarily motivated by a mixture of professional and audience logics The mixture of these logics aligns with their goals to establish institutional identity and legitimization in society, but increasingly data journalists also emphasise hopes for greater authentic participation from their audiences across the reporting process. Analysis of data gathered from in-depth interviews with data journalists from 34 countries provides a better and broader empirical context for explanation of data journalists' goals for audience engagement, the tools they use to connect with audiences, and the degree to which those goals are met. Our findings contribute to a clearer explanation of audience engagement motivations and strategies in data journalism and the similarities that emerge across a broad geographic array of data journalism work. With a focus on crowdsourcing, data disclosure, interactivity, and news dissemination as forms of audience engagement, we synthesise a portrait of attitudes about audience engagement from the data journalist's perspective and highlight global similarities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Positive journalism" is always emphasized in China, which is currently named as "ZhengNengLiang" (literally referring to "positive energy"). Such content is hoped to spread confidence, hope, and optimism. During public crises like the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is particularly highlighted. Since "ZhengNengLiang" is a term that is difficult to match perfectly with any existing concept of journalism, this study investigates its connotations by applying qualitative methods and taking Shanghai's lockdown for the COVID-19 as an example. Adopting grounded theory, semi-structured in-depth interviews with 15 practitioners of community media were conducted, and 3016 valid subjective questionnaires were collected from audiences. All materials were coded by applying thematic analysis. It is found that content producers tended to emphasize adherence to mainstream ideology, upholding opinion climate in communities, and promoting neighborly mutual assistance. Audiences' understandings of it were partially in line with the producers', but they placed priorities on practicality. These findings resonate with some established theories like constructive journalism. However, China's political system and cultural traditions make the connotations of "ZhengNengLiang" complex. We suggest policymakers provide content producers at grassroots level more room to create "ZhengNengLiang" content with more practical significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on user-generated discussion threads in journalistic online publication platforms. We investigate how journalists can apply deliberative norms to promote a democratically sustainable discussion within the threads. We also examine which opportunities and challenges journalists currently see with such threads in relation to central citizen democracy principles such as user participation and interactivity. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 18 Finnish news journalists and personnel in charge of moderation strategies. The findings show that deliberative norms are used to some degree in discussion-thread moderation, and that such norms are a key factor to promote democratically sustainable discussions in media organisations. The findings also show that threads can be useful tools for promoting citizen democracy due to their participatory features, but that several current challenges affect this, including uncivil user-generated content, limited representativeness among active users, and lacking resources to handle content in smaller media organisations. One main implication is that journalists see a risk of challenges with discussion threads outweighing benefits for democracy.

Mobile technology is part and parcel of the news today, perhaps to such a degree that it is hard to imagine news without it. This technology has affected those platforms on which news is being produced, for example, but also the array of actors that are involved in its manufacturing through mobile technology, thereby illustrating news as an ongoing information construction process in which professionals and other participants join hands. Stemming from a socio-technical emphasis in journalism this paper addresses the interplay between mobile news technology and social actors by focusing on three leading Israeli WhatsApp news groups ("People of Silence", "Field Security" and "Reports from the Ground") and the daily supply of materials delivered via these groups from their participating members. Based on a thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with the groups' founders, supported by the groups' materials and messages data, findings show how these groups perform as unique pseudo-professional news groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital journalism and its research have evolved significantly over the last twenty-five years. When the first online media were installed on an experimental basis in the mid-1990s, neither media companies nor scientific observers expected them to transform the way journalism operates. However, very soon after these humble beginnings, a seemingly infectious euphoria spread among journalism scholars who hoped to rejuvenate journalism and democracy with the help of user participation and a resulting "dialogue with the audience." Still, many of these promises remained unfulfilled, and this led to considerable disenchantment of academics with online media and user participation during the second decade of the 2000s. Indeed, current journalism scholars exhibit a preoccupation with fears of disinformation and forms of "dark" participation. This essay analyzes the process of co-evolution in digital journalism and academia from the personal perspective of a European scholar. Four broad empirical phases are discussed: (1) niche, (2) euphoria, (3) disillusionment, and (4) doom and gloom. Using this typology, a fifth phase will be suggested to extend the current state of the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how local news organizations seek to strengthen their bond with audiences in French-speaking Europe (Belgium, France, and Switzerland). It does so by suggesting a new methodological approach focusing on the different ways in which this bond can be observed, i.e., the "initiatives" implemented by the news organizations. The study identifies 20 types of initiatives undertaken to (re)connect with audiences and presents a model of audience inclusion in news media in line with the literature on modalities of audience participation in news media. The discussion identifies changes in the positioning of local news organizations and journalists towards audiences regarding existing literature on participatory journalism but also on new practices more rooted in engagement, dialogue, and transparency towards audiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Audience participation is a contested issue in newsrooms and can challenge journalistic authority. By conducting a mixed-method analysis of a decade (2009–2018) of metajournalistic discourse (N = 135) on participatory journalism in two leading trade magazines in the US and Germany (Columbia Journalism Review and Journalist), this study aims to contribute to the field’s understanding of how and in which contexts audience participation is covered in public discourse and of reasons for positive and negative public evaluations of participatory journalism. The results show that while metajournalistic discourse covered participatory journalism in all stages of the news production process, notable differences in the coverage emerged depending on the specific context factors of participation dealt with. It is therefore depicted as a pervasive and multi-faceted phenomenon. 93 articles featured an evaluation: 53% depicted participatory journalism positively, 16% negatively and 31% left a mixed impression. Several themes emerged in the reasons for these evaluations, some of which are exact opposites, indicating that the presented evaluation depends on the specific circumstances of audience participation, namely the contexts of participatory journalism, the degree of involvement and character of audience participation and the resources available to the journalists.

Copyright of ANAFORA is the property of Anafora and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Nonprofit digital new organizations, which are proliferating all over the world, are praised for their innovations in audience-focused interventions in journalism. Drawing on direct observation and in-depth interviews, this case study explores audience engagement practices within nonprofit newsrooms in South-East Europe, in order to elaborate on the impact of professional norms on such engagement in a complex media and political environment. This analysis explains how two nonprofit organizations in Kosovo have reinvented engagement by adopting a digital crowdsourcing platform that facilitates bottom-up storytelling and a public service model that transcends traditional journalistic roles. Unlike previous engagement models observed in societies with traditional professional culture, this study reflects how nonprofits with flexible professional boundaries find ways to expand engagement by also practicing advocacy and accountability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Audience participation is a contested issue in newsrooms and can challenge journalistic authority. By conducting a mixed-method analysis of a decade (2009–2018) of metajournalistic discourse (N = 135) on participatory journalism in two leading trade magazines in the US and Germany (Columbia Journalism Review and Journalist), this study aims to contribute to the field's understanding of how and in which contexts audience participation is covered in public discourse and of reasons for positive and negative public evaluations of participatory journalism. The results show that while metajournalistic discourse covered participatory journalism in all stages of the news production process, notable differences in the coverage emerged depending on the specific context factors of participation dealt with. It is therefore depicted as a pervasive and multi-faceted phenomenon. 93 articles featured an evaluation: 53% depicted participatory journalism positively, 16% negatively and 31% left a mixed impression. Several themes emerged in the reasons for these evaluations, some of which are exact opposites, indicating that the presented evaluation depends on the specific circumstances of audience participation, namely the contexts of participatory journalism, the degree of involvement and character of audience participation and the resources available to the journalists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the participation of student media in inclusive place branding. Today, the territory is no longer viewed as a specific product, but as the place of interaction between different parties (authorities, businesses, residents, etc.). Inclusive place branding considers residents not just as brand ambassadors, but also as brand co-creators. This branding practice is consistent with increasing complexity of the city communication. Media and the variety of symbolic systems do not only construct the reality of the city, but also transmit socio-cultural experiences to the urban community. Not only various institutions (including official media), but also ordinary people participate in the symbolic exchange in the contemporary digital environment. The article presents the results of the study of 53 regular media projects created by students in 25 universities in 15 Russian cities. A content analysis of publications according to the degree of connection to the life of the territory (hyperlocal, local, regional, national themes) has shown that student media had already been involved in inclusive place branding practices.

In Brazil, inequalities are visually represented in its favelas. These neighborhoods are usually comprised of low-income informal settlements neglected by governments and often forgotten by mainstream media. The pervasive nature of information and communications technology (ICT) has brought new ways to produce news content in the media industry, giving voice to these communities. Thus, small, alternative, community, or non-mainstream media became a vital terrain of opposition activism. Drawing on user participation, collaboration, and data journalism theories, this article analyzes three alternative media organizations (Agência Mural, data_labe, and Favela em Pauta), which proposed producing data-driven content by, for, and about favelas through a mixed-method research design. Results show that four contributing factors tend to help these organizations to produce data stories despite these challenges: citizen participation, activism, collaboration, and humanizing data. The article concludes by demonstrating how elements developed in these initiatives and presents an agenda for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The revolution of technology has always shaped the works of journalism, including the news content and its relationship with the public. Along with the digital era, people started to participate in and contribute to journalism. User Generated Content (UGC) has regularly altered both information flows and the nature of news work for the mainstream media. By conducting a qualitative content analysis, this study tries to examine the use of UGC by 24-hour news TV channels in Indonesia in relation to the context of participatory journalism in the Covid-19 pandemic situation. The results of this study indicate that four 24-hour TV news channels in Indonesia are beginning to negotiate most of their ‘professional logic’ towards the logic of ‘adaptation’. Overall, framing analysis shows that news TV stations’ use of UGC has not optimally encouraged more constructive pandemic journalism practices.

Guardian Australia has made a strong commitment to covering Indigenous affairs, offering an alternative approach to other mainstream Australian news media since its establishment in 2013. In this article, the concepts of boundary work and boundary-drawing power provide a framework for analysing how Guardian Australia negotiates, extends, and concedes its professional journalistic ground in ways that support more diversity in news-making in the space of Indigenous affairs. In doing so, the article looks beyond Guardian Australia's award-winning journalism to its "everyday" coverage of Indigenous affairs. Through a content analysis of 1048 items published between March 2018 and February 2020, it identifies and discusses who contributes or produces the content, the types of content and the range of stories that are covered, and how Guardian Australia itself categorises these stories. Our analysis finds that Guardian Australia's Indigenous affairs coverage presents more sustained and diverse reporting than previous studies of legacy media have found, and its content expands journalistic boundaries by embracing the affordances of digital networked media and the contributions of diverse First Nations writers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The journalistic profession has long since entered an age where technology and audience participation are two of its most defining factors. Changes that were brought about by the advent of WEB 2.0 transformed journalism – among other professions – fundamentally, and opened the gates to a more connected future, one in which the lines between content producer and content consumer are far less defined than they used to be. One of the more promising technologies of this new era is that of chatbots and conversational agents. These multifaceted programs have proven to be extremely useful in many aspects of modern journalism, with some of them getting used in scenarios that go as far as trying to replace the traditional role of the journalist as we know it. As such, the influence of these programs has also spread to the field of audience interaction and participatory journalism. This article aims to underline the integral role that chatbots play within the confines of the journalistic profession, while at the same time explore the significant effects they have in the field of audience participation and communication between the journalist and the public in general. To achieve this goal a model chatbot was created in order to demonstrate the benefits of automating the process of filing and transferring a report on account of the public to the news organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exploitation of data in the media industry has always played a significant role. This is especially evident today, since data (and in many cases big data) are generated through various activities that relate to the production and also consumption of news. This paper attempts to highlight the importance of big data utilization in the media industry. Specifically, it discusses cases of big data exploitation, such as media content consumption and management, data journalism production, social content utilization, and participatory journalism applications. The study also examines the changes that big data has introduced in all stages of the journalism practice, from news production to news distribution, by utilizing the available tools. Finally, it discusses new developments that relate to semantic web (Web 3.0) technologies, which have already started to be adopted by media organizations around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Global Media Journal: Turkish Edition is the property of Global Media Journal, Turkish Edition and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Comunicação Pública is the property of Escola Superior de Comunicacao Social and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study explores how an engaged journalism process supported by participatory design practices can impact attitudes and perceptions of audience engagement in local journalism. Using MuckRock's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) submission tool, journalists, journalism students, and community stakeholders engaged in participatory design workshops centered around pressing local issues and creative approaches to filing FOIA requests. This study re-imagines FOI requests not just as a way to locate source material for important local reporting, but as a visible process that invites the public to engage and understand how that reporting is done — and how anyone can use and benefit from the process. Findings show that design-driven engagement journalism practices can make public records culture more inclusive, engaging, and accessible, and support more collaborative and creative engagement between journalists and audiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Survey evidence shows a deontological ethical ideology remains dominant in global journalism, underpinned by a cultural value of detachment. This article opens by considering the strain imposed on these precepts in US corporate media while covering the Trump White House—ultimately to breaking point with the defeated president’s campaign to overturn the result, attempting to co-opt news organisations in the process. Feedback loops of cause and effect have, in any case, been exposed in today’s extended media, making the involvement of journalism in stories—through influence on audience responses and source behaviours—impossible to overlook. At the same time, new journalisms are emerging and growing, which adhere instead to a teleological ethical ideology. They openly identify themselves with external goals, and appeal for funds from donors and supporters on that basis. The article then goes on to present original data from analysing statements of aims and purpose put out by 12 news organisations working in four of these new fields: Peace Journalism; Solutions Journalism; Engaged, or Participatory Journalism; and Investigative Journalism, respectively. These represent a growing edge in journalism, it is argued, since they are positioned to respond positively to the changed conditions brought about by political and technological forces, which were illustrated by the Trump crisis. The study points to the changes in institutional arrangements now needed, if the structural foundations for their survival and success are to be strengthened.

The Kiowa County Media Center was set up as a community media that would focus solely on citizen-produced news content. But challenges such as technophobia, citizen’s lack of time to contribute content, and an aging population meant the media center had to reinvent itself and evolve beyond its citizen-journalism mission if it hoped to survive. Four main findings from this study offer key lessons for other community media facing challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The editorial discusses the relevance of analyzing some problematic aspects of online participation in consideration of events that happened during the preparation of this thematic issue. It critically challenges the eponymous ‘dark participation’ concept and its reception in the field, and calls for a deeper exploration of epistemological questions — questions that may be uneasy and difficult to answer, as they also refer to the issue of balance and scientific positioning in the face of threats to public communication and democratic ideals.

Strengthening media coverage of climate change is a top news and societal priority. The magnitude and impact of global warming and rising sea levels is challenging to communicate, and to comprehend, at global and local scales. Media efforts are frustrated by a myriad of factors, including increased audience reliance on social media for news and information and how that can be compromised by brevity or misinformation. Scientific complexity, and political and cultural conflict, along with psychological factors also shape how people engage with climate issues. The situation is exacerbated by a dramatic decline in the number of print and TV local news outlets and loss of journalism jobs, and rising consumer news avoidance and public distaste for negative coverage. Curious Climate is an engaged journalism experiment by Australia's public broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), in collaboration with scientific organisations in the island state of Tasmania. The ABC asked the public for climate change questions which were answered with content and events led by scientists. Survey data from audiences and journalists contributes empirical evidence on how such new approaches to audience-led local journalism can deliver relevant local news, expand audiences, and provide trusted, relevant sources of information on complex issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alternative news media in Norway have become visible in public debates. Partly because of news sharing on social media. Social media has become an arena for news, information, and public debate, and has also become a place to fight for the news agenda. The present study examines news sharing in social media in Norway and how right-wing alternative news outlets use social media to impact the news agenda. These are small organizations with only a handful of employees, but they have very proactive readers and feature a considerable amount of user-generated content. They are critical of immigration, particularly from Muslim countries, and of the political elite. They mimic traditional media in the way they organize and label their content, but their reporting is more subjective. The present study uses quantitative content analysis to reveal which topics are the most shared on social media, and from which news type of news organizations they come. It also looks at how news sharing differed in the days following a series of terrorist attacks and how the pattern changed during the course of a normal day. This leads to a discussion on participatory journalism and how news sharing can be seen as a part of the public debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A constellation of journalistic tools, platforms, companies and nonprofit funding has recently emerged, promoting the idea that allowing the audience to contribute to the news agenda is a promising strategy to increase trust in journalism, create new revenue streams and foster community-building. Despite a growing body of research, however, two main issues remain currently unexplored: (1) the extent to which engaged journalism as a practice aligns with engaged journalism as a theoretical construct, and (2) the extent to which the audience assumptions underlying the pursuit of engaged journalism align with actual audience expectations and desires. This paper begins to address both of these issues by comparing how advocates of engaged journalism conceptualize the public's interest in participating in journalism with observations of actual instances of that participation. We find that there is indeed a gap between engaged journalism theory and practice, which we attribute to a distinction between what engaged journalists believe audiences want from news and how those audiences actually behave. At the same time, we also find that institutional rigidity in newsrooms that leads to some reluctance with regard to making news production more collaborative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, an emerging number of blogs, podcasts, websites, and social media channels report on news from an intersectional perspective, actively considering the intersecting impact of raced, gendered, sexed, and classed systems of oppression. However, what it practically means to produce intersection work is still ill-defined. Through semi-structured interviews with 13 intersectional news creators, this study aims to define the contours of what I term "intersectional journalism." I argue a model of intersectional journalism differs from traditional journalistic practices by explicitly decentering any one particular identity, offering a news praxis that works towards the democratic ideals deeply rooted in the goal of journalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alternative news media in Norway have become visible in public debates. Partly because of news sharing on social media. Social media has become an arena for news, information, and public debate, and has also become a place to fight for the news agenda. The present study examines news sharing in social media in Norway and how right-wing alternative news outlets use social media to impact the news agenda. These are small organizations with only a handful of employees, but they have very proactive readers and feature a considerable amount of user-generated content. They are critical of immigration, particularly from Muslim countries, and of the political elite. They mimic traditional media in the way they organize and label their content, but their reporting is more subjective. The present study uses quantitative content analysis to reveal which topics are the most shared on social media, and from which news type of news organizations they come. It also looks at how news sharing differed in the days following a series of terrorist attacks and how the pattern changed during the course of a normal day. This leads to a discussion on participatory journalism and how news sharing can be seen as a part of the public debate.

During the last two decades, the new media landscape has often been explored through the lens of audience participation in news production process. The diffusion of user-generated content both in news websites and on social media platforms has led media organizations to employ participatory formats that allow the audience to actively consume or co-produce content. As a result, journalists are often challenged by a vast amount of -vulnerable to problems- content that has to be handled in tandem with their other daily tasks. This paper focuses on the development of participatory journalism practices in Greek media. Specifically, in order to examine opportunities for users’ involvement in news organizations, a comparative quantitative study in all national daily political and financial online newspapers in Greece was conducted in 2014 and 2018. For this purpose, both the integration of participatory tools and the use of quality assurance methods in the relative websites were investigated. The findings indicate a rather reluctant attitude towards productive ways of engagement. Participation takes place through a limited number of tools and user-generated content is accepted only when filtered.

This article presents a systematic literature review of 378 studies (1997–2017) on online participatory journalism, i.e., audience participation in the professional news production process. Participation can challenge established understandings of journalism and affect the relationship between journalists and audience members as peripheral actors due to the increasingly blurred boundaries between these actors and the renegotiation of authority and power. The review captures research practices regarding the theoretical, conceptual and empirical approach as well as results pertaining to the impact participation has on the journalist–audience relationship and is both interdisciplinary and global in nature. The results show that research mostly focuses on journalism in Europe and North America and examines participation in the interpretation stage rather than in the formation or dissemination stage of the news production process. Longitudinal and comparative studies, examinations of regional and local participation, in-depth audience studies as well as analyses of participation in all three production stages are rare. 121 studies explicitly deal with participation’s impact on the journalist–audience relationship and produce conflicting results: 51% see journalists retaining control over news production process; 42% see shared power; and 7% see mixed results. Notably, power structures differ depending on the examined world region, production stage, and actor perspective. The review illustrates the status quo of research practices as well as the role the audience as peripheral actors play in the news production process and concludes with five observations about the field as well as future avenues to close identified research gaps.

The article investigates media organizations' strategies to adapt to the new media ecology in which Twitter is renewing traditional news-production routines. Two main strategies are identified: a traditional approach aimed at one-way news dissemination, and a journalistic model that recasts the relationship with the audience and uses Twitter as a community-building tool. It has been assumed that media outlets' endeavors to gain centrality in the information system are associated with their ability in using the appropriate communication tools of Twitter and the implementation of strategies based on interaction with users. Based on a comparative analysis of Twitter uses by newspapers in 31 countries, the study shows that the ability to manage the structural elements of the platform is widespread among media organizations. Concurrently, the relational strategy, i.e. the investment in community building, although less widespread, is present in many countries and leads to an increased level of user involvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exploitation of data in the media industry has always played a significant role. This is especially evident today, since data (and in many cases big data) are generated through various activities that relate to the production and also consumption of news. This paper attempts to highlight the importance of big data utilization in the media industry. Specifically, it discusses cases of big data exploitation, such as media content consumption and management, data journalism production, social content utilization, and participatory journalism applications. The study also examines the changes that big data has introduced in all stages of the journalism practice, from news production to news distribution, by utilizing the available tools. Finally, it discusses new developments that relate to semantic web (Web 3.0) technologies, which have already started to be adopted by media organizations around the world.

This paper investigates how young Australian journalists have developed their knowledge of online interaction strategies and how well they feel they manage the challenges of conversations with audiences in comments sections and on social media platforms. It presents the results of a small snowball sample survey and follow-up semi-structured interviews of recent graduates from six universities, working across print, broadcast and social media, exploring their educational preparation and on the job training for dialogic journalism. The survey and interviews build on a literature review that reveals the need for increased research into strategies for dealing with negative responses and speaking to audience diversity. The findings pinpoint areas of journalism pedagogy that need innovation and transformation to address the normalisation of dialogic interaction on social media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional notions of journalism focus exclusively on professionals, often embedded in media outlets and publishing houses. However, preceding decades have seen transformations in the understanding of journalism. This contribution sets out to explore the role of community media in working towards the recognition of participatory, not-for-profit journalism, more diverse discourses and enhanced participation, especially in relation to minorities. This research draws on policy documents at the European level, reports from European projects with community media involvement as well as on interviews with community media activists and journalists. As a result, we can show strategies of bringing peripheral actors to the centre by using community media based on access and participation, social inclusion, giving a voice and media literacy development. The study proposes a model of the role of community media in shifting peripheral actors to more central positions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how the moderation of reader comments influences journalism practice. Through in-depth interviews with journalists working at both organizations that perform in-house comment moderation and organizations that employ outside organizations such as Facebook to do moderation, the study aims to illuminate how comments can influence newswork on multiple levels of analysis, all the while decreasing journalistic autonomy. The paper concludes by theorizing how to protect autonomy while still prioritizing community participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A review of public journalism journal articles from 1991 through 2018 revealed significant gaps in (a) conceptualizing the public sphere, and (b) ascertaining the credibility of public journalism efforts. These gaps have implications for a press that is becoming increasingly challenged in an era of self-curated news selection and polarization. This work offers conclusions regarding how journalistic engagement efforts can better consider audience perspectives and thereby examine more sustainable footings for a citizen-engaged press. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known presently about how, why, and with what consequences audiences comment on their news in contemporary authoritarian regimes. In order to address this gap, this study leverages recent theorizing about the multiple public sphere under non-democratic rule. Accordingly, critically commenting publics are theorized as "input institutions" that not only create risks but also offer important benefits for autocrats. Grounded in this approach, the study develops a series of hypotheses about the extent of political criticism that should be visible beneath the news in three purposefully selected authoritarian contexts: Azerbaijan, Russia, and Turkmenistan. In order to test these hypotheses, commenting environments facilitated (or not) by 46 leading news organizations on seven platforms were considered (N=322). For each environment, coders established whether comments were published that were (1) critical of the autocrat himself, (2) critical only of lower-level policies or officials of the regime, or (3) entirely uncritical. As the findings show, the extent of readers' criticism differed systematically between the three contexts, broadly following the patterns hypothesized. Moreover, in line with this study's key assumptions, critically commenting publics were facilitated not only by opposition media but also by substantial numbers of state-controlled news organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study of Australian participatory-journalism project ABC Open analyzes the role of professional staff in the gatekeeping of user-generated content. Informed by the concept of 'reciprocal journalism' and applying the 'network gatekeeping theory' developed by Barzilai-Nahon, this study finds a user-generated content project that prioritizes rapport between user-generated content contributors and the initiative's professional gatekeepers ('producers'). Analysis suggests that the 'collegial gatekeeping' approach of ABC Open is resource- and labor-intensive, but succeeds by prioritizing quality over quantity in a long-term, non-profit initiative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]