eine interessante Untersuchung von Jan Schaffer zur Thematik des Citizen Journalism:

Local news web sites offering content generated by users are securing a valuable place in the media landscape and are likely to continue as important sources of community news, according to a report released today by J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism.

"Citizen sites are developing as new forms of bridge media, linking traditional news with forms of civic participation," said J-Lab director, Jan Schaffer, author of the report, which was funded by a grant from the Ford Foundation.

These sites, which take many forms, have rapidly emerged since 2004. But rather than delivering comprehensive news and "finished stories," most sites are "forming as fusions of news and schmooze" that pay particular attention to key issues in their communities, Schaffer said.

The report, "Citizen Media: Fad or the Future of News: The rise and prospects of hyperlocal journalism," was commissioned to determine the prospects for sustainability of these fledgling enterprises. It relied on in-depth interviews of 31 different sites and a 60-question, online survey that targeted 500 citizen sites that could be identified in the fall of 2006 and generated 191 responses.

Die vollständige Untersuchung gibts zum Nachlesen:

Citizen Media: Fad or the Future of News?
The rise an prospects of hyperlocal journalism

http://www.kcnn.org/research/citizen_media_report/