Participatory journalism

The Impacts of Hyperlinks and Writer Information on the Credibility of Stories on a Participatory Journalism... 

Abstract. Credibility in mainstream media continues to wane, giving rise to new forms of journalism supported hy the Internet. One of these new forms of journalism is participatory joumahsm. This is a form of journalism in which content is produced hy ordinary citizens, usually on web sites. One of the most popular participatory journalism weh sites at this time is ohmynews.com. Like mainstream media, this site, as well as ones like it, have credibility obstacles to overcome. This paper outhnes a proposed study in which the researcher wiU test whether or not the presence of information about a writer and sources used to write a story on a participatory journalism web site affects the perceived credibility of the story. 

Research Area Participatory journalism, blogging, user created content, computer mediated communication. 

Brief Description of Research Topic Participatory journalism and markers of credibility. Does providing information about the writer of a story and sources used to write the story affect its credibihty ... 

This proposed study seeks to understand the relationship between information and credibility. Credibility is one of the key components upon which journalism is built. Once credibility is compromised it can be detrimental to a news organization. One of the ways traditional media try to lend a measure of credibility to their information is by adhering to a filter-then-publish model. This means that the information that comes into a newsroom is edited prior to being released to a mass audience. Conversely, participatory journalism web sites tend to operate under a publish-then-filter model, where information is released to the mass audience and then it is edited. In some cases people with journalism experience are employed as editors, whereas in other cases, visitors to the site can act as editors. The missing layer of editorial oversight may cause credibility problems for these sites [1],... 

Building upon this study, perhaps participatory journalism sites can improve perceived credibility by providing information about those who write on the sites, as well as allowing visitors to their sites to verify information easily through the use of hyperlinks embedded in the story. 

While there have been many studies done on traditional media and credibility perceptions, there haven t yet been any credibility studies done that pertain exclusively to participatory journalism. In fact, scholarly literature on participatory journalism is scant, so this study seeks to add to this body of literature, as well as build on previous studies in the areas of web credibility and trust. 

Gill [7] argues that this idea of news as conversation has helped give rise to participatory journalism web sites, because participatory journalism expands two-way communication between readers and media. Interaction often is encouraged between journalists and readers. Blogging is another way to encourage interaction between writers and readers because it provides different viewpoints on shared experiences [7]. It can also be used as a tool for journalists to help serve as a collective databank used to jog the faulty memories of those who write or report for major media [7], p. 2. 

Weblogs, also known as blogs, pre-date the creation of participatory journalism sites. Some argue that blogs can be considered a form of participatory journalism if they include journalistic news content [7, 8]. 

Participatory journalism, also referred to as grassroots journalism and citizen journalism, is the idea that news content is produced by ordinary citizens with no formal journalism training [9]. In their paper titled We Media How Audiences are... 

Shaping the Future of News and Information, Shayne Bowman and Chris Willis [9] use the following working definition of participatory journalism ... 

Arguably the most well-known and popular participatory journalism web site in the world is ohmynews.com, founded by Oh Yeon Ho of South Korea in February 2000. Ohmynews.com has more than 42,000 registered citizen journalists and 95 fiill-time staff [12]. Editors review and post hundreds of articles a day written by the citizen journalists. The most carefully edited articles are located prominently on the page. The articles that have not been edited yet are featured less prominently on the page [13]. From February 2005 through July 2005 ohmynews.com had anywhere from about 3 million to about 18 million page views per day [14]. 

The lack of research on markers that lead to higher levels of perceived credibility of participatory journalism web sites has led to this study s three main research questions. 

RQ 1 To what extent does providing information about a writer s background and providing a picture of the writer on a participatory journalism site affect the perceived credibility of the story ... 

Hyperlinks can be important in helping users form judgments about online credibility [16, 23]. The researcher hypothesizes that stories on the participatory journalism web site ohmynews.com that contain hyperUnks will be rated by participants as more credible than stories that do not contain hyperlinks. 

This study will add to the small, but growing body of literature on participatory journalism. To date, there have not been any studies that have examined markers of credibility on participatory journalism sites, so this would be the first. This study will also help those creating participatory journalism sites understand how to make their sites more credible to users. User created content is becoming more prevalent on the web, and studies aimed at examining this phenomenon will be needed to understand this new generation of content creators. This study is just the first, of many possible studies, that will look at this growing trend of online content creation. 

Francis, C.A. and Carter, H.C. 2001. Participatory education for sustainable agriculture everyone a teacher, everyone a learner. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture 18 (1) 71-83. 

The decision to adopt a participatory approach in our research reflected the premise that the responsibility of environmental scientists is to provide reliable Information that will help society resolve its environmental problems. While the premise may be laudatory, it is slippery to apply. For example, the typical means of supplying new information to society takes the form of scientific papers published in English in international journals (e.g. Brown et al. 1992, Kainer et al. 1998). In Brazilian Amazonia, we have found, however, that information in this format does not easily reach the local and regional decisionmakers, few of whom read English or have effective access to scientific literature. Also, those who have the most at stake, the local communities, require a different mode of information transfer. 

Garg, A., and Moore, J. S. (1997), Participatory Ergonomics in a Red Meat Packing Plant, Part 1 Evidence of Long Term Effectiveness, American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal, Vol. 58, No. 2, pp. 127-131. 

Sutjana, D. R, Adiputra, N., Manuaba, A., and O Neill, D. (1999), Improvement of Sickle Quality Through Ergonomi Participatory Approach at Batunya Village Tabana Regency, Journal of Occupational Health, Vol. 41, No. 2, pp. 131-135. 

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La Montagne, A.D. et al. (1992). Participatory Workplace Health and Safety Training Program for Ethylene Oxide. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 22,651-64. 

Billett, S. (2004) Workplace participatory practices Conceptualising workplaces as learning environments. The Journal of Workplace Learning, 16 (6), 312-324. 

Kongsvik, T., Haavik, T. Gjosund, G. 2014. Participatory safety barrier analysis a case from the offshore maritime industry. Journal of Risk Research, 17 (2) 161-175, DOI 10.1080/13669877.2012.761275. 

Eilks, L, Markic, S. (2011). Effects of a long-term participatory action research project on science teachers professional development. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science Technology Education, 7, 149-160. 

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