Academic Staff Attitudes in Jordanian Universities towards Citizen Journalism as a Source of Information:A Survey Study

Abstract

This study aims at discussing the attitudes of academic staff in Jordanian universities to citizen journalism and its role as a source of information. The study uses the survey methodology. Jordan University and Petra University were chosen as samples representing the universities. A total number of 300 questionnaires were distributed, 209 questionnaires were filled constituting the actual sample involved in the study. The study shows that about two thirds, 66.5% of the respondents, believe that the term journalism covers what is called citizen journalism. The findings reveal that the highest percentage, 44.3% of the respondents, believe that the term journalism does not cover citizen journalism, which can be attributed to the reason that they do not adhere to specific professional standards, while 41.4% of the respondents think it is not professional journalism. It is as low as 2.9% of the respondents believe that this type of journalism lacks credibility and is biased.