Exploratory analysis of citizen journalists as editorial gatewatchers

Abstract

This study is a qualitative analysis of citizen journalists’ blog posts relating to the Gautrain Projectin South Africa, with a main focus on the Gautrain’s readiness to commence operations on 8 June2010 for the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup. This article is based on sections of a current MTechstudy on citizen journalism. Citizen journalism as a phenomenon is examined within the context of the blogosphere. Thegatekeeping theory is used as an approach to journalism in the online environment. So far, only avery limited number of studies have specifically addressed gatekeeping in the online environmentwhere citizen journalists decide what is news and which issues need to be raised on the publicsphere agenda. In the online context this is sometimes referred to as gatewatching.Although not professionally trained journalists, citizen journalists often perform the samegatekeeping functions as professional journalists. As gatewatchers of mainstream media content,press releases and other background information, citizen journalists may reintroduce debate inthe public sphere and introduce new insights previously overlooked by the mainstream media.This article demonstrates how citizen journalists acted as editorial ‘gatewatchers’ on the topic ofthe Gautrain project’s readiness for the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup in terms of seven categories.It also illustrates that when functioning as editorial gatewatchers, citizen journalists have thepotential to establish new criteria for newsworthiness in the public sphere.