Professional journalists in ‘citizen’ journalism

Abstract

Scholars, journalists, and laypeople alike have argued that the relatively new field of citizen journalism (CJ) offers a space where citizens can act as amateur reporters to challenge the dominance of mainstream media. However, contrary to popular expectations, a large number of CJ sites include current or former professional journalists as contributors, calling into question the new field's independence from the mainstream media. Using a content analysis of a sample (n = 326) drawn from the largest sampling frame of English-language CJ websites based in the United States to date (n = 1958), we explore potential explanations for the presence of professional journalists as contributors on CJ sites. In a series of logistic regression analyses, we find evidence that for-profit CJ sites and those with editorial staffs are more likely to have professional journalists. Furthermore, we find that sites with professional journalists do not offer significantly different content when controlling for other factors. Based on these findings, we theorize that CJ websites seek out professional journalists as a means of gaining legitimacy within a new organizational field. These results indicate a growing professionalization within the field of CJ and the persistence of a public sphere dominated by elite actors.