Technologies of participation: Community news and social media in Northern Sweden

Abstract

This article explores how different meanings of ‘participation’ are developed in the intersection between local journalism and social media. The study is based on qualitative interviews with media professionals working in community media organisations in northern Sweden. Three key themes are identified: participation as marketisation, participation and production, and participation and democracy. This article discusses how these three different forms of participation contribute to the constitution of journalistic identities in a local context and to its meanings within the media sphere in general. This article argues that the emergence of new digital media has not so much renewed the role of the media professional as it has led to a cementing of their professional identity. Social media are a necessity for the development of journalism and are celebrated for their potential to include audiences; yet journalists paradoxically seem to consider these same technologies of participation as a threat, not only to journalism but also to democracy.