citizen journalism
Grassroots news gathering
Citizen journalism is news reporting done by ordinary people rather than professional journalists, typically distributed through blogs, social media, or other online platforms.
The term emerged as smartphones and internet access enabled anyone to document and share newsworthy events: Citizen journalism captured the protests when mainstream media couldn't get access.
It encompasses everything from eyewitness videos to independent investigation, valued for reaching underreported stories but questioned for lacking editorial standards.
- independent mediaJournalism without external control
- blogsPersonal online publications
- photojournalismVisual news reporting
- user-generated contentMaterial created by audiences
- social media postShared online content
whistle-blower · news tip · investigative reporting · eyewitness · on the ground · censorship · alternative media · freelance · community radio · public interest · fact-checking · interviewing · reporting · indigenous media · editorial independence · Julian Assange · amateur · breaking
- journalismreporters, interview, editors, student editors, school paper
- news medianews agency, newspaper, documentary, article, news photo
- local medialocal newspaper, local newspapers, city news, local news, regional TV
- alternative mediaalternative media, alternative weekly, underground press, zine, zines
- civic engagementcivic engagement, civic participation, civic responsibility, civic activism, civic values
- Community Radiocommunity radio, college radio, public radio, listener-supported, grassroots media
citizen journalismmainstream media
Dominant news establishment
legacy media · network news · broadcast journalism · media conglomerates · wire services
citizen journalismstate media
Government-run news organizations
government propaganda · press releases · official narratives · curated news
citizen, citizens, journalism, citizenship, citizenry, noncitizen