Citizen Journalists Not Ready to Replace Traditional Media: Pew Report
With hyperlocal news still in its infancy, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a new study out tonight says citizen journalism web sites aren’t ready to replace traditional media just yet. That’s one of the conclusions in the very comprehensive “State of the Media” report issued by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism.
The report admits that “citizen journalism at the local level is expanding rapidly and brimming with innovation,” but says that funding isn’t being pumped into citizen journalism at the same rate that traditional media are losing money and resources. As for local blogs and news sites comparing to traditional media, here’s what the report says:
“…citizen media at this point still are not in a position to replace or provide the same type of coverage as traditional outlets. They just don’t have the resources to do so. New research conducted by a team of academics finds that some top citizen news sites average less than one new story a day.”
In general, I’ve no doubt that’s true. But I don’t think anyone should read that and take it to mean that there’s no good, real, substantial, and legitimate journalism being produced by citizen journalists online. There is, and I think we all sense citizen media will continue to improve over time.
Click through for some interesting stats and charts from the study about hyperlocal news sites/blogs.
Do Bloggers Deserve Press Credentials?
Following quickly on the heels of the UK episode in which a blogger was kicked out of court comes the case of Jay Liner and his Baltimore Organ local blog/site. As the Maryland Daily Record reports, Liner is suing the state governor’s office for denying him a press credential to report on state government news.
Liner has no desire to become a trailblazer in the blogosphere, but he acknowledges the lawsuit reflects how the Internet has forever changed the way people consume news.
“This is the modern delivery system,” he said. “Why should this be treated differently?”
It’s a question government officials, media lawyers and even reporters themselves struggle to answer.
To be frank, the article itself wanders and is a bit of a mess, but this is a legitimate issue for local bloggers, and something we should all be paying attention to – but especially those of you who are news bloggers in your hometown.
My take: Local governments (and state governments, for that matter) need to wake up to the realities of modern journalism and reconsider their requirements for defining who is and isn’t a reporter.
(Found this via MediaGazer)
Go Hyperlocal Maps US & UK Blogs
Here’s a new site that offers both inspiration and exposure for hyperlocal bloggers: Go Hyperlocal. It’s a hyperlocal blog directory that bills itself as “Ideas and Examples from the Best Hyperlocal News Sites.” And even on a super quick glance, I see a couple familiar HLB commenters already have their blogs listed: Kyle from Yellowknife Online and Mike from Go Burley.
The site offers a US map and a UK map of hyperlocal blogs, both of which are obviously far from complete. But you can do your part to help out by using this link to suggest a site for the directory.
WordPress Users: What Theme Do You Use?
A little while back, I came across a WordPress blog theme that’s been developed specifically for hyperlocal news sites. It’s (appropriately) called The Local, and looks pretty nice to me.
If I ever get around to launching the real Tri-City news site I have in my mind, I’d consider using it. But I don’t think it’s appropriate for the four community blogs we’re running now, none of which are geared toward hard news reporting.
So my questions to all you WordPress users are as follows:
- What theme are you using for your local blog?
- What do you like about it?
- What do you dislike it about it?
Comments are open, so have at it.
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