Third International Conference on Communication & Media Studies

Abstract

The emergence of digital media has brought about the concept of citizen journalism, making ordinary citizens without journalistic skills co-creators of content, and thus, disrupting the established pattern of news production. In this qualitative study, editors from seven major community newspapers in Limpopo province of South Africa were interviewed on their perceptions and attitudes towards citizen journalism. The study indicates that most editors have positive perceptions towards citizen journalism because it may contribute positively towards their organisations’ sustainability, particularly, in strengthening democratic participation, increasing readership and popularity of their publications, building community-wide trust and acceptance for their organizations, and assisting their communities to strive and increase their level of media literacy. However, only a few editors actually incorporate citizens’ content in their publications. Others expressed concerns such as lack of ethics and basic journalistic skills in citizen journalism, but are willing to use such contents if they have strategies that will help them to effectively incorporate them. The willingness of the editors to incorporate citizen journalism indicates their readiness to enhance community members’ participation in their news production, and their eagerness to embrace technological innovations. However, financial sustainability is a serious concern for community newspapers and most of the editors need technological infrastructure to enable them run with this innovation. It’s recommended that community newspaper editors and researchers should strategize on ways of resolving the ethical and journalistic issues relating to citizen journalism content. Also, government should provide incentives to community newspapers to encourage them to embrace this innovation.