Preparing for an age of participatory news

Abstract

In a time of decling public trust in news, loss of advertising revenue, and an increasingly partipatory, self-expressive and digital media culture, journalism is in the process of rethinking and reinventing itself. In this manuscript, the authors explore how journalism is preparing itself for an age of participatory news: a time where (some of) the news is gathered, selected, edited and communicated by professionals and amateurs, and by producers and consumers alike. Using materials from case studies of emerging participatory news practices in The Netherlands, Germany, Australia and the United States, the authors conclude with some preliminary recommendations for further research and theorize early explanations for the success or failure of participatory journalism.