Einar Thorsen

Professor of Journalism and Communication at Bournemouth University

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User generated content and public service broadcasting – openDemocracy

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    Claire Wardle's update on UGC project:

    "The astonishing rise of social media has meant the way the BBC interacts with the audience has changed quite fundamentally. The user-generated content hub continues to thrive and the BBC still receives emails and photographs everyday but there has been a significant shift. The amount of content flowing to the BBC via the official user-generated content channels has decreased as people are now much more likely to share breaking news footage with friends (and a wider audience) via youtube, flickr, facebook or twitter. One of the barriers people spoke about (“I don’t know enough to comment on a BBC site”) disappears when you’re setting up or commenting on a facebook page related to the news story of the day. Similarly, the user-generated content black hole which the BBC faced (people taking time to send in a photo or comment to the BBC and seeing it never used), disappears when your friends immediately comment, like or share what you have posted."

    External link

    Del.ici.us tags: clairewardle bbc ugc

The Oxymoronic Citizen Journalism | paidContent:UK

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    Interesting take by Frederic Filloux:

    "Does it means public input in news should be kept at bay? Certainly not. Quite the contrary, actually. Newsrooms have a challenge on their hands, they need to get better at handling such input.

    […]

    But, to thrive, journalism requires more than a checkbook. It has to be built around a set of cultural traits that are in total contradiction to the engineering efficiencies of a search engine or an internet portal. Evidently, the modern news business requires more technology; and journalists needs the dialectics from their public. But news requires more professionalism than mere crowd-powered demagoguery. Today and, I believe, for as long as trust is to be part of the relationship with readers."

    External link

    Del.ici.us tags: analysis citizenjournalism journalism ugc blogs

Analysis: With work, comments can be a worthwhile addition to news sites – Editors Weblog

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    Analysis: With work, comments can be a worthwhile addition to news sites – Editors Weblog

    Alexandra Jaffe on comments associated with online news:

    "But most website editors agree: comment boards have too much potential to get rid of them entirely. The comments on an article offer journalists a valuable link to their readers, where readers can guide coverage, point out mistakes, and sometimes offer valuable tips and sources.

    […]

    Interactivity is key because news media is a business; newspapers must listen to their readers if they are to keep them as consumers.

    […]

    But how can editors ensure that the comments add rather than detract value from the article? News sites and blogs across the web have tried a number of different strategies, but the rules and regulations for online commenting are still in their formative stages. Across the comment boards, there seem to be four overarching themes in comment moderation that will likely shape the future of online commenting: Timing, trust, identity and incentives."

    Del.ici.us tags: ugc alexandrajaffe comments onlinenews onlinejournalism trust identity moderation