Community Journalism — AEJMC Hot Topics

Paradigm Shifting in Journalism: When Readers and Community Participation Strengthen Media Companies

by Manuel Chavez, Ph.D., Michigan State University
and Amy Schmitz Weiss, Ph.D., San Diego State University

The Elusive Challenge of Infusing Public Input in the News Process

It is no surprise to see how media companies in the United States are solving their economic problems, especially as related to the print industry: layoffs, hiring freezing, page reduction, international bureaus closings, and ultimately draconian newsroom reductions. The crisis has been more severe here than in other parts of the world mainly because of a voracious economic model that relied heavily in captive traditional advertising. And yes, as one travels to countries in Europe, Latin America, and Asia is startling to see the vitality, size, and variation of newspapers and weekly magazines, simply put: newsstands and traditional press kiosks are alive and well.

There is one international example that shows a successful form of news production with public input that stands out in these challenging times. It is surprising if not paradoxical that a news organization in Mexico for almost twenty years has practiced the inclusion of the public (readers and community members) into the process of creating more attractive and relevant news products from print to websites. [Read more...]

On the Challenges of Small Newsrooms and Mobile Communication

by Doug Fisher, University of South Carolina

Small, family-owned news organizations may have the best opportunity to take advantage of the digital pathway to reach their communities, but they also may be the most endangered by it and find it the most challenging.

I’ve come to that conclusion after working last summer in the newsroom of an 18,000-circulation community daily newspaper and after years of working with other editors and publishers at individual papers or small family-owned chains.

The health of these newsrooms is important to their communities. In many instances, as case studies at the Newspapers and Community-Building symposia have shown, they are among the few institutions willing and able to stand up to the power structure. Also, as has been widely noted, they generally are suffering less economically than their big-city counterparts. [Read more...]