Why Citizens Still Rarely Serve as News Sources: Validating a Tripartite Model of Circumstantial, Logistical and Evaluative Barriers

• In Event: Citizens and the News: Participants, Sources, Journalists?

Abstract

Despite being equipped to an unprecedented extent to become substantial news players, despite a growing journalistic need for their input, and despite promise of user-generated content, ordinary citizens remain a negligible news source. To explore why this is so, a model is proposed according to which journalists’ reliance on citizens is hindered by three factors: circumstantial (situations calling for input from citizens arise ad hoc), logistical (using them requires greater journalistic effort) and evaluative (journalists appreciate their contributions less). A broad comparison of contacts with ordinary citizens against contacts with other source types (N=2381) in Israel, strongly validates this model. To enhance their access, citizens may need not only a technological revolution, but also a social, cultural and epistemic revolution.

Author

• Zvi Reich, Ben-Gurion U of the Negev