Citizen Sources in the News: Above and Beyond the Vox Pop?

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

Abstract

Both within journalism and academia it has been argued that citizen voices should have a greater prominence in news to counterbalance the virtual monopoly of elite sources. Although studies show that citizen sources are being used more often than before, it remains unclear whether there has been a change in both the prominence relative to elite and civil society sources, and in the capacity in which citizens have been present in the past two decades. This study presents a content analysis of 1251 Dutch television news stories broadcast between 1990 and 2012 (N = 2111 sources). Results show that citizen sources became more prominent in news stories over the years, but that they do not get a more substantive, relevant voice. Instead, citizens are increasingly used as vox pops, being nothing more than mere illustrations. Thus elite sources remain the primary definers in mediated public debate.

Authors

• Mariska Kleemans, Radboud University Nijmegen

• Gabi Joachim Schaap, Radboud U Nijmegen

• Liesbeth E.A.H.M. Hermans, Radboud U Nijmegen