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Journalism · MS elective · 3 credit hours · 16 sessions

Participatory Journalism & Citizen Media

The audience is now the broadcaster. This course examines the shift from “Gatekeeping” to “Gatewatching.” Students will explore how ordinary citizens use smartphones and social media to document history (from the Arab Spring to Black Lives Matter). The curriculum covers the ethics of using citizen footage, the risks faced by citizen journalists, and how professional newsrooms can collaborate with the public rather than competing with them.

§ 01 By the end you can
  1. Analyze the history of Citizen Journalism: From Blogs to TikTok
  2. Verify User Generated Content (UGC) for professional broadcast
  3. Understand the legal risks: Copyright, Consent, and Recording Laws
  4. Critique the "Hyper-local" news model and community reporting
  5. Develop a framework for "Crowdsourced Journalism" (Collaborative investigation)
§ 02 Sixteen sessions

The whole semester.

  1. 01From Consumer to Prosumer: The Paradigm Shift
  2. 02History of Citizen Media: Indymedia to Twitter
  3. 03User Generated Content (UGC): Definition & Value
  4. 04Verification of Citizen Footage (Rights & Truth)
  5. 05Ethics: Exploitation vs. Collaboration
  6. 06Legal Issues: Recording Police & Public Space
  7. 07Platforms: Substack, Medium, & Socials
  8. 08 · MidtermMidterm Examination
  9. 09Crisis Reporting: Citizen Witnesses in Disaster
  10. 10Hyper-local Journalism: Filling News Deserts
  11. 11Crowdsourcing Investigations: The Guardian Model
  12. 12Activism vs. Journalism: The Blurring Line
  13. 13Mobile Tools for Citizen Reporters
  14. 14Building Community Trust
  15. 15The Future: Decentralized News Networks
  16. 16Final Project: The Community Reporting Project

Midterm around session 8. Final project briefed at session 8 or 9 and developed in stages until the juries.

§ 03 Final project

Final Project: The Community Reporting Project

How it’s judged

Recommended reading
  1. We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People by Dan Gillmor
  2. Citizen Journalism: Global Perspectives by Stuart Allan
  3. The People's News: Media, Power, and the Rise of Queer and Feminist Citizen Journalism (Contextual)
  4. Amateur Images and Global News by Kari Andén-Papadopoulos
  5. Blur: How to Know What's True in the Age of Information Overload by Bill Kovach
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