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This study examines the extent to which professional journalism adopts and uses citizen journalism, such as user-generated content (UGC) and user-submitted stories (USS), at the individual, organizational, and community levels. In doing so, the study adopts a web-based survey of top U.S. news editors (n = 142) coupled with U.S. Census Data. The study reveals that experience as online journalists and online staff size play roles in the adoption and use of UGC. The study also finds that community structural pluralism is related to the adoption and use of news stories written together by professional and citizen journalists. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study examined the joint effect of message and personality attributes on online news sharing. In two experiments (N = 270, N = 275), readers indicated their likelihood to share news representing two content domains and three informational utility dimensions. A moderated mediation path analysis was used. On average, news consumers shared news containing informational utility. Opinion leaders shared news irrespective of informational utility because they discerned informational utility in news that, objectively speaking, lacked such utility. In one experiment, opinion leaders also were more likely than nonleaders to share news perceived to contain informational utility. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This research utilizes Shoemaker and Reese's Hierarchy of Influences to understand how routines influence online citizen journalism and online newspaper content. Reliance on routines affects the diversity of content publicly available. Overall, online daily newspaper journalists were more likely to rely on routines than online citizen journalists. Newspaper journalists relied more heavily on external sources, while citizen journalists used more unofficial sources and opinion. Thus, publication type is related to the presence of content that reflects media routines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]