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Using in-depth interviews with 65 participants from the CGNet Swara and the Video Volunteers, two citizen journalism organisations, this study investigates how citizen journalism in India is encouraging a new generation of women in very resource-poor areas to participate in the news production process and produce what they call a 'journalism of change'. Women journalists say they have found a 'space' and 'channel' through these organisations to report on stories that are women centric but also serve the community as a whole. Viewing their roles as ones of responsibility rather than power, they also work to motivate other women to join, creating networks of empowerment that encourage greater participation from women who hitherto had few such opportunities. The reporters speak up for the rights of women but reporting on women's issues can often be a delicate negotiation with patriarchal social structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This article attempts to highlight the defining role that community media engagements play during times of the pandemic. It is argued that the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic forced community news media houses to reinvent their news reporting practices to cover issues pertaining to the marginalized and underprivileged sections of the society. It explores the role of community media in engaging and empowering the citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: Central to our study is the analysis of the news model of "Video Volunteers" (henceforth VV), an independent community-based online news platform based in India. To understand the level of citizen participation and engagement in the making and dissemination of news during the pandemic, the authors conducted 13 interviews with different stakeholders of VV, including founders and news audiences. Findings: It seeks to reveal that when the mainstream media have failed to represent the issues of a local community, it is the independent media platforms like VV which function as a veritable source of information and sharing of knowledge. Most importantly, this paper emphasizes that the communicative model of independent community-based online platforms has been most successful in the coverage of the pandemic and the level of engagement with the citizenry. Originality/value: The study contributes to the aspects of reciprocity and collaborative journalism in community news media and its potential impacts on news creation and dissemination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trust in news is declining globally and has been for some time a phenomenon that has been amplified in the context of a global pandemic, the rise in anti-media populism, and social and political unrest. Overall, public trust in journalism remains low (44% globally), according to the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2021. Building on a growing body of research on predictors of (dis)trust among news audiences, this study examines survey data from the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2021 to explore distrust profiles--comparative profiles of users based on their relative distrust in news in general, news they consume, and news accessed through digital intermediaries like social and search--across distinct news environments: India, South Korea, and the US. We conclude that, across all three countries, there are large segments who either trust everything or distrust everything, suggesting a trust polarization phenomenon. Moreover, the results identify segments of swing trusters, users who trust some news and distrust other types but do not indicate a blanket tendency to trust or distrust everything. Normative expectations about the institution of journalism (i.e., folk theories) seem to be the most powerful factors in explaining the relative likelihood of membership in all profiles, where expectations regarding impartiality, concern about fake news, and fair coverage were important indicators of (dis)trust, with varying degrees depending on the media, political, and technological contexts in which they are situated. These findings suggest that to regain trust, journalists should consider how they can change people's folk theories when it comes to news by comprehensively taking into account the unique trajectory of a given country's media system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study of a community newspaper, Namaskar, and its impact in 'underdeveloped' areas of coastal Odisha in India, discusses the potential of alternative media for social change. It scrutinises and analyses the participatory advocacy activities of Namaskar. Studying participatory journalism favours a more dialogical and reflexive approach, which also draws on ideas of 'critical' and 'radical' media, while also calling attention to the significance of content in bringing about social change. Building on observations and testimonies from the field, collected through multiple qualitative methods for data collection, the study infers that Namaskar ensures significant participation in its advocacy practices, leading to observable changes in and around its catchment area. However, basic gatekeeping and editing work to make news copy print-ready also restrain the extent of 'absolute participation'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]