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Through two separate surveys targeting visual professionals (VP) and citizen visual contributors (CVC), we assess their views on citizen journalists' roles along with their views on the likelihood to act on those views (i.e., role performance intention) in order to identify associations between perception and performance. The role that perceived media credibility plays in the assessment of role conceptions and potential role performance was also examined. Findings indicate that CVC rate their roles as significantly more important than the ratings of VP on citizens' roles. Correlation analysis points to associations between the roles but misalignment in the relationship between conceptions and performance among CVC but alignment among VP. When looking at the impact of media credibility on role conceptions and performance, it is clear that perceived media credibility plays a significant role among the views of professionals. However, media credibility is not much of a factor in the assessments by CVC. Implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a Web-based survey targeting visual professionals, this study examines their professional role conceptions along with their views on emerging visual citizen contributors' roles. While participants' ratings of the two groups' roles were generally correlated within each group, no correlations resulted between the two groups with the exception of the civic roles. Further, visual professionals rated their roles as significantly more important for all five roles. When assessing views on citizen-contributed visuals, it was clear that participants evaluated them with a critical eye, expressing dislike toward citizens' visual contributions and deeming them a threat to their livelihood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a national survey and a qualitative content analysis of US daily news editors’ understanding of citizen journalism, we identify key ideas associated with the concept of Citizen Journalism Complexity. Patterns related to those dimensions that may impact editors’ conceptions of the phenomenon at the individual and organizational levels are examined. A total of 10 core ideas emerged in the aggregate discussion, but a majority of the participants defined the concept simplistically focusing on one- or two-dimensional definitions. Arguments from journalistic professionalism (occupational roles), audience engagement/collaboration (normative values), and behavioral practices are represented. This article discusses the extent to which citizen journalism is defined and guided by demographic variables, individual journalistic experience, and organizational characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

Through a web-based survey (N = 238), this study examines how online community news readers perceive the roles of both professional and citizen journalists, and predicts the extent to which social capital, such as social trust and media credibility, contributes to their perceived journalistic roles. Analyses show that while media credibility was positively related to the role conceptions of professional journalists only, social trust was positively associated with the role conceptions of both professional and citizen journalists. Implications are discussed for the relationship between social trust, media credibility, and perceived journalistic roles. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A survey of Kentucky community newspaper editors finds that editors hold different levels of social capital depending on their demographic characteristics. For example, female editors tend to have trust in people and have more organizational affiliations than do male editors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents research on online journalism. Community newspapers which operate solely on the Internet are examined to determine the attitudes of their readers towards the journalists employed by the newspapers and their use of the interactive features available to visitors to these Web sites. It is found that the audiences of these Web sites see the most important role of community online journalism to be its ability to mobilize public opinion on political and social topics.

As journalism educators prepare their students to succeed professionally, whether professional journalists and educators see eye-to-eye on emerging trends that influence current journalism practice is worth examining. A national online survey of journalism professionals and educators found that professionals use blogs significantly more than educators. Educators had similar views of blogs, but professional journalists' uses and perceptions of blogs varied depending on type of organization they worked for and occupational position in their news organizations. Educators are quick to catch on to national trends in journalism even though they do not routinely use blogs, as they are trained to assess the impact of critical trends in the discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Argues for the use of constructivist theory in mass communication higher education. Definition of constructivism; Comparison between constructive and traditional views of learning; Assessment methods for collaborative work; Role of constructive learning in enhancing students' responsibility for learning and breaking their dependence on instructors.