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This article draws on the case of La Gordiloca, a Facebook-based journalist from Laredo, TX, to interrogate the increasing role of social media within news-making processes. Applauded by The New York Times as a paragon of twenty-first century journalism and under scrutiny from local businesses and law enforcement for defamation and misuse of official information, she occupies a space between digital journalist and social media celebrity. Combining a content analysis with focus groups of Laredo residents, we argue that her work reflects a constitutive paradox unique to social media journalism: Whereas new technologies expand opportunities for citizens to participate in the process of news production, they also enable the corrosion of norms/practices that oriented previous forms of news production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizen journalism is increasingly practiced worldwide due to the expansion of the Internet, new media technologies, and social media platforms. This study investigated Malaysia's citizen journalism through young journalist’s perspective by understanding the concepts and roles of citizen journalists. The analysis demonstrated that young citizen journalists view opportunities and empowerment from a new angle. The results illustrated that citizen journalism in Malaysia provides a potential prospect for citizen journalists as well as a role in inspiring young people. Based on the present paper, it is suggested that future research should explore the guidelines to distinguish Malaysian citizen journalists from the conventional keyboard warriors and cyber troopers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marca Community is arguably one of the most popular online sports communities in Spain with over 400,000 members. In its forum, users can comment on the news published by the sport-based newspapers Marca while interacting with other members. Drawing on the existing literature on virtual communities, this study empirically examines the engagement in online discussion in order to determine the degree of “community building" promoted by the members. We propose a methodological approach taking under consideration the singularities of the sports fans and of the online conversation. A structural analysis focusing on the user interaction was conducted over the members (N=4,967) who posted comments in 8 selected articles. The findings suggest that Marca Community is a non-hierarchical liquid network wherein members participate in an equal footing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using time series analysis to gauge intermedia agenda setting in a sample of eighteen U.S. political blogs, two elite traditional news entities, and their eleven political newsroom blogs across three issues in 2007, this study reveals that traditional media were unable to set political blog agendas. Ideologically diverse political blog networks were also able to set traditional media's online news agenda, and, to a lesser extent, their newsroom blog agenda. Findings point to a dilution of traditional media's singular agenda-setting influence and to greater interdependence between traditional media and political blogs than suggested by hyperlink studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the author discusses incorporating social media in professional news. He notes that there are much debate on the part of citizen reporters to the changing environment of news. He mentions that the emergence of citizen journalism, which was further fueled by social networks, has encountered hostility in some sectors. Moreover, he explores the advantages and disadvantages of integrating citizen journalists' works into professional news.

This article analyzes the role of the media during the two months of postelection crisis in 2008 in Kenya. We discuss how people exchanged information during and after the media ban and analyze online discussions and media coverage. Particular emphasis is given to the role of the social media, such as Web 2.0 communication tools and services, which enable citizens to interact or share content online. Our analysis shows that during the crisis, the social media functioned as an alternative medium for citizen communication or participatory journalism. This experience has important implications for the process of democratization in Kenya. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]