Source, Please? A Content Analysis of Links Posted in Discussions of Public Affairs on Reddit.

It is axiomatic that a functional public sphere depends on quality information, and the traditional source of that information has been legacy news media, most particularly major metro newspapers. The ongoing contraction of the legacy media has led to concerns for the public sphere. Some theorists have placed hope in citizen journalism, including a kind of citizen journalism that takes place on social news sharing sites, as potentially filling some gaps left by shrinking public affairs journalism. However, little research has been done to investigate what citizens use as sources of information in discursive comment threads on social news sites. In this case study, I conduct a content analysis of links posted in discussions of local public affairs on Seattle's subreddit r/Seattle to see what information from Seattle's information ecology discussants are citing and re-posting. Findings show that Seattle Reddit users rely far more on alternative media sources and non-mediated sources, especially government sources, than they do on legacy media, but legacy media is still important in setting the conversation agenda. But Reddit users do not reproduce professional standards of journalism, and establish a limited conversation agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]